Budget Vote, Tuesday May 26th
The DTC strongly recommends a YES vote on the Town Budget. Our successful
effort to defeat the first budget has resulted in an increase to educational
and town services. Due to a savings of $187,000 in debt service, the overall
budget is lower than the one originally proposed—with a projected tax
impact of 0.32%--but it represents a reallocation of nearly $100,000 to the
Board of Education and town departments, allowing the schools to maintain
class size, avoid teacher lay-offs, and fund items like the needed textbooks,
and on the town-side, partially restoring the library book budget, Senior
Center operating budget, Parks and Rec fertilizer and seed for the new fields,
and other important items.
DTC Chairman Ron Kowalski further explains why the DTC is advocating a YES
vote in this letter:
To the Editor -
The Easton Democratic Town Committee would like to thank the community for
rejecting an underfunded budget that did not sustain our town services and
schools on May 5th. Because of your advocacy and commitment, the Board of
Finance voted to increase spending for education and town departments, while
lowering the overall budget due to a savings in debt service.
Now, the Easton Democrats encourage the community to join together and VOTE
YES on the proposed budget next Tuesday, May 26. The polls will be open at
Samuel Staples Elementary School from 6am to 8pm.
This compromise budget, while not perfect, funds both the town-side and school
budgets more adequately than the original budget, which was jammed through
by the Board of Finance Republicans, but rejected by Democrats on the Board
and by the majority of Eastonites at the polls earlier this month. Even with
the increase in spending over the original budget, overall, the compromise
budget has still been reduced by $107,000, so the projected tax increase (including
the approved Region 9 budget) is less than one-half of one percent. In forging
the compromise budget, two Board of Finance Republicans voted with their Democratic
counterparts, in apparent recognition that in order for a budget to pass in
Easton, it needs support from all segments of our community. The revised budget
adds $80,000-plus to the budget originally presented to the voters to create
a more responsible funding package that protects most core services.
In a small town like Easton, our elected and appointed officials have a direct
and significant impact on our quality of life. As citizens, it is our responsibility
to know where our officials stand on issues important to us and what their
priorities are. Those positions were made clear during this challenging budget
season. But the time to act on that knowledge is this November. Next week,
we should all join together to support a compromise budget that meets the
most essential needs of the community at minimal cost to taxpayers during
this difficult economic time. Please vote Yes on May 26th.
Ron Kowalski
Chairman
Easton Democratic Town Committee
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© 2002 - 2005 Easton Democrats. Paid for by the Easton Democratic Town Committee, Marvin Gelfand, Treasurer
