With the FTR vote on Tuesday, every Tiverton voter needs to understand the crucial importance of supporting the Budget Committee's "Budget 1". Despite what you might have heard, there's a huge difference between the two budget options, with Option 2 pushed by the Tiverton Taxpayers Association (aka the TCC-in-exile) . TTA has followed the same strategy this small group of self-interested has used for years: create a big lie, spend a lot of money spreading it, and hope the people of Tiverton are too uninformed or too complacent to care. It's exactly the type of political discourse that turned off voters and caused most of those behind Budget 2 to go down in defeat in the 2012 election. Voters need to know that what they're being sold by this group of extremists isn't true, and that facts again show that the only taxpayers the TTA care about are themselves.
The fact is that there has been consensus for years that the Unrestricted General Fund (UGF) should be significantly higher than the 3% of operating budget required by Charter. Plans to change the Charter to raise this amount have been proposed, and the only reason it was left at 3% was because the town was in tough financial straits, largely due to short-sighted use of General Fund surpluses to lower tax-levies (the same mistake being offered by Budget 2). There was agreement that a higher percentage was wise and should be sought, but not to make a difficult time tougher by requiring it by Charter. It's appalling that this cynical crisis will be created in a year of a historically-low tax increase, with the cost of trashing the town's long-term financial-health being around a dollar a week for most taxpayers. There's a reason every elected body and the elected Town Treasurer support Budget 1.
Robert Coulter, former Town Councilor and TCC leader, has published a letter in which he says, "I don't support building up unrestricted surpluses without a comprehensive plan that includes taxpayer protection, and I don't support support the docket put forth by the town this year which misleads the people about what is required for reserves." This sounds like a firm principled stand, and it certainly rejects the rationale of the "long-term financial plan" proposed in August 2011 . This "plan" included the following: "It is the policy of the Town Council that the UGF be maintained with a cushion above what is minimally required by Charter. The goal of the Town Council is that the UGF be maintained at 5% of the operating budget". That plan was proposed by then-Town Councilor Rob Coulter. Yes, that's the exact opposite of what he and his cohorts now say, and exactly what he now says he doesn't support. Wait a few weeks and his view may change again. Apparently he doesn't realize documents and video exist to prove this flip-flop of political convenience. Mr. Coulter is either deceiving himself or the people of Tiverton, but either way, voters need to be aware that he's a poor source of information (documents quoted are available at www.tiverton1st.blogspot.com).
But the hypocrisy and deception goes beyond a 180-degree change in views. Mr. Coulter gives the hidden-game away in this phrase: "without a comprehensive plan that includes taxpayer protection". That's right, the person who has supported two lawsuits against the town to reverse the budget decision of voters is STILL looking to take away the rights of voters. Since voters alone decide the budget/tax-levy in Tiverton, who do they need "protection" from? This is the same old "say and do anything to get your way" strategy that Tiverton voters have rejected time and again. And Rob Coulter accusing others of "misleading"? Seriously? This is the politician who made the flat-out lie that there was a conspiracy to "bring back the Financial Town Meeting" the centerpiece of his failed 2012 campaign. He also had an opportunity to support returning $600,000 to taxpayers in 2012, but pushed a plan that gave those funds to the Town Council, of which he just coincidentally happened to be a member of the majority.
The majority of Tiverton voters have consistently stood up to this political scheming. Please get out to vote for Budget 1, and encourage every voter you know to do the same. Don't let deep-pocketed interests with a self-serving political scheme throw TIverton's finances into chaos, and turn a small tax increase to maintain services this year into a large one needed next year. Please take 5-10 minutes to stand up for our community, and support our hard-working elected officials who have created a consensus budget with a historically-low 1.29% tax increase that maintains services and a strong General Fund. Let those counting on complacency, and spending big bucks to deceive voters into voting against their own best interests, know that Tiverton is not for sale.
Brian Medeiros
Tiverton, RI
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