To the Editor:

At the 6/21/2010 Board of Selectmen meeting, the town's independent audit firm said Goffstown is in good financial shape. 

I did a little digging around to try to understand the what/why of an audit. In a sentence: a municipal audit objectively evaluates the organization's system of internal controls and advises on ways to improve controls.

What does this report say? It tells us that the accounting procedures are in good shape. It tells us we have a good bond rating and that other metrics are well within established ranges.

How do I read those results? The Town Administrative Staff has continued to do an excellent job - congratulations to Finance Director Janice O'Connell and Town Administrator Sue Desruisseaux and their respective staffs.

What did this this report NOT say? The report did not say "full speed ahead". The report did not say "spend like you have always spent".

The audit reviewed the town's books.  But the audit did NOT access the taxpayers' ability to shoulder larger and larger budgets.

Dear Selectmen, use your common sense and listen to the messages you have been given by the voters and the guidance the Budget Committee sent you in order to bring the taxpayers relief both in the short term and in the long term by taking a hard line on both spending and this year's collective bargaining contract negotiations.

Bill Gordon
Goffstown