There are many reasons to Vote NO on the Road Ordinance that will circumvent the process whereby roads are included in capital improvement projects which are scrutinized yearly by the Town Council and RTM.
The Town Council and RTM are suppose to review budget items, in fact that is the purpose of the RTM. This change in funding process gives the Town a blank check for $11.2 million dollars.
Additionally, there is an outrageous $2.3 MILLION, yes million, in interest that will be coming from the General Fund with ZERO corresponding reductions in spending. Also, there is NO mention of the $2.3 Million dollar interest in the explanatory text sent out to each household by the Town.
The Town has included it in small print in the mil rate assessment portion but it needs to be calculated in order to understand what the total cost will be. Of course there is nothing on the ballot that indicates this project will cost $2.3 Million in interest. What happened to transparency in government?
If this is a project that it’s supporters believe to be a good project and a good use of taxpayer’s hard earned dollars then be HONEST about the total cost. The Town Council and RTM members that argue bitterly AGAINST the idea of a budget referendum in Groton, are using the “let the voters decide” mentality in order to change the process for funding roads with no discussion or debate. Vote NO on November 6th for the road ordinance.
