Editor's note: A plan to create a stronger budget committee will be subject to a townwide vote Tuesday. To inform you on the issue, Patch is running a series of editorials both for and against the plan. Below are two editorial against the plan. Yesterday, we ran an editorial for the plan.
EDITORIAL #1
By Paula Francese
The impact of this vote on Exeter could be far reaching. The results of the vote could affect the structure of our town government, the balance of power between our elected officials, department personnel and those who determine the budget as well as the specific processes by which budgets are created and how our tax revenues are spent.
Parents of elementary school children should be especially aware that the proposed changes will significantly change how the budgets are created for the Main and Lincoln Street schools.
The institution of a Budget Committee would redefine the role of the selectmen. Under the current organization of town government, the members of the Budget Recommendations Committee annually perform due diligence concerning the town’s budget and make non-
binding recommendations to the Board of Selectmen. The budget is then presented to the voters by the Board of Selectmen following their deliberations.
An official Budget Committee is a significantly different arrangement. The budget that is presented to the voters originates from the Budget Committee rather than the Board of Selectmen. The twelve members of the Budget Committee (a voting majority -- 67 percent -- of whom might be put in place immediately following the warrant article vote on Oct. 25 with no further democratic action) would have binding authority to micro-manage town offices and departments and in the process supersede the authority now vested in the Board of Selectmen.
Further, “the total amount appropriated, including amounts appropriated in separate and special warrant articles, cannot exceed the total recommended by the budget committee by more than 10 percent. In the case where the budget is proposed by the governing body (i.e. the Board of Selectmen) voters are not bound by the 10 percent limitation” (RSA 32:18).
In other words, the Budget Committee has the statutory authority
to mandate a maximum 10% cap on any increases to the overall annual budget.
Among the many undesirable consequences of this proposed change to our town government structure is the awkward separation between authority and responsibility. Town officials and staff would have the responsibility of carrying out the town’s business without the authority to develop their own budgets in cooperation with the Board of Selectmen.
Imagine yourself running a department or an entire business under conditions where there is a board that makes budget decisions, consulting with you very little or not at all, with carte blanche authority to second guess you. You have the obligation to perform the duties specified for your position but you have little or no control over the resources needed to meet those obligations. The members of that board have the last word. At best it could be frustrating and time-consuming; at worst it could be obstructive and counterproductive.
On an even more egregious level, according to the RSA statute, should the bottom line be overspent (which could conceivably happen in the case of emergency) or expenditures not be recorded properly through human error, the Budget Committee would have the specific authority to petition the superior court for removal of the responsible official(s).
In other words, should the members of the Budget Committee contest actions of the Board of Selectmen, the Committee would have the ability to petition the New Hampshire courts to have one or more elected officials removed from office (RSA 32:23). This is an extreme
scenario and most likely would only be implemented in the case of fraud or serious negligence; however, the point stands that the statute allows for this possibility.
Next consider the impact on the Exeter Elementary School District. As Katherine Miller, a school board member, wrote in a letter to the editor in the January 28, 2011 Exeter News-Letter, unbeknownst to those who drafted the original petitions, the Budget Committee
would have the authority and duty to develop the budget for the Exeter Elementary School District. This responsibility would no longer be performed by the dedicated and well-informed individuals elected to serve on the school board.
To quote Miller, “the town Budget Committee would remove the School Board’s role in developing the budget.” It is possible that one or more of the four additional seats on the Budget Committee could be taken by members of the school board. However, the fact remains that the autonomy of the budget process for the Exeter School District would be significantly curtailed.
While the current School Board is focused on providing a top notch education for Exeter’s elementary school students at a reasonable cost to the taxpayers, those who are not equipped to fully grasp the complexities of the school budgeting process could end up compromising the quality of education at our two elementary schools.
At a time when there is a call for less government in our lives, Exeter voters are being asked to add another layer of bureaucratic complexity. In addition, Exeter voters are being asked to radically change the structure of our government -- all at once -- without due consideration of the consequences.
It is naïve to suggest that there are no problems with our current
form of government. However there are options available to deal with these issues: stay informed, get involved, attend meetings, run for elected office yourself or convince others to run; vote for those you feel are better qualified and vote out those you feel are not
meeting the town’s needs.
If the players aren’t to your liking, our democratic form of
government allows for turnover. A change in town government structure is radical and unnecessary.
Whatever your opinion is on the establishment of a Budget Committee, please attend the deliberative session tomorrow, ask questions, demand cogent answers and exercise the right to voice your opinion by voting on Oct. 25
The full text of RSA 32 is available at www.nhlgc.org.
Paula Francese has been a resident of Exeter since 1995.
EDITORIAL #2
By Eileen Flockhart
When preparing a budget as complex and over reaching as that for the town and ourschools, having intelligent and well-considered input is critical.
We have those supports in place with our advisory committees each having the expertise needed to state their needs. Adding another bureaucratic layer to this for a town our size is counterproductive to say the least.
The present system allows for citizens to voice concerns to these committees and they in turn make recommendations. It works and does not need fixing.
Please vote on Oct. 25 against the proposed elected Municipal Budget Committee article and the following article which nominates and elects eight citizen members without any indication of appropriate due process of open elections.
Keep Exeter simple and accessible to all citizens.
Eileeen Flockhart is an Exeter resident and former state representative.
