How I'm
voting Tuesday - and why
Goffstown's property owners will be seeing
record increases in their property taxes this
year. The minimum increase taxpayers will face is
12.55%, and that's if all appropriation articles on both the town and school warrants fail, and if both proposed budgets pass. This equates to an increase of
$680.00 on a home assessed at $250,000.
But the worst-case scenario would almost double that amount.
I've been asked
by countless residents recently about how I'm
voting on a number of articles and candidates on
Tuesday's Town and School warrants. Below are my
recommendations to Goffstown's voters on some of
them.
Click here to print a "cheat
sheet" to take with you to the polls on
March 9th.
| TOWN
WARRANT |
| Article
1 - Election of Officers |
| SELECTMEN
(2 for 3 years) |
|
Scott
Gross (Incumbent) |
It is important to note that in addition to voting for
Mr. Pascucci, I will intentionally NOT
cast a vote for either Mr. Gross or Mr. Pierce. This means at least one of them will be elected, but provides a much better chance that ONLY ONE will be elected. Mr. Gross is responsible for the nearly half million dollar increase in the proposed town
budget. As for Mr. Pierce, I've
learned from serving on the Budget
Committee with him that he has never
seen a spending proposal he didn't like.
Mr. Pascucci, a local business owner, believes that our town government needs to be run
not like a government, but like a business. This means cutting overhead and wasteful spending, streamlining operations and reducing costs.
That's the kind of thinking we need. |
|
David
Pierce |
 |
Write-in:
Steve Pascucci |
|
Write-in:
_____________ |
|
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| BUDGET
COMMITTEE (4 for 3 years) |
|
Ivan
Beliveau (Incumbent) |
-
Ivan Beliveau is a proven
fiscal conservative, whose pledge is
"No new spending."
I've been proud to serve with him on
the Budget Committee.
-
I've spoken at length with
John
Burt. Another fiscal
conservative, John is someone the
taxpayers desperately need in
office. His focus is on
providing affordable
services while working against
wasteful spending.
-
John Dillon spoke
excellently at Candidate's
night. He has a firm grasp on
the needs of residents and a clear
understanding of efficient and
streamlined budgeting.
-
William Bates is one of my
top choices for Budget
Committee. Unfortunately, he
filed his candidacy for the 2-year
position (see below) which includes
Paul Augros and incumbent Enid
Mackenzie. Mr. Bates is a
solid supporter of Mr. Augros (as am
I), and is putting the best
interests of taxpayers ahead of his
own by asking us all to write him in
for the 3-year position to help
ensure that Mr. Augros gets elected
as well. Let's help Mr. Bates
get elected so he can then help us.
-
Ms.
Getchel never showed up at
Candidate's Night, nor did she
submit a written statement.
Apparently, she hasn't much
interest. Neither do I.
-
Like David
Pierce, Dorine Olson also has never
seen a spending proposal she didn't like.
Her re-election will only cost us
all more in taxes. Check her
voting record for yourselves.
|
|
John
A. Burt |
|
John
Dillon |
|
Jennifer
"Jen" Getchel |
|
Dorine
Olson (Incumbent) |
|
Write-in:
William Bates |
|
Write-in:
_____________ |
|
Write-in:
_____________ |
|
Write-in:
_____________ |
|
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|
BUDGET COMMITTEE (1 for 2
years) |
|
Paul
Augros |
All
three of these candidates are excellent
choices. I will be voting for Paul
Augros here and am hopeful that William Bates
is elected as a write-in for the
3-year term (see above). Why Mr. Augros?
Read his positions on the issues for yourself at
www.PaulAugros.com
. He is intelligent and well-versed on the
issues facing all of is here in Goffstown.
A tremendous candidate. |
|
William
Bates |
|
Enid
Mackenzie (Incumbent) |
|
Write-in:
_____________ |
|
|
PLANNING BOARD (2 for 3
years) |
|
Barbara
Griffin (Incumbent) |
Tim
Redmond has shown via his voting record a
propensity to support business development in
Goffstown, which is much needed to help ease the
burden on residential taxpayers. Mark
Warden has a background in real estate and
will leave no stone unturned in supporting
business-friendly planning for Goffstown. |
|
Tim
Redmond (Incumbent) |
|
Write-in:
Mark Warden |
|
Write-in:
_____________ |
| |
|
Article
9 - $948,000 bond to replace a fire engine, 10-wheel dump truck and solid waste collection
vehicle |
|
Yes |
This article asks for an additional $1 million over what Selectman Gross has already added to the Budget Committee's recommended budget.
It is to be spread over five years. Mr. Gross not only wants his cake, he's hoping to eat it this one, too.
Don't let him. We can't afford it.
There are three unaffordable vehicle purchases in this single article.
Why are they unaffordable? Just ask the board of selectmen
themselves. They'll tell you that these purchases are all going to a bond
instead of a direct purchase because we can't afford to buy these vehicles outright
(like we usually do) right now. That means
"unaffordable". Enough said?
About half of this money is to go for two trucks for
DPW:
A replacement recycle truck and a replacement 10-wheel dump truck. These two vehicles are
just regularly-scheduled replacements. In other words, they are being replaced because
they're on a schedule to be replaced, not because they are broken down. In fact, these two vehicles can bee seen roaming our roads every single day. They are currently in full service.
It is much less expensive to maintain them for another
year or two's worth of service than spending
nearly half a million dollars to buy new ones.
As for the rest of the money, it's to go for a new fire engine. Fire Chief Rich O'Brien
(our advocate for a $7M central fire station) says a new fire engine is needed because Engine 1 is in the repair shop
an average of one week every month. Can anyone remember the last time, if ever,
that every single one of our firefighting
vehicles was deployed at the same time? Do
you really buy into the rhetoric that having
this single vehicle in for maintenance every so
often somehow threatens public safety?
Every one of the fire
department's vehicles is, at one time or
another, out of service for scheduled maintenance.
But what really
gets me about this article is that Mr. Gross and the Board of Selectmen
have chosen to roll all three of these vehicles into a single warrant article.
To us taxpayers, it means it's all or nothing.
It's also a clever way to get the two new
unneeded trucks
for DPW on the emotional piggy back of buying a
new fire engine.
But don't be fooled. Mr. Gross said it himself at Town Deliberative Session on February 3rd,
"We didn't want the voters to be able to pick and
choose." HUH? Who is
Gross to dictate to us what we can or cannot
vote for??? We're the ones PAYING for these vehicles! But Gross doesn't want to take the chance we voters might say 'Yes' to one truck but 'No' to another???
As I see it, it's our RIGHT to do so. This is another indication of where Gross is coming from - and what he
thinks of the voter's right to chose where their money is
spent. Rather, he thinks he should be the
one to dictate to us where to spend our money.
Lastly, keep in mind that the Budget Committee
recommended this article BEFORE Mr. Gross
successfully managed to increase the proposed
operating budget by nearly half a million
dollars. Vote NO on 9.
Click
here to read the actual article. |
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NO |
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Article
10 - $57,257 to complete Green Drainage Project |
|
Yes |
Someone
screwed up the estimated cost for this project
when Goffstown applied for ARRA grant money last
year. Now the project will cost $114,514
more than first thought. If we vote NO,
the project still gets completed, but the cost
comes out of DPW's budget - not our pockets. Vote
NO on 10. Click
here to read the actual article. |
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NO |
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Article
11 - $19,695,041 Town Operating Budget |
|
YES |
Make sure you vote 'Yes' on Article 11. Thanks to Mr. Gross, it's about a half million higher than it would have been, but if you don't vote 'Yes', on this one, the default budget (calculated by the town itself, by the way) will kick in, and that's going to raise your taxes even higher than Mr. Gross already has. In short, this is the lesser of two evils.
Vote YES on 11. Click
here to read the actual article. |
|
No |
| |
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Article
12 - $360,000 for purchase of Barnard Property on Center Street |
|
Yes |
As far as I'm concerned, Mr. Gross and the Board
of Selectmen gave up their interest in this purchase when
Gross moved (successfully) to raise the town
budget by half a million dollars over the Budget Committee recommendation.
Thanks to him, we can no longer afford this purchase.
Again, keep in mind that the Budget Committee
recommended this article BEFORE Mr. Gross
successfully managed to increase the proposed
operating budget by nearly half a million
dollars. Vote NO on 12. Click
here to read the actual article. |
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NO |
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Article
13 - $15,000 for the Goffstown Main Street Program |
|
YES |
This
article amounts to little more than a penny on
the tax rate, and supporting our local
businesses is well worth the investment.
Vote YES on 13. Click
here to read the actual article. |
|
No |
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Article
14 - $23,000 to manage milfoil on the lower
Piscataquog River (aka "Namaske Lake") |
|
YES |
Milfoil
is not going to be eradicated with this effort,
but protecting one of our natural resources in
Goffstown is an important issue, especially when
there is an direct affect to property values
and, accordingly, tax revenue. Vote YES on
14. Click
here to read the actual article. |
|
No |
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Article
16 - Allow snowmobiles use of 1/2 mile of Rails Trail for access to Shell Station |
|
YES |
These snowmobilers can only bring revenue to our community by using the Rails to Trails. These folks need fuel, food, and other supplies as they pass through our community. They are asking for short access from Glen Lake to the Shell Station.
Let's give it to them. Vote YES on
16. Click
here to read the actual article. |
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No |
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Article
17 - Permit Selectmen to rent/lease municipal property without vote or ratification from the town |
|
Yes |
I've
never liked the idea of REDUCING accountability
of our elected officials, especially when it
comes to taxpayer money. I prefer to keep
them accountable and ask for voter approval
before renting or leasing municipal property,
which the taxpayers own. Vote NO on
17. Click
here to read the actual article. |
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NO |
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Article
18 - Alterations to the current Noise
Ordinance |
|
YES |
Mike
Walton changed my mind on this one. DPW
needs this exemption if for no other reason than
to collect refuse from the schools before
our kids arrive. There are also traffic
considerations on our main roads like Mast and
Elm. I've been assured DPW won't abuse
this. Vote YES on 18. Click
here to read the actual article. |
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No |
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Article
19 - $390,000 for a land conservation easement
purchase |
|
Yes |
A fair deal at the wrong time.
We can't afford this one either. $390,000 would buy us nothing more than an
easement. And here again, keep in mind that the Budget Committee recommended this article BEFORE Mr. Gross successfully managed to increase the proposed operating budget by nearly half a million dollars.
Also, the Conservation Commission has enough in
the conservation fund to pay for this
themselves. Why burden taxpayers
further? Vote NO on 19. Click
here to read the actual article. |
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NO |
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Article
20 - $600,000 for purchase of land behind Goffstown High School (Monty Property) |
|
Yes |
The worst of the three land-purchase proposals.
There is no Purchase & Sales agreement for
it, no negotiation with the property owner, not
even an appraisal. Another one we can't afford right now.
Vote NO on 20. Click
here to read the actual article. |
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NO |
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Article
22 - Budget Committee to calculate the Town
Default Budget |
|
YES |
There
are three simple reasons to support this one. 1)
The Town has a stake in the calculation of this
default budget. The Budget Committee does
not. 2) The Budget Committee's calculation
would be conducted in public, under public
scrutiny and at public meetings. The town
calculates the default budget privately, away
from public eyes. 3) State Law provides
the formula for calculating default
budgets. The Budget Committee is just as
qualified to do so as the Town. The
difference lies in the numbers being used to
plug into that formula. Cast your vote for
openness, accountability and transparency in
town government. Vote YES on 22. Click
here to read the actual article. |
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No |
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| SCHOOL
WARRANT |
| Article
1 - Election of Officers |
|
SCHOOL BOARD (3 for 3 years) |
|
Lorry
D. Cloutier
(Incumbent) |
The only fiscal conservatives here
are Lorry Cloutier and Jennifer Theroux.
Ms. Cloutier has a proven track record of
protecting taxpayers, having served the
Goffstown community for 6 years. Jennifer
Theroux is also of like mind as Cloutier, and
has extensive volunteer experience at Maple Ave
Elementary and Mountain View Middle Schools.
She "believes in the power of good
investments", and we need her on the school board as well.
Mr. Kendall's track record on school spending is
well-evidenced by his voting record. Check
it our for yourself. Dian McCarthy's
statement at the Candidate's Night indicates to
me she is "all aboard" with past school board
spending sprees. Not what we need.
Send a message and vote for only TWO
candidates: Cloutier and Theroux.
And write-in Donna Pinard, a teacher in the
Goffstown school system. |
|
Phillip
E. Kendall II
(Incumbent) |
|
Dian
McCarthy |
|
Jennifer
Theroux |
|
Write-in:
Donna Pinard |
|
Write-in:
_____________ |
|
Write-in:
_____________ |
| |
| Article
2 - $35,627,392 School District Operating Budget. |
|
YES |
Like
on the town side, this is the lesser of two
evils. This budget is $1 million higher than the school board's current budget, which chairman Keith Allard said would be
under-spent by over $600,000. Yet, this is also the budget that chairman Allard attempted to raise by another $1 million at school deliberative session.
The school board already has more money to spend than they need (as Allard himself said on February 1st), but if you don't vote 'Yes' on this one, then the default budget (again calculated by the school board itself) will kick in, and that's going to raise your taxes even more.
Worse, can you believe Allard is publicly
campaigning for the default budget to
pass instead, which is $803,000 higher
still? Unbelievable. This trend has
got to stop. Vote YES on 2. Click
here to read the actual article. |
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No |
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| Article
3 - $215,000 Engineering and Architectural Study |
|
YES |
This one has no tax impact.
Funds would come from existing impact
fees. But there is a deadline - if we don't vote 'Yes' on this one, the money's gone.
Vote YES on 3. Click
here to read the actual article. |
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No |
| |
| Article
4 - $300,000 for the Bartlett Elementary School Capital Reserve Fund |
|
Yes |
The Budget Committee voted 11-2-1 to NOT recommend this one. Your school taxes are already going up by a record amount.
This can wait, especially since we can't afford it anyway.
Vote NO on 4. Click
here to read the actual article. |
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NO |
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| Article
5 - Allow Bartlett Reserve Fund to be spent
anywhere |
|
Yes |
Are you kidding me? This is on the same ballot as Article 4?
The funds that are already there were approved
by the voters for Bartlett, not for other
pet projects. Vote NO on 5. Click
here to read the actual article. |
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NO |
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| Article
6 - Budget Committee to calculate the School
Default Budget |
|
YES |
Like
Article 22 on the town warrant, there are three
simple reasons to support this one. 1) The
School Board has a stake in the calculation of
this default budget. The Budget Committee does
not. 2) The Budget Committee's calculation
would be conducted in public, under public
scrutiny and at public meetings. The
School Board calculates the default budget
privately, away from public eyes. 3) State
Law provides the formula for calculating default
budgets. The Budget Committee is just as
qualified to do so as the School Board.
The difference lies in the numbers being used to
plug into that formula. Cast your vote for
openness, accountability and transparency in
town government. Vote YES on 6. Click
here to read the actual article. |
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No |
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| Article
7 - Insert SAU Budget into School Warrant as a Separate
Article |
|
YES |
The intent of the article is to separate the allocated portion of the SAU budget from the
school district’s operating budget and to place the entire SAU budget as a standalone warrant article to be addressed by the member district’s voters.
But in order to be adopted, this article would need the approval of a majority of the voters within each school district comprising the SAU.
Nevertheless, send a message to the school board that this is the way things should be done.
Vote YES on 7. Click
here to read the actual article. |
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No |
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Want
to know how your vote on certain articles will
REALLY affect your personal taxes?
Click on the link below to use our calculator.
2010 Tax Rate Calculator
or
Right-click
here to download to your computer
Guy Caron can be
reached via e-mail at: GuyC@GoffstownResidentsAssociation.com
Past
Columns by Guy Caron
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DISCLAIMER: The opinions
expressed by Mr. Caron are not necessarily those of the
Goffstown Residents Association or its members.
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