May 28, 2007

Dear Letters to the Editor:

This letter is written in response to Judith Lee’s letter regarding my campaign to pass the $1.65 million override on June 19th.  I told a standing-room-only crowd of 72 kick-off meeting attendees that I “desperately” wanted this override to pass, because it’s the right course of action for our ENTIRE town.  I am not a member of NATA, I am not a member of TUFF, I am an advocate for our town with no future political ambitions.

I’ve lived in North Andover for a cumulative total of 27 years – 17 years as a homeowner, and ten years as a renter.  Although I’m proud to be a mom, I’ve only been a mom for 14 of those 27 years.  I’ve been here through the giardia in the lake, through the lawsuits with the water treatment plant, and through the past ten years when we have been consistently told at annual town meeting that we were headed for financial crisis.  We’ve reached that point.  Every single one of our municipal departments is at the point where further service cuts will mean loss of revenue; we’ll risk losing revenue because we can’t perform money-making services, and we’ll risk losing grants because we can’t maintain minimum staffing and standards of service required under grants.  

The time has arrived where we need to make that long-prolonged choice to either sink or swim.  A “NO” override vote does not support the status quo.  The finance committee and Town Manager are already predicting a deficit of $1.5 million for FY 2009.  Without an increase in our tax base, because the state is NOT stepping forward to save us, a “no” vote sets us back further than we are today.  

Are you a senior depending on the senior center for outreach services?  The part-time outreach coordinator restored at Town Meeting will be gone next year without an increased tax base.  The cash found to fund that position will probably not be there next year – ask your finance committee about that, now.  A “YES” override vote restores that position to full-time now, and will probably keep that position in place for 2009 as well.

Are you a library patron?  Without additional taxes, our ability to continue meeting Massachusetts Library Commission minimum standards will be compromised.  We have been on certification probation for three of the past four years.  If we lose certification, don’t think you can take your business elsewhere.  If our own library loses it rights to participate in the regional library system, your library card will be rejected at other libraries – we can’t enjoy reciprocal rights if we can’t offer them ourselves.

I could go on with financial impacts to the Youth Center, Public Safety and yes, Schools, but you can read these in detail at the www.northandover.org website.  And also, you can see factual information there about how high our taxes really are.  Judith suggests that people are thinking of moving elsewhere to escape North Andover’s taxes.  Where will you go?  You’ll have to move out of state or to a less ideal Massachusetts community likely experiencing the same hardships we face here.  Our taxes are relatively high, not because of our low tax rate of 10.45, but because our home values are high.  But it’s a great time to be a buyer in North Andover...homes are now selling at steep discounts after languishing on the market.

There was an excellent article in the Eagle-Tribune on May 27th about the State handcuffing our Board of Selectmen and School Committee with health benefit and union negotiating restrictions that must change if municipal government is to survive.  Read it.

Passing the override on June 19th is only the first step.  Next year, let’s work with our State Representatives to make changes in funding formulas, the cost of health benefits and union negotiations. 

On June 20th, our municipal departments will still open, our schools will still open, but we get to choose the condition of their operations.  I vote “YES”; let’s give them the tools to operate in a manner we can be proud of. 

Sincerely,
Sandy Gleed