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To the Editor:

The proposed town budget has stirred up a lot of opinions, mostly centered on a single number: 6.6% increase. Op-Eds featuring fiscal conservatism abound, and town hall forums focus on either the size of the increase or individual special interests. These objections are heartfelt, and many have merit and should be considered – but no one seems to have actually read the budget.

While Town Manager Rick Ledwith, Town Council, and the team at Town Hall have gone to great lengths to be transparent, opening discussion after discussion, it’s hard for anyone to read 499 pages of proposed budgeting. That said, when you read it and attend the meetings – I went to two and streamed the others – it’s much easier to thank Superintendent Paul Vicinus and Mr. Ledwith’s thankless work on this budget rather than castigate, recognizing the thoughtfulness and sensibility of what it takes to make this town one of the top places to live in the country.

Start with the numbers – 6.6% is the proposed budget increase, with a mill rate increase of 6.5%. Nearly 60% of the budget is schools, paid for with property and vehicle taxes, so the easiest place to start with any analysis is the largest portion of spend. Here, what you’ll find is a 7% increase in spending ($14.9m), but in reality, only $62,784 of that spending is purely discretionary (“Superintendent choices”). The rest is long-term negotiated contracts with unions (multiple!), vendors, providers, and previously agreed budgets for capital improvements. This year, the actual increase to the school budget proposed isn’t 7% – it’s 0.03%. Just for the sake of understanding the return on that spend, Conard High School was just named the top high school in Connecticut, the school system ranks in the top 2% of all public schools nationally, and the education is on par with (at worst) your average private school. But in contrast, your average private school in Connecticut is $28,443 per student according to the Education Data Initiative. A home with an assessed value of $550,000 and two vehicles assessed at $20,000 is paying $15,647 per year to the school system here no matter how many students attend. If you have two kids, you saved effectively 72% on a private school level education by sending your kids to a West Hartford school.

So what about the rest of the budget, the other 40%? The largest discretionary spending portion went to police operations for new cellphones and weapons upgrades. In fact, overall, according to my layperson analysis, discretionary spending increased just 1.4% year over year for the entire budget and was largely centered on things everyone agrees are useful: safety, necessary equipment upgrades, and community.

Our town is not without its problems. We certainly spend money on things I’m not sure I totally agree with, but that is to be expected in literally any town everywhere in the country. Mostly I think, “would I be better off elsewhere,” and the answer is always “no.” So I want to take a moment and agree with our town leaders who have helped make West Hartford one of the best places to live anywhere for families, period. They are a reflection of all of us and our priorities writ large. No one likes paying taxes, but if you look at where the money goes as a receipt, this is one of the few places in the country where I would happily pay more.

Matt Moscardi, father of three kids in West Hartford

PS – To those who are interested, I built an html calculator where you can input how much you pay for property or vehicle tax and it shows you exactly where your money goes. Click here to open in any desktop browser.