Letter: Tiverton budget #1 gives a 5% tax break and spirit of compromise

Posted 5/7/19

To the editor:

As vice president of the Tiverton Town Council and as somebody who’s had a hand in the last five budgets of the town, I sat down with the numbers for next year’s budget when …

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Letter: Tiverton budget #1 gives a 5% tax break and spirit of compromise

Posted

To the editor:

As vice president of the Tiverton Town Council and as somebody who’s had a hand in the last five budgets of the town, I sat down with the numbers for next year’s budget when they were first available.  I found something exciting:  We have a real chance to give everybody enough of what they want that we can come together and finally start cooperating and planning for the future in Tiverton.

That chance starts with Budget #1, the Budget Committee’s budget on your FTR ballot.  Voting for Budget #1 on May 18 at the high school will ensure that the total tax levy goes down 1.5%. Even better, the casino and other properties have added so much value to the town that Budget #1 will mean 5% savings on your family’s property tax bill.

Because of the casino, and for other reasons, there is so much money in accounts on both the town and school sides of Tiverton government that we can provide healthy budget increases plus take care of some pressing capital needs (such as roads and playgrounds) plus provide taxpayers with much-needed relief, with a goal of getting down to the average tax rate in our area instead of the highest.

The Town Council passed this idea along to the Budget Committee. The Budget Committee shifted the balance in favor of the school department, but still within the spirit of compromise.

If voters choose Budget #1, the next step will be for town officials and the public to put all of our issues, all of our financial needs and liabilities, and all of our expected revenue on the table to look out 10-20 years in the future and agree on a direction for the town.  For too long, every year has been a political tug-of-war with no forward motion.

Unfortunately, not everybody is willing to start with compromise.  Last year, they used scare tactics to prevent substantial tax relief, saying we couldn’t count on the casino doing exactly what it has done. That’s part of why there is so much money sitting in the town’s accounts right now.

This year, the other budget on the ballot would give hundreds of thousands of dollars to the school department instead of to tax relief. Go back and watch the April 2 School Committee meeting, and you’ll see why they want the money. The school administration is concerned that, without all that extra cash, their surplus fund balance at the end of next year will only be somewhere around $1 million. Once again, it’s about keeping more money sitting in government accounts instead of yours.

When we develop a long-term plan in the months ahead, we will absolutely discuss how much money should be in the reserves for the town and the schools.  But we have to get to that discussion first, and to do that, the voters (you) have to send a message. It’s time to stop with the scare tactics and accounting tricks. It’s time to hit reset on town politics with a reduction of total taxes and a spirit of compromise.

Justin Katz

Tiverton

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