A polar plunge of sorts

I was actually planning on taking the week off. There was a comment to a recent post made however that raised a point that some in town find disturbing. 

It was raised during decisions to establish the position of TA. It was raised during discussion for the hiring. It will continue to be raised every instance someone has a complaint about their taxes and how the taxes get spent.

The argument goes:  Our new TA is not a town resident. He doesn't own real estate.  He only rents. He doesn't pay taxes in Town.

So what?  Think your answer through by the way. Please. I am really not in the mood to banter back and forth this week.

First you very well could have a TA who is a Town resident, who doesn't own real estate but only rents.  So where is the difference in those two scenarios. Sure, as a resident if he owned a car there would be excise taxes, but if he as a resident rented, no real estate taxes.  

Owning a house in town is going to accomplish what by the way? I have seen too many people make to many decisions based on how it effects them.  I understand that. I do.  I understand sometimes the real and extreme need to pinch those pennies.  

I also understand that sometime hard decisions must be made.  If you represent a town, you have to decide based on the Town. 

Granted the its only a "cup of coffee" argument can be completely infuriating to hear, especially if you presently cannot afford that cup of coffee. But put it another way, unless and until the actual policy makers decide to give you a break, we are talking about the same battle we have be fighting for a long time.  

It isn't about how much will be raised. The paid payroll has always fought for the full 2 1/2 plus new growth.  It is the spending of the full load.

By the way, renters do in fact pay taxes, indirectly, but they do pay taxes.  Well the ones not in government housing.  We get some PILOT money for that however we aren't getting ...  never mind, for another day on that.

Suffice it to say, you rent you do pay taxes, through your landlord. If that isn't a direct enough connection for you, so be it.

In the line of a town resident who pays taxes being better for the job than a nonresident TA, based on what exactly? 

Trust me when I tell you, the spending philosophy of the past has been raise every single possible dollar you can on the tax levy.  Indeed, all rants and raves in the past to the contrary, it has been a long, long time since any administration budget was developed with an intent to provide the tax payer a break.  

The odd year or two in the past 15 years or so where the limit was not maxed out was a result of a miscalculation not any real intent to provide relief. Hell, we had one occasion a number of years ago where the town raised over $200k more than authorized by T.M. through a technical, but absolutely legal procedure, because it discovered we were under the limit.

Now that particular little exercise in "tax them til it hurts" did have a silver lining going forward.  It brought to light the power of the pencil and the past procedures and role of the overlay account. But before I digress ...

My point being here, there has been no effort by any town residents employed to cut budgets for a tax savings. Divert the money to something else yes, but not to put it back in your pocket.

Which is why, in the past we had the budget turmoil we did.  The battles would rage not on saving the tax payer money but in where it was going to go.  But I digress again.  

Simply put a town resident vs. a non-town resident gets you nothing financially as far as spending. You may feel otherwise however it is an opinion not based on past experience, not in this town.

Having had the opportunity to have had a chit chat with our new TA, knowing what I have been able to discover about applicants, non-applicants, including residents, there is no doubt in my mind that your new TA, based on the available pool, and potential residents available, was the best choice.

Might others have been capable?  Possibly.  The unknown will remain unknown however.  Also, never, ever underestimate the validity of the "Peter Principle".

Time will tell how good Mr. Rees actually is. At the time of his selection however there were none known better suited.  

Another point that needs to be made clear here. 

It is an absolutely necessary clarity. 

The TA position, as presented, as related to the BPW and as failed to be totally implemented in what was a failed, and shortsighted strategy of "consolidation", does not have control of the day to day operations of the BPW.  

Whatever perceived authority and oversight may have existed has disappeared. 

Water. sewer, road, parks issues, complain to Arsne Street. Unless that is you want to be seen and heard, then you try to get on camera for the BOS.

Understand what is prior to being critical as to what has happened or may happen.  

There are changes coming folks.  Many subtle. Many procedural. All long overdue.

But we did not appoint a mayor.  We did not give away they keys to the hope chest. We did not cede direction.

Policies and procedures, our goals as a town are things that remain with us. 

What we have done, is to understand the need to take politics out of day to day operations to the extent possible. What we have done is the necessary step to insure that day to day decisions are made based on what's proper and not on who is asking. 

Politics will never completely disappear from any situation.  Human nature.  It really is that simple. But you can take steps to neutralize the effects of the political games on the operational side.  That we have done.

Some say we have gone to far, I say we did not go far enough.  So be it.  We deal with what we have. 

But, in truth, an "outsider" is a very good thing to have right now.  A very experienced outsider is even better.  

You want to insert a residency requirement. Well go to it and try and change it.  A big mistake in my opinion.  Said that way back when. 

You shrink the pool for available talent tremendously when you do that.  You end up with the political inbreeding so many of you lament and complain about concerning the make-up of town meeting. 

I prefer a much broader horizon and like the bigger pool.

Until next time.