Newtown’s Legislative Council must feel a little like a deli man, admonished by the customer for slicing too much baloney, pulling slices off the scale one by one, looking to the customer for approval, only to receive a disapproving head shake after each slice. It is humbling to be told about your excesses in such a public way –– and, we are sure, a little irritating as well. To the council, and to the voters, however, it is not about baloney –– it is about how good a town Newtown can afford to be. Ultimately, in the best democracies, like the best delis, the customer is always right.

Admittedly, after the second rejection of its proposed budget for 2003–2004, the council pulled back a thinner slice ($304,800 as opposed to the $1 million that was cut after the first budget defeat). The narrowed margin of defeat in the May 6 vote led the council members to believe there was no need to tip the scale too far in the other direction. In addition, they acknowledged the burden placed on senior citizens living on fixed incomes by the local property tax. The council voted unanimously to increase both the scope and the benefits of Newtown’s program of property tax relief for older citizens, though probably not as much as is ultimately needed.

With a nod to his “customers,” First Selectman Herb Rosenthal reacted to the second budget defeat in the tradition of the best deli men, saying, “The voters are in charge here. They are the taxpayers, and they pay the bills.” This is also the apparent attitude of the Legislative Council, which has reacted appropriately to both budget defeats without hesitation. While skeptics may see this as political pandering in an election year, there is implicit in this point of view a challenge to Newtown voters. By taking charge they are also taking responsibility.

If taxpayers decide in the upcoming budget vote to ask the town’s departments and school district to sacrifice more than the $1.3 million that has been cut from their spending plans since the first budget vote on April 22, they have the responsibility to understand and accept without complaint the reduction in services, the increase in user fees, and the establishment of a make-do rather than can-do ethos for Newtown’s immediate future. As much as we would like to blame the shortcomings of a town on its leaders, ultimately it is the voters who choose the fate of their community. As the customers of democracy it is reassuring to know we have the right and a little daunting to know we also have the responsibility to be right. That means basing our decisions on hard information not hearsay, reason not rumor, facts not fears, and bottom lines not baloney.