Fairhaven is at a Crossroads
As I have watched the debate around the Proposition 2.5 override, I felt compelled to comment. We are at a crossroads in our town, and it is in all of our hands to decide who we want to be going forward. Now, I understand people don’t want to pay more…for anything! But we are paying more — for everything — which is why we are in this position in our town. Costs have grown more than the 2.5% we are allowed to increase our taxes. And in this case, is the passage of the override really going to cost us that much more? I ask that people take a step back for a minute and do a true analysis, thinking about the whole picture and the long game as you make your decision.
While on the one hand our taxes will increase slightly more, around $44 per year for the average taxpayer, which equates to less than the cost of one cup of coffee at a coffee shop every week for a year. But if we vote no, the alternative will be to find other ways to fill the funding gap, like adding fees. Fees for things that we need to provide as a town and we now take for granted could cost each household much more that annually.
And while the idea of an override isn’t a perfect solution, it is a step that can be taken now to prevent the town from going so far backward it takes years to recover. In addition, we should be looking at the finances more intently and making a bigger plan. That will be much harder to do with a no vote. How can we expect to draw a high quality finance director if potential candidates think they won’t get paid fair market value? That is a critical step toward doing all of the planning that has been suggested, and quite frankly is needed. The override creates the bridge to allow all of those things to happen.
What do we get for our money if we vote yes? We are able to help our schools maintain a high-quality educational experience and critical services needed for our children and families. A cost of less than a subscription TV streaming service or your cable bill is a small price to pay to support the education of our children. If we continue to chip away at educational funding we will feel that impact in the erosion of our property values and our town’s future citizenry.
As a community that’s aging, with housing that will be turning over, one of the big deciding factors for people coming into a community is the quality of education in the community. If a cut to the schools is the more palatable choice, are you choosing not to be a town that draws families, supporting long term growth? A no vote puts the town in the position of not funding schools to the absolute minimum required by the state, risking repercussions such as significant fines and withheld funding.
We are in a difficult spot…like many other communities in the Commonwealth. We have a course of action that needs to be taken, and it needs to happen now. If we wait the hole gets bigger, you will be asked to do more or we lose — services, staff, quality community services. These are all things that we deserve to have. They are all things necessary for the community to grow and improve.
And you can decide what will set us up for a brighter future. All I ask is, please, think about what it means for you and your family’s future objectively and then make your choice.
I’ve taken a close look at it all, and I believe we need to take this step to make the investment in our future now, so I’m voting yes on Monday June 5. I hope you will too.
Pam Kuechler, Fairhaven
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