JASON ZANDRI
As I look at the calendar, I realize that I am writing my last piece for 2009 (my counterpart, Steve Knight, has the reigns for the December 27th publication).
In thinking back over 2009, I realize just how difficult a year it was for Wallingford (and the rest of the world, for that matter) with respect to the economy. Clearly, this recession has been the worst economic event since the Great Depression.
Opinion may be that the major decline is over and we are seeing growth in some sectors; however, some of us remember that in the more recent recessions of 80-82 and 90-91, Connecticut didn’t recover in the same way as the rest of the country. A fair portion of our manufacturing jobs disappeared to different parts of the globe. When the economy rebounded, Connecticut was behind the curve. It did replace jobs, but with lower-paying, service-oriented professions that are more susceptible to recessions because while manufacturing declines during a recession, service-oriented professions are hit worse as people will simply cut back or stop using them altogether.
I fear this recovery will be no different for Connecticut.
A recession is now often defined simply as a period when GDP falls (negative real economic growth) for at least two consecutive quarters.
As Wallingford enters 2010, there may well be more deepening of the impact of the current recession as it formally ends (the US did have one quarter of slight expansion; all we need is one more and from a technical standpoint the recession is over).
The state is running a deficit, and cuts are coming to programs that were otherwise expecting to see state funds.
Wallingford’s School System has already indicated that this upcoming year will be one of the tightest budget years ever due to reductions in state funding, and that certain items in their budgets that are already running in the red with less than half the school year gone.
Several neighboring towns have already indicated that tax-collecting is down, and while every town has a certain buffer built in for expected arrearages, they all admit that despite adding to that buffer for this upcoming tax year, it may well be that they underestimated the total impact.
All of this means that unless town services (some of which are already bare bones) can find ways to leverage new ways of doing things that return a total lower cost, residents may find themselves doing without those services or paying more for them.
Since some services cannot be done away with, the latter will most likely be the case. Compound that with revaluation and what this means is more taxes for residents, many of whom are struggling to pay as it is.
The incoming Town Council certainly has a daunting task in front of it in finding ways to balance all of this. I believe they are up to the task. I believe that as difficult of a recovery as this may be over the next 12 to 24 months, residents of Wallingford will do just that – recover (gracefully, I might add).
In spite of all of this difficulty, residents of Wallingford have come together for the Wallingford Emergency Shelter, Masters Manna, Animal Shelter and other organizations as they’ve needed help.
In the worst economic period since the Great Depression, citizens of this town dig in, push forward, and ask “what else ya got?“ (They understand that “this, too, shall pass.”)
2010 is not going to be an easier year, at least not at first, but it should get easier as the year moves forward.
It will seem easier simply due to the willingness of neighbors and strangers to not let something as big as a recession keep them from being good citizens and doing the right things.
This is the Wallingford I love most.
