Unacceptable – 4/15/2009

Posted by Bob on April 15, 2009 under Daily Blogs | Be the First to Comment

The recent articles in the Waterbury Republican-American regarding irregularities in the Board of Education audit report are very concerning.  At a time when millions of Americans and thousands of Naugatuck citizens are struggling to make ends meet, learning that local officials are not properly accounting for taxpayer dollars is simply unacceptable.

The Board of Education is a FIFTY SIX MILLION DOLLAR-plus corporation.  State statutes give all Connecticut boards of education complete autonomy over how funds are spent.  Such autonomy does not mean that taxpayers do not have the right to know how dollars are spent.

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) law requires government entities to disclose all matters of public record not specifically exempt by the act.  Required disclosure includes the most basic right of taxpayers: the right to know how and why dollars are being used.  The lack of transparency disclosed in the audit report will result in further suspicion by taxpayers concerned that the Board of Education is already bloated and not held to high standards of accountability.

Years ago the Borough spent hundreds of thousands of dollars defending a charter change which appointed the mayor as a full voting member of the Board of Education.  The goal was to increase cooperation between Town Hall and education officials and provide for better accountability.  While relations between the Board of Mayor and Burgesses and Board of Education have improved some over the years, administrators working at the Tuttle Building still are allowed to operate without the level of transparency necessary for effective government.

I realize that everyone’s job is difficult, and assigning blame without knowledge and further investigation is counterproductive to solving problems.  The reality is, however, that Board of Education officials are being paid significant tax dollars to preserve the public trust.  Educating students in the twenty-first century is a complicated and expensive business.  When taxpayers believe that those in charge of this task are not managing finances in accordance with common business and accounting practices, this difficult job becomes even harder.

The time for making our local government fully transparent is long overdue.   The ability to provide citizens with access to information has never been easier.  There is no reason why taxpayers should not be able to see the “public checkbook”, and certainly no excuse for not referencing for what checks are being written.

Drafting budgets is a long and difficult task, but managing the FIFTY SIX MILLION DOLLARS-plus Board of Education budget and the almost FORTY SEVEN MILLION DOLLAR municipal budget is just as if not more important.  It is time for those in charge to open the books and restore the public trust in local government.