… except no one voted to be overtaxed, for years, for pet projects. It’s one thing to be upfront why you’re overtaxing. It’s another thing to hide details behind a fictitious budget. I agree with Peter. It shouldn't require a forensic accounting degree to cut through the marketing claims.
No one is claiming the money goes missing. The issue is that we’re collecting more in taxes than we need and using that excess to build up a multi-million-dollar slush fund, essentially giving ourselves an excuse to spend on pet projects later. For example, this surplus allowed the town to contribute $7 million to the Community Center last year and apparently we can contribute another $2.3 million this year, *all without affecting services. If we have that kind of flexibility, why not simply tax residents less and let them decide how to use their own money?* Karla Gravis Weston Rd > > ---------- Forwarded message --------- > From: RAandBOB <[email protected]> > Date: Thu, Jun 5, 2025 at 6:15 PM > Subject: [LincolnTalk] Lincoln taxes > To: Lincoln Talk <[email protected]> > > > if you live with a constrained budget like I do, when you see a big > capital expense like a new car on the horizon, you start putting money away > ahead of time so you have the money when the time comes. Similarly, when > the finance committee sees large capital expense on the horizon, they start > putting away money so the money is there when the need arises. > > Think what they have accomplished! We have not had a budget override in > many years. Compare that to our neighboring towns. Moreover, as I recall, > last year‘s tax increase was only 0.9% in an era of year over year 2.5% > inflation and in spite of the community Center project. I consider that > worthy of Commendation, not accusations of poor fiscal management. > > Now I voted for the cheaper option for the community center, but the > figures were presented to the electorate and the majority of the voters > wanted the more expensive option. That’s democracy in action. If you were > on the losing side, you have another chance to make your case at the > special town meeting. But when you lose the vote, you lose the vote. > > Ruth Ann Hendrickson > (She, her, hers) > > -- > The LincolnTalk mailing list. > To post, send mail to [email protected]. > Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/ > . > Change your subscription settings at > https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. > >
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