Every tax is a pay cut. Every tax cut is a pay raise.
Citizens for Limited Taxation |
Town Must Tighten Financial Belt | Sunday, March 7, 2004 |
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Walter Ramsley | Metrowest Daily News |
The Framingham Taxpayers Association has taken an undeserved beating in
the paper. Steve Kruger's report was factually on target. He used
the correct cost-of-living index in his analysis. And he demonstrated
the COLA adjustments paid by the town exceeded that index by a sizable
margin. His report noted that overall salary hikes have climbed by
an even greater extent because of seniority, step increases, and other
factors. Steve's bottom line conclusion, that the people running the
government should take into account the taxpayers' needs and wishes,
seems reasonable enough.
Most taxpayers are very satisfied with the people who work for the town. Personally, I think the Park and Recreation Dept. does a fantastic job. The Sanitation Dept. is great. The library is terrific. The roads are plowed right away when it snows. The schools are good. And the police force has become the area's best department by far under the new captain. The employees don't deserve any criticism. All the Taxpayers Association is saying is that Framingham does not possess endless financial resources. It behooves us to invest the money we do have productively. Chances are there is less waste in the system than many people believe. Still, the people running the government have a fidiciary duty to get the most mileage from the available money. This is not the Dan Duquette school of public administration. We can't afford to blithely pay Manny Ramirez $20 million a year without suffering the consequences, any more than the Red Sox can. Right now everybody is tightening their belts. The economy is slow. The Taxpayers Association just wants the government to stick to its guns when conditions improve so another round of imbalances doesn't arise in the future. |
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