Winooski voters face school budget of $7.38M By John Briggs Free Press Staff Writer Schools, like coffee -- like everything -- cost more year after year, and that's as true in Winooski as it is across the state. March 4, Winooski voters will give a thumbs up or down to a proposed budget of $7.38 million, up 11 percent from current spending of $6.63 million. Residents will face a bigger tax bite with an increase from the current $1.43 to an estimated $1.67 per $100 valuation. School Superintendent Ned Caron said the district, which has pledged to continue existing programs, has to contend with higher costs across the board, from special education needs to more expensive health insurance and rising wages. Caron said that when the School Board began its budget deliberations, the first calculations added up to a 20 percent increase in spending. "We reduced that to 11 percent," he said. Winooski voters approved last year's budget on the first go-round, and Caron is hopeful they will do it again. "I'm optimistic," he said, "because a lot of people are understanding Act 60 much better." In a mailing to Winooski voters, the school district reminded residents that Act 60, the state's education-funding law, benefits the small, blue-collar city. "All taxes raised by both the statewide and local share tax rate remain in Winooski," it said. The mailing also noted that last year, "87 percent of all homeowners received an average school tax prebate of $418.67." "It's not an extravagant budget," Caron said. "We are right in line with what it costs to run a system effectively. Just as parents have seen cost increases, it's unreasonable for a community to expect us to hold down costs when they're outside our control." Municipal budget Finding the dollars to do what needs to be done is as hard for the city as it is for the schools. "We're strapped," City Manager Gerry Myers said. As with the schools, increases in insurance costs and wages have been the chief cause of increased costs, Meyers said. "We've paid $15,000 more each year over the last two years to insure our public buildings," he said, "and health insurance is up 35 percent over that time. "The city has a smaller work force than it did 10 years ago," he added, "but the people-cost far exceeds the cost of 10 years ago." The proposed budget of $3.9 million (with approximately $2.85 million raised through property taxes) is approximately $196,000 higher than last year's budget of $3.7 million. The increased costs will be met with a 9 percent tax increase -- a 10 cent jump from $1.08 to $1.18 per $100 valuation. Meyers said Winooski, which he described as generally "medium and low income and the most densely populated city in the state," faces difficulties as it tries to attract new business and residents, deal with policing issues and improve its housing stock. "The actual dollar increases needed this year in Winooski are not any different than what other communities are facing," Meyers said, "and in some cases much lower. The difference is that other communities are seeing substantial growth to offset the increases. "There's little space to be developed," he added. "How do we grow? There's only one way: up." But high-rise buildings, Meyers said, could change the face of the old city and increase the population density. "We would have to become more urban," he said, "and that's not acceptable to many people." Contact John Briggs at 660-1863 or jbriggs@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com