A Good Example Of Bad Government

To the Editor:

The Borough of Newtown felt obligated a couple years ago to resurvey its boundaries with GIS maps to make “corrections” and unbeknownst to most Newtowners, the “redrawn” map was accepted by the borough and the town in December 2005.

Some landowners were quietly incorporated into the borough, myself included, and received 2008 borough tax bills — for the first time ever, without any sort of prior notice or letter of explanation.

I believe the chain of events and procedures that the borough and the Town of Newtown took represent a total lack of respect for the affected Newtown taxpayers. Their actions, and lack of actions, represent a good example of bad government.

The borough’s take on the procedures they followed and my predicament? In a meeting on August 19, they claimed: “This sort of thing [the changing of boundaries] happens all the time,” and my only recourse is to “pay the taxes.” It would be “unfair to the rest of the taxpayers” if I was singled out and not required to pay the taxes that I “legitimately owe.”

Unfair? They change my zoning, include me in a district that I was not previously part of, don’t notify me of the change, tax me for the privilege of being in a borough that I don’t want to be included in, and fail to provide me with any services that my non-borough neighbors have. That’s fair? But hey, this must be a good deal — they are not going to charge me the three years back taxes they could legally collect!

I believe the borough acted unfairly and in a manner lacking any sort of common courtesy. The response the borough provided is an excellent example of a poor attitude.

I believe the acceptance of the survey was done outside of the letter of the law, in violation of both charters, and perpetrated in what can easily be construed as “good-old-boy politics.”

Am I angry? You bet I am. Did I let the borough officials at the meeting know what I thought of them and their tactics? You bet I did.

Their actions were, and are, rude. My response to them was probably equally perceived, so I wish to publicly apologize for my “peeing (not exactly the word I used) up a rope” comment.

End result? I will simply have to pay the taxes or have my house subjected to a tax lien and ultimately foreclosure.

Perhaps it is time to reexamine the need for the borough and either dissolve it entirely or redraw the boundaries and limit it to the historic district, since that seems to be where all of the borough proponents live. The borough in its current state, and the notion that the majority of the borough residents should be taxed to supplement the services enjoyed by a slim minority, is outdated and wrong.

Could someone please refresh my memory — why did that Tea Party take place in Boston?

David S. Smith

55 Mt Pleasant Road, Newtown                                August 20, 2008