Town can't afford more government
Editor,
As we all know our Town Council has decided to push the problem of revenues and expenses down the road by increasing taxes to cover a small amount considering their budget.
I was encouraged by the discussion at the meeting, but they still took a route that takes from all of us to cover what they consider as essential services. Our local government faces the same problem as our national government. Their expenses are too high for their revenue.
There was discussion that the revenue would be going down next year yet they did not cut any expenses. Instead they raised their expenses by giving some pay increases. It doesn't matter that it is a small amount because they do not produce anything. The government is totally dependent on their taxpayers, and our incomes are going down because every expense is going up with our national leaders able to make up numbers on paper.
They live in a make-believe world and we will pay the price.
Our local leaders cannot make up numbers yet they seem to believe we can afford to pay more for the services of the town. Something has to give and until we tell them there is no more to take will they start to make the hard decisions.
I was encouraged that in public they said they could call on some of our good citizens to help make these choices, but it will only get worse if nothing is done. We cannot afford all the things we have had in the past and government should not be the choice we head to when we need something.
We need people who will make these choices and explain them to the public. We need this information posted so all can see it and not have to request the numbers. They have created barriers to public information and they have isolated themselves by working only with those who want to spend their time on moving through government regs.
I hope they will follow through with those who volunteered to help and find solutions. I believe that many of us have reached the point that we cannot afford more government.
Bruce Caldwell, Signal Mountain