to B-R; a good approach?
June 6, 2005
At last Tuesday's Selectmen Meeting, a proposal was made to increase funding for B-R schools by reducing the budgeted amount for the retirement account.
The retirement monies being discussed by the Bridgewater Board of Selectmen is the annual appropriation for funding the Town's share of this expense. The original budget proposal is for about $1.4M for retirement fund payments; payable in two installments (from what was said at the meeting) on July 1 and January 1.
So, the idea floated and passed by Selectmen in a 3-2 vote was to short this appropriation by $600k and divert the funds to Bridgewater-Raynham. The idea will work if Free Cash is certified sufficient or if other funds are found to later make a transfer to adequately fund the account and the required payable.
The problem with this idea is that it sets a precedent for shorting accounts when it is known that the amount voted at Town Meeting will not be sufficient to meet the entire annual requirement.
If this works on this scale, why not take 50% of Fire and Police ($2.5M of $5M needed) and devote it to schools? Then, as money becomes available, the Town can vote to properly fund per the "actual real" budget requirement the Fire and Police so that they do not shut down on January 1st.
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Joseph Gillis Jr.
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