No New Taxes

To the Editor:

We are rapidly approaching the town budget referendum vote...here before we know it. Now is the time to inform our town leadership of what they must do as servants of the public. So, as not many of you are expressing yourselves, I’ll step out here.

I simply cannot afford an increase in taxes! We already have increased state taxes along with food, fuel, and other unavoidable increases. If my fellow Newtown citizens have so much free cash on hand they can afford more town taxes, well pay mine too...please! If you have not caught on to my absolute must have, it is No Tax Increases in Newtown — period!

We should, instead, enjoy decreasing taxes. Have you noticed we have a stable to declining population, and fewer students?

Why do we have to have our pockets picked by the town for more taxes?

You do the math and let me know if you come up with a different number.

The biggest part of our town budget is schools. Which really is not quite true. The school improvements are on the town side of the budget. If you dig into the “school” budget, over 90 percent goes to salaries and benefits for the teachers and administrators. Let’s see now… we have fewer students, same number of teachers or more if Dr Robinson’s budget is approved, and we need a five percent increase in the “school” budget? Let’s just call it what it is, a five percent raise for teachers and administrators. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I haven’t had a five percent raise in eight to ten years.

Let’s have an open chat here for everyone to review. I can change my mind, but I sure am not seeing anything from this town’s leadership that is in tune with a budget freeze or reduction. How about the rest of you? Do you want to spend less of your take home pay the way you need and want to or do you really think the town has a better use for it? No new taxes in 2012!

Larry Richardson

28 Jeremiah Road,                               Sandy Hook January 25, 2012