Letter: Westport Taxpayers Association … Who are these people?

Posted 3/5/18

To the editor:

I’m annoyed by the so called Westport Taxpayers Association. My first complaint is something I’ve expressed before … please change your name to something that relates to your …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Register to post events


If you'd like to post an event to our calendar, you can create a free account by clicking here.

Note that free accounts do not have access to our subscriber-only content.

Day pass subscribers

Are you a day pass subscriber who needs to log in? Click here to continue.


Letter: Westport Taxpayers Association … Who are these people?

Posted

To the editor:

I’m annoyed by the so called Westport Taxpayers Association. My first complaint is something I’ve expressed before … please change your name to something that relates to your actual mission. The name you’ve chosen suggests you believe you’re speaking for the majority of Westport taxpayers. You’re not. All the taxpayers I speak to are angry about your tactics and frustrated that you operate behind the veil of anonymity.

You don’t even hold open meetings. I made an effort to see if I could attend one of your meetings a few years ago, and I was informed that they weren’t open to just anyone. Now that’s a democratic process if ever there was one.

I know only one of your number who has the courage to identify himself when he submits letters to the editor, and his letters are intelligent and persuasive. Unfortunately they’re also filled with misinformation intended to cast doubt and fear. The last minute mailings to every household just days before an election are the worst kind of “gotcha last” tactics that leave no room for debate but just feed the uncertainty of some who may be on the fence about specific issues.

Fortunately, this time around the Westport School Building Committee did such an amazing job at assessing and formulating a plan for a new school that there was widespread support for the project. The landslide victory at the polls was a resounding testimony to their success, and it was a triumph for the town. This kind of positive result does not happen by accident. It happened because the committee took their job seriously. They knew that this kind of a commitment from the town would only happen if they covered all the bases and studied all the arguments, pro and con. In a town where overrides are rare, the success of this particular project gives me hope that Westport is looking at the long view, something that is difficult to do in times of strained municipal budgets.

All this success comes in spite of the sniping by our pals in the Westport Taxpayers Association. I suggest they learn from this and try to see that an open process which excludes no one from the discussion is the only way you get work done that serves the community. Instead of holding your secret meetings and strategizing how you can sabotage the good work of so many, join the open discussion and express your views. Clearly you have something to offer, and it could be heard in the context of a public meeting where differing opinions are welcome and even encouraged.

Oh, and I have a few ideas for a new name for your group. How about “Westporters Against Taxation,” or “Citizens for Smaller Government,” or “Westport Peoples’ Front.” I stole that last one from a Monty Python movie … probably inappropriate. Anyway, you get the idea. A name that speaks to who you are, not who you pretend to be. Or, you could just disband and come to a few meetings. Come to think of it, I like that idea best.

Tim Gillespie

Westport

2024 by East Bay Media Group

Barrington · Bristol · East Providence · Little Compton · Portsmouth · Tiverton · Warren · Westport
Meet our staff
Jim McGaw

A lifelong Portsmouth resident, Jim graduated from Portsmouth High School in 1982 and earned a journalism degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1986. He's worked two different stints at East Bay Newspapers, for a total of 18 years with the company so far. When not running all over town bringing you the news from Portsmouth, Jim listens to lots and lots and lots of music, watches obscure silent films from the '20s and usually has three books going at once. He also loves to cook crazy New Orleans dishes for his wife of 25 years, Michelle, and their two sons, Jake and Max.