To the editor:

Did you know:

According to figures obtained from the Portsmouth Finance Department, the Portsmouth town budget increased from $38,745,516 in tax year 2001/2002 to $60,611,924 in tax year 2014/2015. That $21,866,408 difference was a 36 percent increase. The annual average increase was 3.52 percent. 

So what? Well, somebody had to pay for all that spending. That would be us — the mostly silent taxpayers of Portsmouth. The same group that hasn’t seen a pay raise from Social Security for a couple of years or the not-so-old who can’t find a job in Rhode Island commensurate with their abilities.  

The national rate of inflation over the period 2006 to 2015 was a mere 1.1 percent. Meaning the Portsmouth budget has been going up at three times the rate of inflation. If the same budget increases are projected into the future, in 10 years the Portsmouth budget will be $80,000,000. This in a small American village with around 17,000 residents. Why do we need to spend so much money? One reason is the state will allow any town to raise its taxes by 4 percent any time it wants. It can even go above that with voter approval. Ridiculous. 

What happens when the tax burden keeps getting more onerous? Looking at the issue from a senior’s perspective, it means that for retirees on a fixed income you have to come up with the money by spending less on other things. If you can, maybe you decide to bolt. Florida seems to be attracting lots of Little Rhodites. 

Why are the elected officials getting away with this? We let them. If we want to keep our citizens here we need to put on the breaks. We can’t vote for anyone who doesn’t acknowledge we have a problem with spending. We need to vote for people who have  taxpayers in mind at all times. 

When a candidate shows up at your front door, the first question you should ask is where they stand on budget increase. Lots of states have provisions that cushion the property tax burden on seniors. Ask your elected officials what the State of Rhode Island is doing to keep seniors here. I am not referring to those who are being subsidized to stay here.   

Jeffrey Richard

55 Wamsutta Lane 

Portsmouth