Time to Invest in Our Collective Future

As most Reading residents are now aware, we will once again be voting on a Proposition 2½ override on Tuesday, April 3rd. Arguably in contrast to the $7.5 million override rejected by voters in 2016, the $4.15 million override on Tuesday’s ballot is a responsible request that addresses basic critical needs while avoiding profligate spending. Passage of this override is essential to the safety and fiscal sustainability of the town. A failure to pass the override will result in our police and fire departments remaining dangerously understaffed. Moreover, if we fail to invest in our schools – one of Reading’s primary drivers of residential growth – we will ultimately lose the tax base that maintains our public services and homeowners’ property values.

It is understandable that some residents are reluctant to support this override in light of the new cap on property tax deductions on federal tax returns. However, the needs addressed by this override are not going to simply disappear if the override is voted down. Rather, rejecting this override will put public safety at risk and dig us into a fiscal hole from which it will become increasingly difficult to emerge. In the event that the override does not pass, we will find ourselves a few years from now still facing the same needs, likely in addition to a decreased tax base resulting from our failure to invest in our town and our schools. Under this circumstance, any override will have a greater financial impact per household than will the override currently being considered.

Many voters have rightly expressed concerns about the impact of this override on Reading’s elderly residents. Importantly, Reading’s Senior Tax Relief Exemption program, implemented last year, will mitigate the tax effect of the override on many of the town’s senior citizens. I strongly encourage our town’s leaders to expand eligibility for the program so that even more of Reading’s seniors can benefit from this tax relief in the future.

The categorical imperative, the central moral principle in the philosophy of Immanuel Kant, implores us to act according to the maxim that we would wish for all others to follow. The relevance of this principle applies not only to the actions of individuals, but also to the collective actions of communities. If communities fail to invest in education, the long-term competitiveness of our local, state, and national economies will be threatened. On the contrary, if communities choose to invest in the education of their young people – as the Reading community is being asked to do on Tuesday – broad social and economic benefits will be realized. It is incumbent on each of us to do our part in investing in our collective future. Therefore, I strongly urge all Reading residents to vote “Yes” on April 3rd.

Gabrielle Weatherbee, RMHS ‘14