Andriote Letter Explores Recent History of Town Council and BOE and Budgets

Back in 1995, when I was seeking the nomination for mayor from the Democrats, I stated that the Board of Education had more than $1 million left in their budget at the end of the fiscal year. Members of the BOE stated that the money is encumbered and wasn’t really there. A big deal was made about what I said; it was even in the newspapers. However nobody supported my claim and in the end the BOE only returned $1,000 to the town. Democrats on the Town Council at the time didn’t care what the BOE was doing with the excess money.

I did not receive the nomination; instead it was given to Pat Dougherty a member of the BOE.

From 1995 to 2009, Democrats controlled the Town Council and the BOE. They even played a game with the budget;  ask for $2.2 to $2.8 million and then give the BOE $1 million. That on top of the $1.5 to $2 million left over at the end of the year carried them over into the new fiscal year. The Democratic-controlled Council and the Democratic-controlled BOE were fine with the way things were going. There weren’t any layoffs and the BOE was providing a good education for our children.

In 2009 things changed. Republicans and Independents controlled the Council and Republicans controlled the BOE. The 2009-’10, 2010-’11 and 2011-’12 budgets all were presented with an increase of $1 million or less. They were realistic budgets. Then Mayor Joe would still reduce their budget. Even though the BOE didn’t receive what they asked for, they still survived without any layoffs and still provided a good education for our children.

Now, the Democrats control the mayoral seat and council but Republicans control the BOE. After 17 years of continuing with the same policy the BOE has been doing for those years with their budgets, the Democrats now feel there is a problem with the way the BOE is handling left-over money.

Here we go again; now its politics with the BOE because it’s controlled by the Republicans. Voters of Montville, you can make a difference, even if you don’t believe you can. There are over 9,000 registered voters; only approximately 3,600 come out to vote. Around 2,000 vote Democrat. Out of 9,000 registered voters there are 2,000 deciding your future in this town. Do you now think that the people the 2,000 voters put in office are working for you? Watching the actions of the mayor and this town council, I don’t think so. Elections will not happen for another year and three months. A lot more will probably happen between now and then. I ask when election time does come around, please remember the past and make a special effort to come out and vote, because if enough people vote, a difference can be made.

This country is in a mess. I don’t think we can change that but I do believe we can make changes by starting in our town. But this can only happen if we elect people that don’t play party politics not just take care of their friends. Elect people who care about the town they live in, that’s how change can be made. We can start making changes by getting people out to vote come election time.