A major portion of the Town Meeting deals with the town budget which we always go through line by line, well except for the school budgets, we don’t seem to really have much of a say on those. Something hit me today, much like the time I walked into a bar. Think about that and you’ll get it.
Anyway, every year almost every department gets more money, usually a certain percentage. And it is my guess, which I have yet to confirm, is that every penny is spent each year. The usual thinking, which came out in the discussion at the TM about the hotel/motel tax is if we don’t spend it we will lose it. Here is an idea – why don’t we make it that if we don’t use it we give it back? Couldn’t we come up with some kind of incentive for saving money? For example, if you turn in a certain percentage at the end of the year, that could go into a bank account, and could be used by the same department down the road, say when they need something extra. I talk a lot about “wants versus needs”, these savings could be used for the “wants”.
I’m a tea party guy, the name of the blog kind of gives a clue on that, so I believe in fiscal responsibility. Fiscal responsibility leads to lower taxes. Lower taxes lead to happy taxpayers. We have a problem in this town, this state and this country and that is we spend and tax, tax and spend. It is a culture we have created and the only way we will ever change this culture is by starting at the local level.
We manage our budgets at home (okay some of us aren’t too good at it but we try) by making sure we don’t spend more than we take in. We buy what we need and save for what we want. Sometimes we need to eat at home instead of Rovezzi’s, drink wine from a box instead of a bottle. We do what needs to be done. Just think if we carried this same philosophy to the town budget, then to the state, then to the country.
If every town and city did this, imagine what a difference we could make.
I agree with you concerning "budgets" and fiscal responsibility. There seems to be a different culture about spending--living beyond one's means and maxxing out the credit cards. Forgetting about "needs" versus "wants". Maybe because I've never had a lot of money and I've had to work hard for everything I have, I don't spend my money foolishly. What burns me up is that other people are spending my hard earned money foolishly and I can't stop them! We need to put an end to all polital "parties"--they all have their agendas. Stop the insanity because it's not going to be pretty if it doesn't stop soon!
ReplyDeleteI've been very discouraged with the town leaders-both current and past BOS/TA. They don't take responsibility for their mistakes. So after nearly 20 years and witnessing the ATM (both sessions), I have decided it's time to leave Sturbridge.
ReplyDeleteI had a yard sale this past weekend (which no one can believe I have to get a permit at the cost of $2 to have). I had a couple from PA stroll through. The woman asked me why there were so many houses for sale around the location of my home. I told her that it probably had a lot to do with the property tax/water/sewer rates in Sturbridge because that's why I was having a yard sale--downsizing to move. When I told her what I paid in taxes/fees, she couldn't believe it. Note to our leadership---the tourists are noticing the downfall of the town!