Bucking the tide

Well, yesterday morning was interesting.  Sometime after Midnight until a little after 6 A.M. no Internet, cable or telephone. Technology is really making us, at least me anyway, a bit of addict.  So, no real time to get a blog out yesterday morning.  It is amazing how things can get easily get out of whack.  Speaking of which...

Passing the buck seems to have become an art form. Everyone seems very willing to take a piece of that buck, but no one seems to want to take credit for costing the tax/rate payers that buck either.

First let us dispel one little misconception about the $400,000 plus increase in rates for water and sewer. No one is getting charged twice for the same thing.

The associated costs for water and sewer have be adjusted to properly reflect the costs of the enterprises. the same were not being charged to those enterprises when the cost should have been.

The actual fact is for at least the past five years or so, you were paying less than you should have been.  Not much of a comfort I know, but a reality nonetheless.  More on the "less" later.

Another point, Town Meeting did in fact take the votes that resulted in the 25% increase.  The votes however were based upon requests submitted by the BPW for operation, maintenance, repair and improvements to the enterprises.  

Only the BPW can implement rate increases.  Town Meeting decides whether the articles submitted are justified.  The BPW decides on what articles to submit and money it feels it needs to operate.

Could the BPW have withdrawn articles, cut operations, delayed expenditures? It absolutely could have.  By the time Town Meeting rolled around, the BPW was fully aware of what its requests would result in, if approved.  It knew if its articles were approved, the rate increases would have to come with it, because it also knew that the true associated costs of its operations were being put back in.

Now before anyone jumps the gun and reaches an assumption that I am going to be critical of the BPW for the size of the increase, I am not.  My criticism is solely based on the "blame game" being played.

You can certainly argue Town Meeting put a stamp of approval on the rate increases, and you would be correct. There is no arguing with the fact that "rate increases" were knowingly sought by the BPW.  Just as everyone else involved knew, or should have known, that what was sought and what was being done with the associated costs would result in rate increases.

If you are an active participant in the process, if you possess the actual knowledge of what will result from your requests/actions and if you are the party that has the authority on the final decision, don't skirt the responsibility. 

That being said:

If you believe that maintenance and repair, along with improvements are a necessary reality to an efficient operation, as I do; than the size of the increase was warranted.  

If you believe, as I do, that enterprise funds such as these must remain self-sufficient, than if the S.O.P. for those enterprises is to be maintained, the increases were warranted.

If you believe, as I absolutely do not, that shifting the costs of those operations to be paid from the general fund in the amount of $400,000 plus should have continued as a practice, than pull out the town meeting votes for May, and tell us all what articles or operating budgets equal to the same amount should not have been approved this year, and perhaps we can all remedy that situation at the next town meeting.

It is the same solution if you want to "pay less" taxes by the way.

Indeed for the current year, but for putting the payment of costs back where payment should come from, the little debate on T.M. floor this year about which two out three streets should have been funded for work would probably have centered on which one street should have been funded.

End result for the increase: You will be essentially paying what you would have been paying had the costs been assessed correctly all along.  The real gripe would be if someone attempted to get back the money spent from the general fund to cover these enterprises.

You have been paying less for water and sewer for a number of years because the a portion of the costs were mistakenly being borne by the general levy.

Granted the increase will be a shocker.  People do have a right to be upset that it is coming in one year.  No getting around that one.  I wish I could come up with a valid excuse for it, but there isn't one really.  

Could it have been spread out?  Yes, but at a cost somewhere else.  A reduction somewhere else.

We could have done less roadwork this year to phase in the increase. We could have cut out some of the other articles to phase in the increase. Heck we could have laid employees off.  We could have shut down a thing or two.

So when you ask where did the $400,00 plus go this year.  It went to maintain services paid for from the general fund.  

Indeed the fact that these costs have been carried by the general fund unduly for a number of years has absolutely resulted in some reductions of services and lack of funding for general fund purposes.  

You absolutely can make a decision to carry costs for enterprises on the general levy, so long as you make the decision on what cannot then be paid from the general levy.  In the past this was done without the realization it was being done.  It shouldn't have happened. If you want everything you want, you either have to make sure it doesn't continue to happen; or, you have to be prepared to jettison something else from the budget.

If you feel the need to point a finger at someone, point in any direction because one could point the finger in multiple directions and be partially right.  Because you can do that unfortunately highlights one of the true deficiencies of linear government.  

We are in the here and now though.

Being here and it being now, I agree with the need. I agree with the decision.

I also promise you I will do my part to try and make it explicitly clear going forward the ramifications to those rates for every single article and budget request presented in the future.

On another note ...

There have been some very interesting things to read popping up here and there.  I have been trying to flush out the arguments being presented by some.  Some of it is really mind boggling.

At first glance, one might consider it a waste of time to even bother with some of these arguments.  It never is in the end.

To ignore a point of view opposite to your own is the only true waste of time and effort.

People do need to remember that like the tides that wash up on our shores, things change.  Like the tides, change is constant.  What washes up ashore in the morning, may be carried back out to sea with the next tide.  

Enough for today.

Be safe.