Letter: Their mission — cut the budget and life out of Tiverton

Posted 7/8/17

To the editor:

At least every six years, Tiverton elects a Charter Review Commission to review our towns charter. This commission’s duty is to review the charter in its current form. This commission meets for one year and makes recommendations for amendment revisions/additions. On election day. November, 2018, any proposed alterations are added to the ballot and voters have the final say to accept or reject those amendments. The charter is, therefore, the most important legal document of the town of Tiverton. It’s much more than the budget process and protecting the FTR

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Letter: Their mission — cut the budget and life out of Tiverton

Posted

To the editor:

At least every six years, Tiverton elects a Charter Review Commission to review our towns charter. This commission’s duty is to review the charter in its current form. This commission meets for one year and makes recommendations for amendment revisions/additions. On election day. November, 2018, any proposed alterations are added to the ballot and voters have the final say to accept or reject those amendments. The charter is, therefore, the most important legal document of the town of Tiverton. It’s much more than the budget process and protecting the FTR.

When electing a committee, the goal should be to vote for candidates that possess different views. ensuring the balance of the committee’s makeup. This guarantees there will be no absolute control by one particular group to push through any agendas. This shouldn’t and cannot happen to Tiverton.

A local political action committee will send you glossy mailers and will make robocalls. Their goal to is lower taxes to the point where the town cannot provide essential needs for its residents. Three candidates who currently sit on your budget committee — Donna Cook, Nancy Driggs and Jeff Caron — voted to end funding for Trunk or Treat and the Christmas Tree Lighting for our community. These three candidates voted to give the school department $1 more than the previous year’s budget. This continues to prove that the TTA candidates have no regard for the children’s education.

The TTA’s candidates have one mission which is to slash the towns budget so deeply that eventually the town will struggle to keep its head above water. Have you ever had any Tiverton Taxpayer Association candidate knock on your door to introduce themselves? They only write letters to the editor, send robotic phone calls and use social media/internet forums.

These fiscally conscious candidates waste thousands on glossy mailers as their way to interact with residents that they seek to represent. The trio of candidates including myself, Jennifer Joslyn and David Paull are open minded, conscientious and respectful candidates who have all Tiverton’s residents in mind.

There needs to be revisions to our current FTR and such changes should include the requirement of more than 50 signatures when submitting a petitioner’s budget. All budgets should be fully transparent and must include line items so that voters can easily distinguish how services and departments are funded by each proposed budget. Don’t be fooled into voting for a slate of Tiverton Taxpayer Association candidates because of their glossy mailers. Please come meet the candidates at the Tiverton Public Library Monday, July 17 from 6-9 p.m. for a meet-and-greet with all 24 invited candidates.

Michael C. DeCotis

Tiverton

Candidate for Charter Review Commission.

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