To the editor:

I would have chuckled at how grossly ill-informed the perspectives from which the letters last week were written (many simply bashing the candidates endorsed by the TTA), if it hadn’t struck me these writings might actually hurt Tiverton.

The letters were full of “I can only guess”, “I can only imagine”, and “it must be true” statements – not facts, but unsubstantiated conjecture and assumptions, clothed as truth.

People have a right to express an opinion – I get it, and respect that right. I just respect responsible, supported facts, more.

Because the fact is, this vote will determine how much choice and control future Tiverton voters keep over public spending decisions and priorities, or how much they lose control to the “wisdom”, or worse, the personal desires of the Town Council (TC) and their managers.

The fact is, the town’s annual financial obligations are not fully paid for by non-tax revenue; rather, roughly three-fourths of the deficit is made up through taxes – which the Casino Revenue was expected to directly impact, but will not if charter question 10 passes.

The fact is, neither the TC nor the Budget Committee is allowed to dictate to the School Department how to spend their money – that is…the School Committee has full control over their budget, and their poor budget management is the cause of material deterioration, even while they hold a reserve fund of nearly $4M (four times the required amount).

The fact is, the public should expect the elected TC and the managers they hire to be responsible and accountable to ensure every public dollar is spent properly, budget estimates are precise, waste is minimized, and initiatives for cost savings are investigated.

The fact is, the budget committee is elected to scrutinize budget submissions to ensure due diligence has been done. The fact is, the FTR is put to a vote because, ultimately, the paying majority should decide spending priorities.

The fact is, the candidates that the TTA has endorsed are not backed or funded by big unions, business, or political machines. The candidates are normal Tiverton residents – parents, teachers, housewives, seniors, small business owners, technicians, lawyers, and military retirees. These candidates are running because of their desire to serve the public. The extra time they are spending during evenings and weekends is evidence of their commitment to the town, not to a personal agenda. They disagree with those current council and committee members who use bullying, misinformation, lack of clarity, and, most recently, power of position, in the attempt to silence voter’s choice and self-governing principles. They are not always in total agreement, but they all agree that people of Tiverton have the right to control their government, the voter choice in spending, and the implementation of that choice through the FTR.

If you want to know the facts about these people, then read their bios, or go talk to them at up-coming candidate forums. Because maybe the fact is, they might be more like you than not.

Richard Furtado

Tiverton