Survey Comments Emotional, Spirited, and Even Nasty

Editor's note: The hundreds of comments released Thursday from the Selectmen's override survey make for fascinating reading. But even for the internet, it's a little much to include in one online post. So here's a link to them, along with a small(ish) sample of the comments. Selectmen Barry's Berman's introduction leads us off.

It is with pleasure that we release the second portion of the Selectmen’s survey. These comments represent the thoughts and opinions of the over 2,200 residents who took the time to give us their feedback on issues facing the financial future of the town of Reading. The comments you see are the ones submitted by the residents in raw form. They are not edited, and nothing was omitted. The comments are organized by survey question, and further divided on how the respondent said they voted in the October override election: Yes, No, or did not vote. The comments from question 13 were released previously, but are included here for completeness.

There may be a tendency for readers to jump around to see if their comment was included. They all were, verbatim. There may also be the temptation to find comments which align with your already pre-conceived beliefs. We encourage you to keep an open mind. As we learned from Jayne Miller’s excellent presentation of the data at the joint Board of Selectmen, School Committee and Library Trustee meeting on November 14, the majority of survey respondents are not locked into their position. They can be persuaded, either way.

It is in this spirit that we ask you to read all of the comments. We also urge you to stay engaged in the budget process which starts in the next few weeks. There will be, by our count, over fifteen public meetings between now and April 3rd, when voters may be asked again to weigh-in on an operating override. We will do our best to present all the relevant information in a clear and cogent manner. But it is ultimately up to you, the voter, to stay informed, ask questions, and speak to your elected officials and each other. We firmly believe that when we are engaged in open, honest and civil dialogue, we will come together to make the right decisions for the Town.

Respectfully submitted, Barry Berman For the Board of Selectmen

A sample of the comments, with hundreds more on the town website. We picked 20 to show you. There are no names associated with any of them.

1. I voted yes but do not plan to again until we have new leadership in the RPS.

2. See all the waste....new vehicles...new positions created throughout all the town departments. Sick of the false facts and figures to justify the foolish spending. Cut safety personnel on the street but increase the staff. Is that really the best interest for the town? There is waste on both the town and school side. Get serious and realistic before you ask for more money.

3. I moved to Reading (over other similarly situated towns) because of the reputation of Reading schools. If this reputation suffers, I will consider moving to a different town. I pay a lot in real estate taxes but understand that this is an investment in my community. Not amending the tax base to keep up with funding the schools and municipal services seems very shortsighted.

4. pay the teachers competitively and stay within your budget. like the rest of us

5. In spite of the fact that I don't agree with many of the decisions made by town leaders in shaping the look and feel of the community, it's still my community. The children in the school system (which mine are just leaving) should not be punished for the poor choices of our leadership.

6. If the Override "goes through," we will be paying huge taxes for many years. I will continue to vote NO again. I cannot afford this Override.

7. The schools are not managed well and failing. School committee ignores red flags.

8. I simply do not think that government spends the taxpayers' hard earned money wisely or effectively. There is too much waste in government spending (including the schools) and I do not wish to feed its continued spending habits.

9. Someone needs to do some more analysis of where the current funds are being used. With the amount of money I spend in property taxes it's ludicris to ask for more.

10. John Doherty is so bad at managing the school budget, I would never vote for an override until he is replaced as superintendent.

11. the timing was awful we had just done a ridiculous override for the library you lost the voters confidence. the answer is not always tax hikes.

12. It was too large. If it were for school only then I would have voted yes. It was the added stuff that made me vote no.

13. It doesn't matter where the money goes. I see so much waste in town. My budget does not allow for excessive "I want".

14. If this question comes back in an election, and it passes, I will be contacting a realtor to move out of this town.

15. The mismanagement of the towns funds gave me EXTREME concern of where the override money will be allocated. Also, how the town managers thought it was a smart & fiscal responsible idea to allow the 18.5 million dollar library to be built when they knew the schools and the town was in such dire straits - shame on them.

16. To win, you need to focus on both school and first responder services. You need to convince a broad spectrum of voters, not just households with school kids. You need to convince ALL homeowners that this is VERY IMPORTANT for house values and safety.

17. I would like to understand what is being done to protect senior citizens from being taxed out of their Reading. I will vote YES, but would like to feel like I'm not hurting my neighbors.

18. I would always vote to improve municipal services and schools because it helps home values and is best for residents and students in the public schools.

19. I will still vote no. All of the middle income and people on fixed incomes are slowly being forced out of this town. I grew up here and I am raising two children here and it is not the same Reading from the 70s. Very sad.

20. I know the town has done everything they can to cut costs. The costs that they can't control, insurance, salary, maintenance, etc. keep going up. I am on a fixed income and my taxes have already gone up $2000 since I retired. I can't keep dipping into my savings.