Local Voices
Brown's Letter A Cynical and Dismissive Piece
In Letter to the Editor, resident takes issue with the opinions expressed by longtime resident.
A Letter to the Editor from Shawn Brandt:
I was dismayed to read Bill Brown's March 20th letter to the Editor, entitled "I Will Not Bail You Out With a Yes Vote."
What a remarkably cynical and dismissive piece. This override is not about funding a bunch of luxuries that parents in town are now demanding. We did plenty of homework before moving here, but it is undeniable that the quality of services has been cut dramatically over the last five to six years, in particular. Residents are receiving fewer and fewer services from the town and the schools, and this override primarily patches some of those holes rather than adding new "wants" to the budget.
Maybe some readers won't care until the Senior Center funding is cut because it's not public safety or infrastructure, or until someone close to you suffers because our public safety departments are stretched too thin. I don't believe that's the kind of community-centric approach that was reflected in the well-received senior tax relief effort, and I don't believe it's what any of us thinks makes Reading a special place to live. I and many of my peers happily subsidize up to 1/3 of the tax bill of some of our most vulnerable seniors, because it's the right thing to do when you live in a community where you want everybody to succeed.
Finally, let me just suggest that the notion that thousands of residents should just move because they are unhappy is wildly unproductive. Imagine the uproar if somebody were to suggest that seniors who can't afford to pay their taxes should just move. I haven't lived here for 80-something years, but I love this town, too. I'm not giving up on it just because Bill Brown says so.
Shawn Brandt, Franklin Street
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