To the editor:

Don’t fall for the Tiverton Taxpayers Association’s scare tactics. As an elected member of the last Charter Review Commission, I can assure you that the Commission cannot take anything away from residents, not “freedoms,” not “property rights,” and not the Financial Town Referendum, as the group has ominously warned.

Only Tiverton voters can change the Charter through majority vote. Let me say that again, You get to vote to accept or reject any changes brought forward.

It is the Commission’s responsibility to put recommended updates and improvements before the voters for their consideration. Why then would you want to elect candidates who insist that the Financial Town Referendum must stay just the way it is, whether it is the will of the majority of residents or not?

For instance, we currently have to pay $11,000 to hold a Referendum when there is only one budget choice (and there is no way to vote no and only a single vote is required for it to pass). Shouldn’t voters have the choice to decide whether that Charter requirement is a waste of taxpayer money that could be better spent elsewhere?

We all are the government; we vote on whether to make any changes to our town charter; we elect our representatives to provide us with options for those changes. Please choose candidates on July 18 who will respect your right to choose, not limit it.

Deborah Pallasch,

Tiverton