hard deadlines

The Portsmouth Town Council and School Committee met this evening with Town administration and School Department leadership to discuss priorities and issues going into the 2008 budget season. In the two hours of wide-ranging discussion, one core theme emerged: the town's fund balance. Long a worry for the town, (since bond rating agencies look to this as a marker of fiscal health) the target is 8% of expenditures (about $4M) but currently, the fund only has about a quarter of that.

"We need to make putting money back in fund balance a priority, not a goal," said Council President Dennis Canario.

Town Finance Director Dave Faucher noted that the current budget put $130K into the fund balance, but still worried that it might not be enough to reassure the rating agencies. That left the Council and school committee facing some difficult decisions in the upcoming budget, constrained by the Paiva-Weed cap to an increase of 5% on the levy.

Town Administrator Bob Driscoll presented a memo with some key assumptions: Exceeding the cap is unlikely, the school budget is expected to come in at maximum, and state aid may actually decline. So the town side of the budget will be under significant stress.

Driscoll noted that capital expenditures — from road paving to new police cars — had been repeatedly deferred in prior budgets. "That's what we've had to do these past few years," said Driscoll. "But you can't put those expenses off forever. Right now, this is the point where it's caught up to us."

That led into a discussion of funding sources. Grants, user fees, and even selling town properties are all on the table.

Councilor Huck Little asked specifically about the old Coggeshall School, now used by the Aquidneck Christian Academy. "Can we divide off the ballfields and sell the school," he asked. When Driscoll answered yes, Little said, "I think we ought to take a look at that as soon as possible."

But Councilor Gleason objected. "I'm in favor of saving Coggeshall School," she said, proposing instead that they should take a look at Elmhurst. "We're talking about property value," she said. "Elmhurst has more property value for the town."

Superintendent Sue Lusi reminded the Council that a new facilities committee had been formed, led by Michael Buddemeyer, to evaluate all the school buildings, and suggested waiting on any decision about Elmhurst.

Several members of the Council wanted to know when the results of the school performance audit would be available, and if it would inform the upcoming school budget. Lusi replied that the report was due in mid-March, and how much could be implemented in the current budget was an open question. "It depends on the recommendation and the series of steps to get there," she said. "We are obligated to transmit our budget to Town by March 25. If we get [the audit results] by March 15, that's not a lot of time."

There was another go-round on the school warrants, with a rehash of the decision by the Council to pick up the technology warrant this year, and the School Department the building warrant. Regionalization of school functions was also brought up, with several folks looking forward to some hard numbers from the performance audit to settle the "folklore" of savings through consolidation.

Nonetheless, both Bob Driscoll and school Finance Director Chris Tague noted areas in which regionalization was already delivering benefits: Health insurance, energy, office supplies, and regional transportation. "There's a lot of good we can develop for the Portsmouth taxpayer short of consolidation," said Driscoll.

And while the fund balance kept returning to the discussion, there was also room for some pie-in-the-sky dreaming. Noting the hopes pinned on the school audit, Councilor Len Katzman asked Driscoll to consider the possibility as well. "See if you could try to work into our budget a performance audit on the town side," said Katzman.

Echoing Canario's description of the fund balance as a priority, Driscoll said with a wry twist, "That's a goal."

All in all, a congenial meeting on which there seemed to be more agreement than disagreement, discounting some inevitable sniping about the warrants. I think we should feel really lucky to have a Council and School Committee that work together as well as they do. These are difficult times, and it helps if everyone is rowing in the same direction.

Oh, and I have to add one note. There were only three people in the audience tonight, not counting reporters. And all three of them were seen chatting with PCC President Larry Fitzmorris. You know who else was seen doing just the same thing? Why take a gander at the picture below. After the meeting, Larry and Tailgunner Gleason spent several minutes in conversation in the Council chambers. And this is not the first time.