Opinion: The budget process 2010 -- "A better way?"

The Westport News' recent editorial pointed out the purgatory of this year's town budget process. Detailed public examination involved even the most trivial of items, provoking absurd debates. There was inquisition of town department heads pleading for their budgets, often long into the night, as reviewing committee chairs struggled to accommodate impossible schedules.

This was budget management at its very worst. However, the Board of Education Budget, a beacon of well-led deliberation shining above the turmoil of the town side, most found hard to critique. So the much smaller town budget became an example of how not to do it -- justifying your comment "there has to be a better way."

The town budget is the first selectman's responsibility, through his department heads, and he should defend it. In the very first moments of the Board of Finance review, when it became clear that the first selectman had failed to even come close to the December goals set by the Board of Finance, he should have signaled the need to reconsider and perhaps attempt a new meeting of the minds. Instead he proposed double-digit budget growth, with no commitment to deal with major liabilities, and no plan to achieve sustainable reductions absorbing significant cost increases. His choice was supported by worn claims of, "Town services, emergency services, have to be maintained," "Westport people will accept no less." Never did he suggest practical, innovative savings programs, and worse, no effort emerged how to address longer-term implications of these omissions -- big mistake.

So the Board of Finance did what it had to do, and it did it well, and in a manner we haven't seen in a while, with good research, well guided and in bipartisan manner; in fact, for the first time in years, we saw both boards of Education and Finance come together politically in a way that demonstrates how these boards' members agree on frugality, focus and tackling serious budget issues; obviously there is a chasm in thinking between this administration and these key boards, and that is sad for Westport.

After this dust had settled, we were treated to RTM reviews, 22 hours over four nights. Along the way, some town department heads made presentations four or even five times -- a grossly inefficient use of their time. The first selectman did nothing to aid an excellent, patient moderator manage this, and even up to the last moment, when the RTM had already voted, was rumored to be pressing department heads to return for re-restoration proposals. This stretched RTM Rules to the aggravation of even the levelheaded Mike Rae, RTM Finance Committee chairman, who made it quite clear he viewed the RTM was being "abused by blatant lobbying efforts." When the final gavel sounded, the RTM handed back a budget with minimal (perhaps 20 percent) restoration of funds requested. This restrained consideration emerged despite sometimes inappropriately emotional arguments.

So where to from here? The town has to come to terms with pension plans' funding, and especially unaffordable and out-of-date "defined benefit" plans. Similarly, the town's lack of financial forecasting and planning functions is a recipe for budgetary muddle and failure. Given the dimensions and complexities of today's changing municipal financial structures, proper management of forecasting and professional budgeting techniques are an absolute MUST. It is not good enough to spend thousands of dollars on new accounting systems and ignore the planning function. The Five Year Capital Forecasting system is out of date in its presentation and is not an expense-forecasting system. Finally, the entire budget process and review system needs to be examined, as to timetable, levels of review, and surely a better structure for RTM consideration.

Yes. We can do better. We have to do better. But this administration must first recognize, and then address this mess; that is, if there is the will, plus of course the expertise, to actually do it?

Gavin Anderson is a selectman for Westport.