Politics & Government

The Bottom Line: The Town of East Haddam's Financial Numbers

A letter from Paul L. Maxwell, Chairman of the East Haddam Board of Finance, providing the town's bottom line from the audit report ending June 2011.

Dear Ms. Vincent,

I have been reading with interest the back and forth among some of your readers regarding the Town of East Haddam's finances. Without taking sides in the discussion I thought I would pass on to your some FACTUAL information gleaned from the audit report just delivered to the town by its auditors, Blum, Shapiro for the period ended 6/30/2011:

The Town's general fund balance increased by $677,000. Consolidated capital reserves increased from $3.3 million to $4.6 million. Total funds on hand at year end totaled $16.5 million, up $4.6 million from the end of the prior year.

Find out what's happening in The Haddams-Killingworthwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The town's reserves are generally used to fund purchases of open space, construction of projects like the new middle school and to buy large capital items like fire trucks. Occasionally, reserves are used to mitigate temporary revenue declines, anemic grand list growth, and declining interest rates, allowing the town to fund its schools and critical town services  without resorting to large tax increases. In fact, we have used reserves for that purpose during the recent recession, using tax dollars already paid by the town citizen's rather than asking them for more when they themselves were making do with less.  Nevertheless, the towns capital reserves and total general fund are at a higher level today that they were at the end of fiscal 2007, the beginning of the recession. 

This information can be easily confirmed with the town's finance department and will be published on the town's website when the audit report is accepted by the Board of Finance at it's December meeting.

Find out what's happening in The Haddams-Killingworthwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Paul L. Maxwell

Chairman, East Haddam Board of Finance

 


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