SB2 protects what is rightfully yours

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

To the Editor:

And, hello, again, Mr. and Mrs. Mont Vernon Taxpayer. Did you know that all 262 of us who voted for SB2 are now being called “uninformed”, “didn’t know what it was about” plus get this: that our voting for SB2 “encourages democratic laziness”?

In other words, we are so stupid we don’t know what we did and we are also lazy? (A rather nasty comment and even more importantly, revealing how inept and uneducated they are. It is certainly not flattering and convinces us even more that we do not have the people with the necessary qualities to be in charge.)

We are referring to an article in this paper on Feb. 2 by Dean Shalhoup, where the chairman of the Mont Vernon School Board, Kim Roberge and esteemed selectman, Mr. Quinlan, have made such statements about every one of us. Wow. How does that comment make you feel? All because 262 voters were the smart ones and voted for SB2.

So, what does that say about the 144 who voted against? We dare not even comment on that. But, it boils down to this: They just don’t like it that we voted for a protocol whereby we can vote down everything they want to take away from us without even raising our hand in public. And, yes, we know exactly what it is all about.

Another statement by Mr. Q: “only large towns need this sort of thing.” What a lot of rubbish. Only the really “uninformed” with a rather Neanderthal way of thinking have this type of mentality. We know exactly why they want to rescind SB2 and it’s not because of the size of our town.

At this point, may we turn your attention to another subject: Bullying. We have been hearing a lot about the bullying going on in our schools and elsewhere, so let’s take another look at this growing problem. Could it be that now it is the taxpayers who are being bullied by a gargantuan school system, the very system that abhors bullying? Ever think of that? As we walk without any animosity, they throw the taxpayer brick at us behind our backs. They trip us up at the polls with warrant articles they have conceived that will benefit them, not the taxpayer. And, they slam-dunk us at every meeting they hold. Now if this doesn’t qualify for description of a bully, then the Mont Vernon taxpayer has been living on an internet “cloud.” But, that’s what bullies do: keep punishing the victim and he will run away, hide inconspicuously or more importantly, in the case of the taxpayers, just move away.

And, they, the perpetrators, will still be in control, no matter what. This is the reason we want you to be informed: to protect what is rightfully yours. We have recently learned that the Mont Vernon taxpayers are paying for a number of preschool children, bused to another area, at a cost of over $50k. When did we approve that in addition to kindergarten?

We have always firmly believed that preschool children are the responsibility of the parents and families, not the taxpayer. A village does not need to be responsible for raising their children as well. Many of us paid for preschool out of our own pockets. It would be appreciated if the taxpayers also knew in which budget this was derived.

Consider this: The taxpayers of Mont Vernon pay the highest taxes of all neighboring towns and ranks number 23 out of 250+ towns of that category in the state. Almost 80 percent of our taxes end up with the schools which leaves very little for the town to take care of some serious needs of its own such as repairing and repaving damaged roads, a decent police station with more security for the town, more for town employees and maybe one day, if the voters agree, a superb new library. If less was paid into un-needy school coffers, the foregoing would be quite possible.

For now, however, also be on the lookout for more taxes at the town public hearing, Monday Feb. 13, 7 p.m. at the Town Hall. Since SB2 doesn’t exist there, you may see your taxes soar again if you are not there physically to rebut any unfair or unwise proposals. Until the School Board recognizes the needs of the taxpayers, any raise in taxes at Town Meeting now may present another huge burden. The warrant articles presented to us by the school systems are always their numbers, their needs, their wants, not what the lowly taxpayer who keeps them afloat wants.

And, by our vote last year, using SB2, we penciled in a resounding “no,” and made a statement at the polls about what the majority of voting taxpayers think of absurdly higher taxes. Along with their belittling comments, they now want to take our SB2 voting rights away from us. If you let them do that, you better stay up on that ”cloud” and observe how our taxes will grow and grow year after year and the town we live in gets uglier and uglier on many levels, eventually turning into a “Planet of the Apes.”

NORMA and TOM McKINNEY

Mont Vernon