Killington Select candidates answer questions (continued): KPAA Q&A from audience (summarized):

Question by Vito Rasenas: In reference to the budget, do you see any cost savings, any increases in efficiency, or increase in revenue that would help ease tax increases? How do you propose to solve our capital funding problem?

Jim Haff started by explaining that the residential and non residential tax rate in the Town Report is wrong to begin with.

“The total residential tax rate is wrong,” he said. “If you’ve already calculated how much you will owe based on page 17, you need to add another 40 cents to the total tax rate at the bottom of page 17.” He explained that the total only included the Education Property Tax adjusted for the Common Level of Appraisal (CLA) —1.6383 for residential and 1.5759 for non-residential— which did not add in the 0.4051 town tax rate.

The total tax rate would then be 2.0434 for residential and 1.981 for non-residential. This represents an increase of .0035 per $100 of property value for residential property tax, and nearly a 10-cent increase per $100 for non-residential properties (.0994)—including businesses.

This isn’t something that anyone has yet considered, Haff said, as he just pointed the mistake out to the town manager before the meeting on Monday, and no one else seems to have caught this mistake. “A 10-cent increase for businesses is a huge deal,” Haff said.

Haff said that mistakes like this, new numbers appearing and disappearing from the golf debt, in addition to FEMA debt (the “chapters missing” from the town budget) leads him to say “I don’t believe we have a real budget.” Therefore, he said he is voting “no” on the budget.

“But, I just want to provide the correct numbers that are out there and let the people decide,” he concluded.

Jay Hickory agreed with Haff. “It pains me to do so,” he said, which elicited a chuckle from the audience. Hickory added, “I think the budget was poorly planned by the town manager. I will vote ‘no’ on the budget.”

Kelly Lange said she thinks the budget needs to be “more transparent and understandable.” She said there were departments that could probably find more efficiencies and would look to the departments themselves to find them.

She also suggested that the town pursue additional revenue sources by way of grants, citing funding for recreational activities and sidewalks as examples of potential state funding. “This is something that we’d have to put time and energy into … Economic stimulation comes and goes and changes, so it has to be continually monitored.”

Question by Andrea Weymouth: If the budget were to be voted down, what would you cut and/or reallocate? 

Hickory reiterated that he’d “look to all departments to see what could be cut,” suggesting that savings could be transferred into a capital fund. “I’m not saying that cuts will lower tax rate,” he said. He also reiterated that it’s hard to answer such questions specifically with the budget in its current state. “It’s an embarrassment. I’m not sure how long it’s been since a town report has been this poor.”

Lange said that she also couldn’t name specific cuts, but said she thinks “the departments have already been asked to look at costs, but more can always be done.”

Lange said that if voted down, she would focus on how the budget is presented.

“The first step is a cleaner presentation,” she said.

Haff also said it was hard to identify specifics since “we haven’t had an accurate budget with all the financials in it for the past six years.”

He then pointed to page 13 of the town report where it shows the grand list breakdown.

“Of the total $7,826,757.60, non-homesteads make up $6,552,539.97, whereas homesteads only amount to $738,274.40 of the total taxable property. We’re less than 10 percent of the total budget,” he said.

That means that 90 percent of the properties in Killington will see a nearly 10-cent increase in their total tax rate.

Question by Andrea Weymouth: The golf course is only used six months a year, but its costs (particularly wages) run the full year. Is there a way to reduce expenses? Should the town consider selling the golf course or leasing it to a management company?

Lange answered, “I think all options are on the table,” citing winter recreation as an area for obvious growth potential. With regards to cuts, she said it “all has to be evaluated. Salary included,” but cautioned that it was “premature to say where we should end up.”

Haff further explained what the town had been through previously. “Brown Consulting came in and gave the town four options. We chose one; it’s not working,” he said. “We should go back to that report, look at the options and choose another.”

He said we “need to hire the right people to do the right thing,” suggesting that the town might hire a CPA to take on the books for about $15,000 per year.

He also reiterated his opinion that “in order to get four-season use out of the golf course, it needs to be part of the recreation department.” He reminded folks that the golf course was voted in to be an enterprises fund, but that it can’t pay the bond, it can’t pay its bills, and it can’t even pay its own costs.

“We need to bring the golf course fully into the town and forget about it being an enterprise fund,” he said.

Hickory said, “Selling the golf course is probably one of the worst ideas. You can hardly give away golf courses these days.”

Hickory fully believes with the right investment the course will become a huge town asset. But he added that the golf course needs a good manager, “who will find a way to make as much money as possible.”

Question emailed from unidentified resident: What are your thoughts about the fire department plans for the new building proposal?

Haff said he was for the purchase of the property for the fire department. “We were told we needed one, so the question is how we’re going to fund it,” he said, adding again that the town needs to get its financials in order so as to set budget priorities.

Hickory, who volunteered for the fire department for several years, agreed that a new one is needed, that the current space is inadequate and that it is “good to close on land,” as it is a “decent location” for a new station. However, he also said that “at this time, I can’t actually say I would want to try to fund that fire station … the money is not there and it’s not going to be there for a couple of years.”

Lange said the town and fire department need to “discuss needs vs. wants” with regard to the design of the new station so as to keep costs reasonable. 

Lange also brought up the issue of ensuring that there would be enough volunteers for the department.

Question by Vince Chiarella: How do you propose to get the books [town financials] back to a point where everyone is happy with them and they are understandable?

Hickory said, “I think we need a leader. We need a competent town manager that actually does what a town manager is supposed to do. I think that might get rid of some of our problems; a lot of our problems, actually.”

Lange pointed out that “this hasn’t been a one year issue … Some of it is how it’s been carried over.” She suggested we get “back to basics” and while bringing someone in to sort out the books is probably a good idea, “ultimately, the town manager does need to be the one to do the budget.”

“I believe it starts at the Select Board level,” Haff said. “They’ve left it to the town manager.”

He continued, “Everyone says the town manager is at fault for this book, but it’s not all her fault. She’s also finding things ... money issues, finding new debts.”

Haff suggested the town get a complete audit to get back on track.

Question emailed from unidentified resident: How would your personality and management style benefit the town?

Lange said she has had a lot of experience listening to all sides of issues, getting all of the information possible and more often than not, coming up with a compromise. When a compromise is not possible, at least the board should be able to explain the issues clearly and leave it to voters. “There are lots of strong personalities in my job,” she said. “Understanding differing positions creates respect and allows us to move forward.”

“My management style …” Haff said, laughing. “Look, I read the book, I know where the [town] finances are … I just have a problem with the numbers. Numbers don’t lie.”

He added that the town and Select Board “need to agree on them so that we can move this town forward.”

Haff also said that when he ran a profitable brokering company, “most of my employees loved me. I’m black and white,” he said. “Do a good job, I’ll say you did a good job. Do a bad job, and I’ll say you made a bad choice.”

Hickory said, “I’m pretty no nonsense,” adding that he’d lead with “common sense.”

“If it quacks, it’s probably a duck,” he added for emphasis.