From June 7, 2007 North Andover Citizen 

On June 19 the citizens of North Andover will be asked to fund a Proposition 2 ½ override in the amount of $1.65 million dollars.  As the chairmen of the Board of Selectmen, the Finance Committee and the School Committee, we ask that you approve this critical funding that our town desperately needs.

Our three boards have worked hard to both uncover new sources of revenue for the town and to cut costs without further sacrificing essential town services.  Additional cost-cutting measures will put revenue-producing services at risk.  Our state and federal grant revenue is already at risk, simply because we do not have the staff to provide adequate service in either our municipal or school departments.

A community is more than the homes and businesses in a specific geographic area.  Communities are held together by shared interests and institutions; by a concern about the collective good, as well as the good of the individual. In North Andover, the collective good is represented by our library, our senior center, our youth center, our public safety departments, our schools and all the other departments that work on behalf our citizens.  It’s these essential services that need your support.

On behalf of our respective boards, and in full support of the North Andover United effort to bring solidarity to our community, we ask that you support the override and vote “Yes” on June 19.

Thomas Licciardello - Chairman, Board of Selectmen
Michael Batsimm - Chairman, Finance Committee
William W. Kelly - Chairman, School Committee