Reading Override Debate Will Heat Up A Long, Cold Winter

As New Year's resolutions go, this one isn't very original.

It's not to exercise more. Between the Y and my daily runs (9:40 pace) I already do my best with that one. It's not to quit smoking. I watched my parents smoke when I was young and learned that lighting something on fire and sticking it in my mouth was a bad idea. And since my bosses at Patch are listening, finding a better job isn't even the remotest thought.

But making better financial decisions ... now we're talking.

Although not official yet, in three months Reading residents will head to the polls to vote on another override. In October of 2016 I voted no (forgive me) but this time I'm not sure. I also admit that in the voting booth some 15 months ago I had no idea what I was doing, except that I didn't want my taxes to go up. That part hasn't changed. With my taxes about $8,700 this year I still don't want them to go up.

Since the override failed I've been to financial forums, selectmen meetings, school committee meetings, and talked to people on all sides of the override issue. It's scary how much I didn't know when I voted no.

I certainly wasn't alone in my vote. More than 4,000 residents did the same, which is why we're headed back to the voting booth April 3. This time the override will have company, with school committee and selectmen seats also on the line. And we all know what that means, lots and lots of lawn signs. And to kick things off, make sure and check out Bill Brown's Letter to the Editor. Somehow it makes sense for Bill to get the election game started.

So why bring this up now? Because it all starts next Monday with the first of many school committee meetings dedicated to the budget. There's no letup. The next night at the Board of Selectmen's meeting Town Manager Bob LeLacheur is expected to present the town's FY19 budget and it won't be pretty. If the thought of non-stop budget discussions gives you another layer of headache, beyond New Year's Eve leftovers, then take heart, it will all be over before the compost center reopens.

Which brings us to the budget-season buzzword, transparency. In an effort to be as transparent as possible the town wants you to know everything starting with the timeline. After reading the comments in last summer's Selectmen's Override Survey, it's no wonder the town has tried to be as transparent as possible.

There was very little transparency into exactly why this override was needed and the campaign to promote the override was extremely misleading. The town's leadership must first be much more transparent with how it spends tax dollars and also what efforts it is taking to be more efficient with our tax dollars BEFORE asking for more money.

The town has complied but there's a downside. Click on this example. Pick any one of the power point presentations and read it. Go ahead, I'll wait for you ...

Now did that help? Did transparency help you decided how to vote? Didn't think so. Which leads to another comment from the survey.

The information for the override provided was either too high-level or far too detailed. Couldn't find a good, impartial place to find a middle of the road, elevator-pitch type of explanation of how the town got to where it is and how the override funds would be used.

There will be a lot of numbers thrown about in the next three months and hopefully Reading's 18,000-plus voters will take it all in. Some just can't afford a tax increase and neither transparency nor lawn signs will change that. Based on the survey results, many residents aren't sure they trust town officials to spend their money wisely. Where do you stand? As selectman Barry Berman said at the November survey result presentation, "The lion's share of people haven't made up their minds yet."

I'm one of those people.

Photo by Bob Holmes