The Benefits of the Groton CT Town Charter Revision – 2018

Here is an article written to me by Doctor Genevieve Cerf, an Engineer and former member of both the Groton RTM and Town Council.

Her credentials include a BS in Physics-Astronomy from CT College, a Masters in EE (Electrical Engineering) and CS (Computer Science) as well as a PhD in EE, both from Columbia University where she taught as an Assistant Professor. She then worked at Verizon for 23 years in Artificial Intelligence Research and as a Systems Architect designing and building web-based systems.  After moving back to Groton in 2000, she served as Treasurer for Groton Open Space Association, plus 3 terms on the RTM  and 2 budget seasons for the Town Council.  She learned that it takes time to learn the process, and believes a 4 year term is far more productive than just a 2 year term in office.

Dr. Cerf makes a good, detailed case for the use of a New Finance Committee while replacing the RTM and allowing us, as Groton Taxpayers, to now actually exercise our right to vote on the Town and School Budgets.

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Statement on Groton Town Charter Revision – by Genevieve Cerf , PHD– Oct. 31, 2018

I totally support the Charter Revision proposal to be voted upon by the public on Tuesday Nov. 6 2018. It is far preferable to our current Charter for many reasons.

Groton citizens worry about a good education for their kids, good municipal services, good planning and zoning to maintain the beauty of the town, all this while maintaining affordable taxes.

My suggestions involve saving money through greater efficiency of our multiple systems and processes, and NOT cutting vital funds for Education and Town Services.

It would take pressure OFF the critical budgets, and our money wouldn’t be wasted, if we have a Finance Board to do the painstaking  research and analyze data necessary to make a big difference to our budget and to Groton’s future.

I advocate local control and support local Groton Fire Districts who bring invaluable support to their neighborhoods, but would advocate sometimes giving up control for cost benefits, such as using the state-wide broadband network, joining a state-wide insurance pool, etc.

The need for BUDGET REFERENDUM:

Cost of Living affects our salaries,  our expenses and our property values.  There is no reason our town budget should be running 3-4 percentage points higher than the annual increase in the Cost of Living (COLA). Mathematically and materially, it is UNSUSTAINABLE.  This is why we need an annual referendum on the budget itself  for the wisdom of the crowds!

In Groton, there has been too much bending of the RTM and Town Council to the notions of what constitutes emergency “must-have” spending by  public officials.  its only natural that they would ask for more than they might get, so they build in possible cuts to their individual budget accounts. If they don’t have to get the cuts, they will add exponentially to what they will ask for in the following year. This is logical and not a direct criticism of our officials. However it is very frustrating to see the RTM and Town Council fail to push back in many cases.

There was a recent, expensive example of oversight by the RTM and even the Council. Last year, the State advised that they would be cutting $5 million off of the budget. The Town officials built this loss into the budget, raising taxes accordingly. Then later, the State DIDN’T cut the $5 million. The Town didn’t refund that money to the taxpayers, but kept it in the next year’s budget. One former state official referred to this as “double dipping.”

A separate Board of Finance would have caught such a mistake.

HOW WE CAN SAVE MONEY WITHOUT CUTTING ANYTHING WE WANT –( especially education ) ? ?

Answer – GET A FINANCE BOARD, to specialize in the following:

1. Research into Cost Cutting for basic functions: There are many opportunities for cost cutting at both the regional and the state levels. The Ct Council of Municipalities (CCM) is an invaluable asset (check their website http://www.ccm-ct.org/ ) There are opportunities to buy supplies in bulk by joining forces with some of the other municipalities – we do this for oil already. The state is already working on getting us better contracts with insurance companies, based on the same principle, which is that the more business we can give them collectively, the better our rates will be.

1. Develop Deep Expertise in Financial Systems: I was impressed with both the proficiency and good will of town employees and the surprising expertise of many  volunteers who serve on our Boards and Commissions.  By virtue of their longevity on their committees, many of the volunteers have developed really superior knowledge and experience.  A Finance Board with the potential to develop this kind of expertise with our budget and processes would be equally invaluable.

1. Modernize Our Software Systems.  The Town previously started a large effort to review our 200+ different software systems, many of which were no longer supported by the original vendors. Most of these systems would have required tossing almost everything out and starting over, a multi-million dollar proposition. Additionally, there weren’t many vendors who offered what we needed because the market for municipal software is limited. When I spoke to a CCM director, he told me we could do better if we regionalized purchasing these kinds of systems. A Finance Board would be indispensable in evaluating different systems, vendors, and costs, plus calculating amortization and maintenance costs going into the next 10 years which is the usual life cycle of critical software systems.

Finally, we need to recognize the major change in our ability to now receive accurate information.

The RTM was developed in the 1950’s in order for citizens, acting as our representatives, to receive information that was not easily available to the public.  Now, over 60 years later, we live in a computer age where citizens can use their laptops at home to read the Town Budget, the Charter, the minutes of Council meetings and news events from all over the world. We can now also watch world news and local Town Council meetings both live and recorded on our home TV sets. We are thus able to thoroughly educate ourselves on major issues. We no longer need this information to be filtered to us through a separate government organization….we can see everything for ourselves.

So, in summary, we need:

• An annual referendum  for both school & town budgets, allowing citizens to educate themselves and vote directly on how their money will be spent.
• The addition of a 7 person (for 7 districts) volunteer Finance Board, voted into office, which would develop expertise in areas where it would be time-consuming for Town staff or where Town staff is not qualified, as well as in our budget and accounting systems. The Finance Board should provide FACTS and COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS, with recommendations, NOT take away local control of the things dear to the heart of Groton citizens.

.    Elimination of the RTM, but still maintaining the volunteer Town Council and paid Town Manager system of Government, with 4 year terms in office for the Council and Finance Board members.

submitted by Genevieve Cerf, PHD     via Edward Johnson, part-time Journalist