it was very interesting to see Council Chair Holbrook trying to justify the council’s actions at the last meeting when they gave back $ 180,000.00.
these dollars will be coming from the municipal side of the budget by having the town’s department heads cut their previously approved budgets, and then appropriate another $ 200.000.00 that will be coming from excise taxes that have not been collected.
Chair Holbrook wished the town’s finance committee “good luck” in trying to find the money from somewhere.
the current net result of all this “fiddling” with our money by the council leaves us, the taxpayers, with the school board having been granted a 5% increase over last year’s budget, and this is without any consideration being given to the $884,000.00 that the school has already received by the state.
by their actions this year, the council has set the town up for a tremendous increase next year… for next year we, the taxpayers, are already facing a budget increase of 4% and that’s even before the school board chimes in regarding their needs…. so at this point, before any conversation, before any haggling, before this year’s budget is finalized, we are behind the 8-ball even before we get started on next year’s budget.
keep in mind, that all of this is without the town wanting to discuss anything about the 13-million dollars for new public safety complex, and 20/25-million dollars the school board is looking for in order to upgrade the middle school and the primary schools.
the town of scarborough is already carrying 100-million dollars in debt.
Vote NO on August 4th (or earlier if you are voting early)….send a message to this town that they need to budget properly for all their citizens, and that they have a fiduciary responsibility to do so.
thank you,
bob rovner
ScarboroughTaxes.com 