Clashes over budgets have led to heightened tensions between the city administration and the School Department this year.

During this year’s budget process, School Committee Chairman Colleen Hilton said the dynamic between the city and the school has felt different to her this year. “It’s a different relationship,” she said.

School Superintendent Stan Sawyer said any tension the city might be feeling from the schools was a result of what he felt were attacks on his budget. He declined to explain how he felt the schools were being attacked.

“I want to work with everyone,” Sawyer said. “But if I’m being attacked or my school system is being attacked, I’m going to defend it.”

Mayor Bruce Chuluda said he did not know of any time where the city administration attacked the School Department or its proposed budget. “I’m not attacking the school,” said Chuluda. “I’m not aware of anyone in my administration attacking the school. If they think I’m trying to single them out, that’s not the case.”

City Administrator Jerre Bryant agreed with Chuluda. “No one’s out to get anybody,” Bryant said. “There’s no hidden agenda. It was put out in November” Bryant said, referring to a memo Chuluda put out last November that some point to as the source of the tension.

The memo to the city and the School Department called for flat funded budgets for 2005-2006.

Both city and school administrators are quick to point out that the city and the School Department have a history of working together closely for the benefit of residents, and both sides are still actively looking for ways to do so.

“Property taxes remain a serious problem for Westbrook,” Chuluda wrote in the memo. “Therefore, I am providing both the schools and the municipal departments with clear, aggressive and timely guidelines for the preparation of their budgets for the upcoming year. Operating expenses are to be kept at current year levels for next year.”

Chuluda said all budgets were to be flat-funded with the only exception being that new debt service would be allowed over and above the budget limit.

In April, School Superintendent Stan Sawyer submitted a $27 million budget to the School Committee, which is an increase of approximately $1.5 million over the current budget. Sawyer said that despite the overall increase, thanks to an increase in state money, the School Department’s budget would require about $400,000 less from local taxpayers.

Sawyer said that it would be impossible for the School Department to meet Chuluda’s mandate for a flat-funded budget because the School Department is facing about $900,000 in contractual increases for salaries and benefits for school staff.

Chuluda said he felt he gave the School Department enough advance notice, and he planned to stick to his call for flat-funded budgets. “I happen to mean what I’ve said,” Chuluda said. “That was the charge that was given to them.”

Bryant said “with plenty of notice,” Chuluda announced his intent to flat fund both the city and school budget. “But that’s not what he got,” Bryant said. “The mayor’s asked for something, and it hasn’t happened.”

Hilton said while the school budget will not be flat funded this year, both the School Committee and the School Department have put the 2005-2006 school budget together with an eye on making it as lean as possible. “We’re not going to deliver a flat budget,” Hilton said. “We’re going to deliver the most responsible budget that we can.”

Sawyer said he believed his budget, while increased over last year’s budget was one that was in the best interest of the taxpayers of Westbrook. He pointed out that he lives in the city, and it is in his personal interest to deliver as lean a budget as possible. “I live in Westbrook and I pay taxes in Westbrook,” Sawyer said.

Chuluda, who exercised his power to line item veto a portion of the budget last year when he disagreed with the City Council, would not discuss the possibility of doing the same thing this year if the budget did not meet his satisfaction. “I’m going to do what I believe is right at the end of the day,” he said.

Despite the fact that all sides feel that there are heightened tensions between the city and School Department, officials from both sides said that once the budget is settled, both sides would be able to continue working together.

Bryant pointed out that the School Department and the city have been aggressively seeking cooperation in the last couple of years. “I don’t think there has ever been the level of cooperation that there is today,” Bryant said. “And it’s going to continue to grow.”

Recently, the city and school have teamed up to share services such as custodial and building maintenance service and information technology departments, and both sides continue to look for ways to collaborate to save money and make operations run more efficiently.

“I think we’ve got a great relationship,” Chuluda said. “We’ve tried to do a lot of things together. I’d like to think there’s a cooperative effort there.”

“I think this whole consolidation between the city and the school has passed considerable savings onto the taxpayer,” said Sawyer.

Hilton said that from her perspective, she was confidant that there would be no lasting harm to the relationship because of the current tensions over the budget. “I don’t feel that there are any adversarial relationships out there,” Hilton said. “I do feel there’s a nice positive working relationship with the City Council.”