Cheshire at a crossroads

Do we go backward or find a way forward?

This Thursday, April 10th there will be a public meeting on the subject of this year’s budget. Knowing that service cuts are likely this year, the Town Council and BOE are eager to hear what’s important to you. You can attend and speak and/or email the Council at comments@cheshirect.gov with your feedback and ideas. Please come out to hear from our Town Manager and Superintendent about what we’re facing this year.

For several reasons we’ve recently posted about - reduced State aid, school construction debt, a rapidly rising student population, ‘flat’ grand list growth - we have a $15 million deficit between revenues and current expenses. The budgets presented by the Town Manager and the schools Superintendent are almost entirely simply maintaining the current level of services. So, closing the gap between revenues and expenses will likely mean reducing services. From the Council we can’t speak specifically to what this means for the schools. But from a 30,000-foot level, more students and less teachers would lead to larger classes and a higher student-teacher ratio. We’re not saying this is going to happen, but this is the severity of what we’re all facing this year.

Nothing has been decided yet. We still have several more budget meetings before we have to vote on a final budget at the end of this month. On the Council we’re all concerned about the implications of a higher mill rate and/or service cuts. But to close a $15 million gap we’ll likely need to raise taxes somewhat and also reduce services. This is the reality of the situation.

Since we are likely to have service cuts, now is a good time to highlight what we may lose. Cheshire town employees work hard to deliver value for all Cheshire residents and their dedication should make us all proud. Especially if you don’t have kids in Cheshire schools anymore and you don’t take advantage of many town services, you might be surprised at how much our town employees accomplish and deliver year in and year out.

Here’s a few snapshots:

Cheshire Fire Department - annual cost is $50 per capita

Number of responses - 1,024 (avg. 2.8 per day)

An effective firefighting force on scene within 15 minutes - 96% of the time

Avg. response time to building fires - 6.3 minutes

Number of full-time staff - 5.5 positions

Number of volunteer staff members - 80

Number of staff development training hours - 100

Cheshire Human Services - annual cost is $33 per capita

Number of clinical contact hours provided - 1850 hours

Number of participants in Positive Youth Development Programs - 2,200 youth

Number of food vouchers distributed - 1,126 vouchers

Number of energy assistance applications processed - 350

Total number of seniors registered with MySeniorCenter - 3,312 seniors

Number of rides provided through senior transportation - 10,500

Number of crisis intervention referrals - 700

Cheshire Public Library - annual cost is $49 per capita

Number of visits - 166,100 visits (5.6 per capita)

Visits to library website - 52,000 visits

Number of library card holders - 9,000

Borrows of physical materials - 265,958

Number of library programs held - 512 (17,356 participants)

Study room bookings - 2,974

Public computer sessions logged - 31,042

Reference/research questions received - 28,000

Number of summer reading participants - 1,449

Cheshire Police Department - annual cost $191 per capita

Criminal arrests - 220

Property crimes - 125

Motor vehicle arrests - 500

Accidents - 580

Total incidents - 35,000 (729 incidents per officer)

Cheshire Public Works - annual cost $206 per capita

Work orders generated from public - 560

Mean pavement quality rating - 82.2%

Miles of pavement overlaid/reconstructed - 3.9 miles (plus 5.2 miles of chip seal)

Tons of residential waste collected - 8,480 tons

Street sweeping and leaf collection - 304 lane miles

Inspected and cleaned storm basins - over 800

Number of vehicle/equipment serviced - 800

Number of vehicles maintained - 186

Playing fields maintained and lined - 18

Removed and trimmed trees - 100+

Added monthly mattress and electronics recycling at the ‘old’ transfer station

Cheshire Park & Recreation - annual cost $36 per capita

Number of recreation programs offered - 500+

Number of recreation program participants - 5,400

Number of community & special events - 20 (13,136 participants)

Number of pavilion rentals - 147

Number of passes sold - 725 (Mixville Day & Season)

Number of school gym hours coordinated - 2,009

Annual revenue generated - $408,000

Public Property Dept. - annual cost is $36 per capita

Square feet of facilities maintained - 207,000 (22 different buildings/facilities)

Number of work orders - 541 (2 addressed per day)

Only 2% repeat work orders

Cheshire Town Clerk - annual cost $7 per capita

Number of land record documents recorded - 3,800

Conveyance taxes collected - $610,000

Total licenses issued - 2,300

Number of absentee ballots issued - 1,626

All of the town services provided are important and nearly all have been provided for many years. Council after Council have supported these services and increased taxes as needed. But none have ever faced a $15 million deficit and the perfect storm we’re trying to navigate this year. Again, this year’s proposed budgets are merely to maintain our current services. The new Council isn’t looking to increase staff or offer new services. So, we’re at a crossroads. Do we go backward or find a way forward? Come out Thursday, April 10th to let us know what’s important to you: keeping class sizes ‘small,’ public safety, the library, well maintained roads, recreation programs and camps, the Senior Center, youth counseling services and programs and/or something else entirely.