Letter to the Editor: Concerns On Town Spending, New Positions

The following is a letter to the editor:

I am responding to the recent decision of Town Meeting to vote, virtually unanimously,.

While I do not question the possible need for these full time positions, I remain concerned with the continuous spending habits of Town Meeting members with no consideration of the ultimate impact of higher real estate taxes for all citizens.

For example, one of the positions approved, was for an additional employee in the Human Resources Department.

In private industry, before this additional expense would be approved, the applicant would have to prove that there is an actual need for one more full-time employee.

What backlogs exist because this position does not exist today? What reports are not being done timely without this position today? How much extra time has the current Human Resources Director had to work because of the lack of this position? Could this position been made a part-time position instead of a full-time position?

And once this was answered, was it absolutely necessary to hire a new position or could someone currently on staff in the Town Hall be promoted into the position?

Various automations in the Accounting field such as EXCEL spreadsheets have eliminated hours and hours of accounting functions which, have eliminated previous manual functions.

Simply put accounting responsibilities are much more automated than they were 20-30 years ago. In view of this, could someone from the Treasurers office been promoted into this position?

It concerns me that when a recent national company wanted to come to Burlington to create more tax revenue, Town meeting voted against it. The Canyon Project would have generated up to $1 million in new tax revenue, create 200 temporary construction jobs, 240 PERMANENT jobs for LOCAL workers, and most important of all, $3.2 million in traffic improvements along Middlesex Turnpike.

Every real estate taxpayer in Town should be concerned about the 'tax and spend' attitude that the Town Meeting appears to have, while showing no serious interest in projects that would bring additional tax revenue into the town.

This has to change, otherwise look for your real estate taxes to keep rising and we have no one to blame but ourselves.

Gary B. Kasky Town Meeting Member Precinct 6