To the editor:

As a Tiverton town councilor, I’ve learned not to get too excited over every printed comment that appears, especially on social media. I do take exception to several claims made in Jeff Caron’s recent letter to the editor. His misappropriation of facts bears a response.

First, Mr. Caron claims that the Tiverton Town Council voted to “eliminate the budget committee, eliminate your FTR (Financial Town Referendum), and put the town council in charge of all spending and taxation.”

No, that did not happen. The budget committee and FTR are set forth in the town charter and can only be changed by a vote of the citizens. No council can vote to override any provision of the charter. Mr. Caron, as a member of the Tiverton Charter Review Commission (CRC), is well aware of that fact.

Let’s clear up exactly what happened. The council met to discuss potential charter proposals to send to the CRC. Councilor Edwards put forth a proposal to eliminate the FTR and budget committee, similar to the model used in Portsmouth. My proposal was to maintain the budget committee/FTR model but to make some adjustments to improve it. More on that later.

After some discussion, and with two councilors absent, the council did not have consensus on agreement. It was then suggested that we send all of the proposals to the CRC; after all they are nothing more than ideas for consideration at this point. Councilor Chabot opined that even if she didn’t agree with all of them, weren’t more ideas better than less? A good point, I thought. Anyone can submit ideas or suggestions to the CRC. This is only the beginning of a long process where the CRC reviews and advises on proposals; ultimately it ends with a vote of the people on any changes to the charter. The council voted to send all of its ideas to the CRC.

Mr. Caron goes on to claim that my proposed changes were “intended to strip your voter FTR rights.” I suggested several improvements, mainly having to do with the elector petition (aka alternative budget) remand option, which allows the petitioner to submit just a final budget number without specifying which items should be increased or decreased.

I proposed that the remand option be removed; elector petitions should specify the items to be increased or decreased. This would give elector petitions the same level of transparency as the budget committee’s docket and allow voters to make fully informed decisions.

I also proposed the elector petition signature requirement be slightly increased and petitions should not include provisions that would cause the town to default on any legally binding contract. I think we have enough lawsuits already. I hardly think that these modest changes would “strip your voter FTR rights.”

Mark Twain said, “Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.” I like a good story as much as anyone, but when it comes to town government I prefer the truth.

Patricia Hilton

Tiverton