To the editor:
Tiverton’s Financial Town Referendum (FTR) will occur on Saturday, May 21, and ballot options range between a .9% and a 3.5% tax increase.
The Budget Committee has recommended …
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To the editor:
Tiverton’s Financial Town Referendum (FTR) will occur on Saturday, May 21, and ballot options range between a .9% and a 3.5% tax increase.
The Budget Committee has recommended that municipal budgets increase 4.4% which results in a 3.5% tax increase. Perusing their recommended budget shows that the committee recommended funding items that voters said no to in the last FTR, and in some cases the last two FTRs.
For example, last year the voter approved annual budget funded a planner only part time. However, the Town Council, with complete disregard to voting taxpayers, renewed the salaried planner’s deal. And now the Budget Committee recommends funding this filled position, even though voters rejected this line item last year.
In another case, last year voters rejected paying dues to the League of Cities and Towns, an organization that claims to ‘assist’ municipal governments – but whose efforts often result in increased taxpayer dollars going into the municipal coffers. It is no wonder voters agreed with zeroing the annual dues. Yet in defiance of voters the Town Council fully funded and paid the dues, and now the Budget Committee is again recommending that the dues be paid. I thought the Budget Committee was supposed to serve as the taxpayers’ sharp pencil?
This year, an additional FTR petition was originated by Town Councilman Joe Sousa. A review of Mr. Sousa’s votes as councilman shows that he voted for the full-time planner contract. In fact, he seconded the motion to approve it. Yet his petition curiously funds this position at $1 (not a typo). What else did Councilman Sousa vote to do but now proposes not to fund?
The last two years, the Tiverton tax increases were only 0.0% and 0.9% thanks to the elector petitions originated by resident Justin Katz, and it is important to note that in contradiction to the pundits, “the sky did not fall.” In fact, the Town Council even had enough money to fund items that voters rejected. This year Mr. Katz has submitted a 0.9% petition again, and I urge all voters to support his Budget #2, the 0.9% tax levy increase on the FTR ballot. Voting takes just 5 minutes on a private ballot at Tiverton High School on Saturday, May 21. In addition, there is early voting at Town Hall on Thursday, May 19, and Friday, May 20. Please vote to control your taxes again this year. Jeff Caron
Tiverton
Mr. Caron is former chairman of the Tiverton Budget Committee and a former co-chairman of the Financial Town Meeting Changes Advisory Committee.