Alice in Newtown’s Wonderland

To the Editor:

Personally I do not like writing this many letters on one subject but given the recent debates over the town budget, I feel so compelled. I cannot understand the shear nerve of the Legislative Council to add money back to either budget. I hope many of the 2,200-plus who have voted No feel the same way. Is this Alice in Wonderland where up is down and down is up and no means yes but yes means who knows what? I cannot believe anyone can interpret the past votes as anything other than people are fed up with constant tax increases. Here are the facts:

Connecticut raised the state income tax by the largest amount in its history this past year

Connecticut has the highest property taxes in the country

The high school addition appears larger than needed and added unnecessarily to our bonded debt payments

School enrollment is down and trending down

The town and schools are saving over $2 million (bond refinancing and new bus contract) or about 1.9 percent of current budget — where did that money go?

Median Newtown home prices according to both Zillow and Trulia show our home prices are worth less than they were ten years ago

Fed reports 40 percent drop in net worth of middle class families

On top of everything, we all face possibly the largest federal tax increase ever at the end of this year.

The United States already spends more on education than all but Switzerland with only average performance (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development data), and Connecticut ranks seventh in per pupil spending, placing Newtown near the top of the US. Not only does the US spend more than other countries, but more than those with higher achievements. Finland consistently ranks near the top in science, reading, and math but spends one-third less. If more spending per pupil yielded better results, Washington, D.C., students (2008/09 per pupil was $16,408) would have the brightest and best performing students in the world. But they do not.

Some will say we need to pass whatever we are given to protect our bond rating. Nonsense. The council needs to heed the mood from the first vote and react responsibly. People have been saying for some time this endless cycle of property tax increases every year has to stop. Now is the time. Now is the time for government at every level to become frugal. A simple example I see every morning on my drive to work. Three buses drive out of my neighborhood within five–ten minutes apart all headed for the Hook. I’ve never seen them more than half full. Furthermore, evidence is inconclusive that full-day kindergarten is worth my tax dollars. Now is the time for budget cuts. It’s time we see our property taxes reduced like they doing in New Jersey. Let’s stop this Alice in Wonderland nonsense and make No mean No to any increase in our taxes.

Warren Hoppmeyer

23 Cobblers Mill Road, Sandy Hook                             June 19, 2012