Special Town Meeting • 11.17.11 • 7:30pm • Middle School
Elevator Version
~ Why Should I Care?
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~ Frequently Asked Questions
Why Should I Care?
There are a number of reasons:
• The fact that residents discovered this situation, rather than our town officials is disturbing. It suggests that our elected and appointed officials either did not understand what was happening or that they did, yet said nothing. Either case is cause for concern.
• To maintain a reserve of $10.3 million in Free Cash while the state's maximum recommendation is $3.5 million and FinCom's own guidelines specify $3.5 - $7 million, indicates that we've overpaid our taxes. Every dollar over a fiscally responsible reserve (cushion) should be applied to provide tax relief. The only way to ensure this happens is to support the passage of Article 3.
• In an "I could have had a V-8" moment, the Board of Selectmen promptly introduced their own article, but only after the petitioners submitted their article. The Selectmen's plan was to introduce an article that would limit the amount of Free Cash appropriated for tax relief to only $1 million dollars.
• If Article 3 does not pass, the surplus will sit in the Free Cash reserve fund and continue to grow, while each of us will be required to pay an average of $1,000 more in taxes this year than necessary.
• It's interesting to note that from a board that frequently votes unanimously, the FinCom vote was only 4-3 in favor of the Selctmen's article (#4) and that one FinCom member broke ranks and voted in favor or the petitioners Article 3.