There is a multi-step process to establishing a budget in
The Common Council sets a maximum limit for city spending. This is commonly referred to as the “cap”.
Each city department, and the Board of Education, present their proposed budget to the Board of Estimate and Taxation (BET).
The BET determines the amount of money each city department will get, and they determine how much money the Board of Education will get. The sum of these amounts – city departments plus Board of Education – must be equal to or lower than the cap set by the Common Council.
The Common Council can recommend, but cannot mandate, how the BET distributes money among city departments and the Board of Education.
The BET and the Common Council have authority to mandate changes to “line items” in the budget for each city department.
Neither the BET nor the Common Council has authority to mandate changes to “line items” in the Board of Education budget.
How is this information helpful in understanding the current budget process?
The Board of Education needs a 6.23% increase in its budget to have the exact same educational program as it had last year. This includes teachers, administrators, aides, academics, athletics, insurance, utilities, and extra curricular activities. This 6.23% amount to maintain services is very similar to Board of Education budgets in area towns, across the
When they established the cap on city spending, the Common Council assumed a 3.8 % increase in the Board of Education’s budget. This amount can only be described as catastrophic to the educational process in
The Common Council can raise the cap, if 10 members vote to do so.
Based on the last vote, 6 of the following Common Council members would need to change their vote. Please contact them and urge them to do so.
| Name | Telephone | email | |
| Joanne T. Romano | 642-4856 | R | |
| Michael W. Coffey | 849-9404 | D | |
| Herbert A. Grant | 866-8968 | D | |
| Richard A. McQuaid | 838-0454 | R | |
| Carvin J. Hilliard | 866-4284 | D | |
| Phyllis Bolden | 642-4186 | D | |
| Fred A. Bondi | 853-0793 | D | |
| Nicholas D. Kydes | 846-4295 | R | |
| William M. Krummel | 853-7147 | D | |
| Kelly L. Straniti | 642-4549 | R | |
| Douglas E. Hempstead | 846-1054 | R |
