I have been knocking on doors for quite some time now. Most people say taxes are their biggest concern. One woman said she is selling her home of three generations because her taxes are too high. All she is doing is working to pay taxes.
Another woman's husband took a big hit at work, paying far more for benefits and receiving a wage freeze for the next three years. With two kids in college they are thinking of moving because they are struggling to make ends meet and also pay more than $600 a month in property taxes.
Yet another person wants to know why we are racking up debt to pay for a water system that we are not sure we will really need in the future. The idea that "if we build it, they will come" is pie in the sky. We need a real master plan and more effort to bring good commercial projects to the area.
The incumbents sit back on their laurels and crow about the Moody's upgrade, but they ignore the many homes that are on the market - each home representing a family forced to move because their property tax burden was more than they could bear.
It is time for a real master plan but more importantly, the zoning changes that will allow that master plan to work. We need to define what we want our town to look like and then put into place commercial design standards that will help new buildings to blend in seamlessly with the old.
It is time for real fiscally conservative budgeting, not accounting games that hid the true nature of the town's spending.
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