The Hidden Cost of Low Tax Increases: Enfield’s Shrinking Fund Balance

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Whoever wins Tuesday’s election may soon wish they hadn’t. The new Town Council will inherit a budget crisis shaped by two converging forces: a new property revaluation and a dangerously depleted fund balance — the town’s financial cushion for emergencies and unexpected costs. How Did We Get Here?  Over the past two years, the Republican-controlled council has drawn at least $13.6 million from the fund balance to keep tax increases low.  What Is the Fund Balance? The unassigned fund balance consists of unspent money from department budgets and revenues that exceed expectations. In municipal budgeting, it serves as a safety net — covering unexpected emergencies such as sewer failures, and lawsuits. It can also be used strategically to soften tax increases, especially in revaluation years. The key word is strategically. Using reserves occasionally makes sense. Draining them year after year — especially before a revaluation — does not. What Happened Over the Past Two Years At the...
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The three phases of climate change conversion

Bushnell Park, Hartford, May, 2019

Unless you live on the shore, climate change in Connecticut isn't all that noticeable. Spring still seems like a spring. A little wetter, perhaps, but people don't associate an increase in precipitation with a changing climate.

The most noticeable impact may winter's polar vortex. Polar air that is otherwise blocked off by the jet stream breaks free and plunges south. But our single digit cold is nothing like what the people in the Midwest experience. Most people don't consider these low temperatures far outside the usual.

But awareness that something is changing is arriving, slowly still.

The average person who truly understands what's happening goes through a life-altering climate change conversion that comes in three phases.

First, they may be aware of the issue, recognize it's something of problem, and generally agree on the need to end use of fossil fuels. They may even know what the Keeling Curve is. But it's not an urgent issue. The TV meteorologists rarely mention it. 

The second phase of this conversion involves a growing awareness. They are learning more about coral reef declines. They notices the headlines about fish migration to colder waters and the threats to species. The flooding and fires has their attention. They realize Miami won't survive rising waters, and they begin to do some serious reading. Their interest deepens.

What happens next -- the climate change conversion -- happens in a moment and hits with horrifying force and visceral fear. They now understand how serious it is and what it means for the future. It changes how they see the world each and every day and they are now sick with fear over what the children will face. They get the Green New Deal, and wonder if it's anywhere near enough. America is still somewhere in phase one, if that.

Once you have this climate change conversion, nothing will seem the same again. A good spring day no longer seems like just a nice day. It seems like something very precious and on the verge of being lost for good. 

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