The 2025 Town of Middletown Budget Proposal was developed by the administration after months of consultation with each of the Town’s departments during which proposals were discussed and evaluated for levels of necessity. The result was a compilation of compromises.
There are two major aspects in budgeting that everyone who manages their finances successfully should recognize: first, reasonable identification of required expenses (the needs) with desirable additions (the wants), and then, the amount of funding that would reasonably be available.
In public funding, reasonable is defined as what the traffic will bear. In other words, to what extent will the taxpayers be willing to accept increases?
There will always be disagreement about the equitability of tax assessment. No one wants to see taxes increase. Responsible management considers differences and makes decisions that are the fairest to the community as a whole, evaluating such elements as desirable locations, variations of private interest (ex: short vs long term vs family rentals) or profitability (commerce).
A healthy and vibrant community is not only measured by its economic viability but also by the enjoyment of the area by all its residents – the people who live here – the wealthy, the middle-class, and those who struggle.
It’s important to bear in mind that a community is not just an every-man-for-himself entity but that we are all a part of the whole. As such, we have a responsibility to pay our fair share – not an equal share (although each of our residents is equally valuable) because the circumstances of all those who make up a community are not the same – but one based on a reasonable comparison of property value and usage.
These are the premises that should guide the development of responsible budgetary management and these same guidelines should determine budgetary allocations.
The time for advocacy is during budget preparation when, unfortunately, not all voices can be heard. Advocates for additional funding near the end of the process must realize that the bottom line will not change. Their successful advocacy would require a deficit elsewhere. In other words, for one petitioner to get more, someone else would get less. Where would the funding come from – without raising taxes?
In short, everyone needs to understand that budgeting is a complicated community enterprise – with everyone sharing the responsibility. The bottom line is that no one can have more at the expense of another.
Barbara A. VonVillas