The Administration of our town presented the Town Meeting Reps with a very large project. The Reps accepted the project, in 2012, though for many Reps it never sat well. There are more than a few reasons for that. Since that time the economy and financial problems of the town have continued to worsen. Many Town Reps, talking to friends and neighbors, came to believe that that the town as a whole was not in favor of this project. 56 Town Reps signed a petition to allow the citizens themselves to weigh in. More might have signed had they all been contacted. Only four days were left when organizing began.
You know the results. The Reps were justified. The voters overwhelmingly said STOP THE PROJECT.
Three Selectboard members then said: since you will not accept our budget with the project included we will take it out and 5% more besides.
But no one said anything about 5 more percent. It was not part of the vote. There is no evidence that this is what anyone wanted.
I can’t say what exactly every voter had in mind when they went to the polls. I do know that taxes for too many of us are too high relative to income. It is a problem that has been in the making for very many years and has never been sufficiently addressed. It is also predictable that impetuously slashing the budget is likely to backfire. Haste will cause mistakes and unintended consequences.
It is unlikely that the citizens of Brattleboro, or citizens anywhere, want a government that responds vindictively when the majority of a vote choose to reverse a decision. However I don’t believe the Selectboard wished to come across that way. They responded hastily and without preparation. They are feeling beleaguered. They need genuine support.
No one wishes to see our library suffer. Nor does anyone want to lose their home for lack of ability to pay their taxes. No one wants to give up basic services or see jobs reduced or eliminated. No one wants our quality of life to diminish. Certainly, no one wants to fight each other for limited resources.
What everyone does want is an examination of our problems and a solution we can all understand and accept. This is an exceedingly complex undertaking and requires time.
We can provide ourselves with the breathing room to make a good decision simply by limiting our first step forward to the removal of the $261,000 allocated for interest on the nine million dollar bond. That will not solve all our problems. In fact it makes only a very small dent. It is however a step in the right direction. It buys us time. It tells us that our Selectboard is listening.
We need to unite as a community. We all lose if we allow ourselves to be consumed by contentiousness and a focus on self-interest. We all can win if we choose to listen to and support each other. We all win if we insist that the values of community underlie our decisions.
Support the hold on the Police/Fire project. Leave it at that. It’s an appropriate and effective start.
5% increases and decreases
I think the 5% amount under discussion stems from the extended budget examination the Selectboard did last year.
You may recall they asked each department to come before them with information about what they currently do, and with their thoughts on what they’d do with a five percent increase and a five percent reduction. Each one of these presentations was at a public meetings and covered here in detail.
The record shows that these have all been under discussion for quite a while. I certainly know what each department would do with a 5% increase or decrease – they told us last year.
And, based on everything they’d done and said this year, the budget will remain a major focus of this board.
My questions is – will the public keep participating with them? Will Town Meeting Reps step up and attend Selectboard meetings throughout the year? I think we get better results when more people take part.