Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility

In yet another override election, the voters of Bridgewater have rejected the proposed $1.36 million tax override. The voters have been consistent in their demand for reforms and for the Town to better control its spending, and we hope that our Town officials finally begin to listen. We also truly hope that this puts the override issue to rest, and that we do not have to waste another $10,000+ on holding another election. The results are as follows:

Yes: 2024
No: 3529

The taxpayers of Bridgewater have been subjected to four separate override votes in the past 4 years. They keep putting tax hikes on the ballot, we keep voting them down, and they never learn. However, the taxpayers must be vigilant. We must show up to the polls and vote NO tomorrow. The coalition that has been trying to raise our taxes for years is hoping that we miss just one election so they can sneak an override through.  Remember that if the override passes it is a permanent tax increase that is levied each and every year. Please make the time to vote NO on Saturday at the Old High School/New Middle School. Polls will be open from 7am until 8pm.

I’ve heard from some people that they’re thinking about voting for the override to get the library open for more hours, and that is just what those who have wanted to raise our taxes for years are hoping for. We could fully fund the library, but our Town leaders would rather close departments in order to try and force through another tax increase. If we simply increased the amount that Town employees pay for their health insurance, the Town of Bridgewater would save over $350,000, which is more than the library has requested. All we are doing is asking our Town employees to pay 75%, which is a rate that is on par with neighboring communities and is still higher than the national average of 73%.

Don’t buy into the rhetoric … Vote No on June 14th!

Some members of the Board of Selectmen and the Advisory Board Chairman have made a presentation about their multi-year plan for spending our money if the override passes. While I wasn’t able to attend the meeting, I was able to watch it on Cable TV. I really hope that most of the taxpayers in Bridgewater have been able to watch the presentation as well because it makes our case better then we could have. They keep saying that this is a fiscally responsible override that will sustain our Town for years, and that they will now make the reforms our Town has needed for years. However, the plan they outlines told a different story.

The plan outlines how the Town plans to spend our tax money between now and 2015 if this override passes, and it is seriously fiscally irresponsible:

1. Nothing is done to keep spending in control as expenditures increase faster than revenues in the plan
2. Spending at the rates called for in the plan will put the Town in a nearly $2 million deficit at the conclusion of this plan, which will obviously be “solved” by calling for another override
3. While their plan calls for some minor savings health care savings, it does not call for increasing the share of health insurance paid for by Town and School District employees
4. We are not really putting any money into stabilization as the balance of the stabilization account will be $0 at the end of the plan

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Last year, the Town of Bridgewater was very upfront about letting the taxpayers know what would be the actual, full outcome of voting for the overrides. They released the fact that the average property tax bill would increase by $189, and that the override would add $411 on top of that increase for a total tax increase of $600.

However, this year they are not informing the citizens about this fact. Apparently, they are hoping they will be able to swing some votes if homeowners believe that they are facing a smaller than actual tax increase. The proponents of the override keep hammering home the rhetoric that this override will increase taxes by only $191, and they are simply ignoring the fact that this will be on top of already approved tax increases.

We have been asked for and we would love to give you the full amount that the average tax bill will increase if this override passes, but the Town has not yet published this information. All we know is that the pre-override increase will be higher than the $189 from last year due to the increased amount of bonding issued to pay for the refurbishing of the old High School. If the proponents of the override really believe that an estimated $400 tax increase is a small amount that anybody should be willing to pay, then why are they being coy about the real impact this override will have on the average tax bill?

Thanks to Harry Bailey there are now new lawn signs available for those who wish to advertise their opposition to this latest override.  You can call Mr. Bailey directly for a lawn sign at 508-697-3078. Thank you Harry for helping get the message out.

The supporters of the proposed $1.36 million tax increase have already begun to campaign dirty. I’m not just referring to their transparent attempts to declare their override as fiscally responsible, but I’m referring to their continuing efforts to steal and damage lawn signs opposing the current override. We are a volunteer organization that is just trying to get the truth out about the current fiscal wellbeing of Bridgewater, which is what the supporters of this override don’t want the voters to hear.

We ask that you please consider a donation to our organization to help replace the stolen and damaged lawn signs so that we can stand up to this vandilism.  Please mail any donation you can afford to:

Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility
105 Harvard St.
Bridgewater, MA 02324

We keep hearing how this override is different. It’s supposed to be part of a 3-point plan that will solve all of Bridgewater’s problems. This is the same 3-point plan has been talked about for years; however, the only action that has ever been taken is to raise our taxes. The plan also calls for limiting raises and saving money on health insurance. Of course, nothing has been done on those items. Why are they trying to raise our taxes again and again when they know money can and should be saved in salaries and health insurance? Because once they get more money from the taxpayers, they won’t have to work towards spending it responsibly.

For the 4th time since 2004, the voters are being asked to raise their own taxes. The Town has had plenty of time in the interim to try and make some reforms to save money. Instead, unsustainable raises continued to be handed out, and our health insurance costs continued to soar. Now our Town leaders are saying they are going to tighten their belts, and start spending our money more responsibly. But first, they need $1.36 million from the taxpayers. What has been done to make us believe them? Nothing. They have not done a single thing except change their rhetoric in an attempt to trick more voters into voting yes. Read the rest of this entry »

This week the Selectmen and the Advisory Board voted to support a $1.36 million override, which would mean an additional tax increase of about $190 to the average Bridgewater taxpayer. We say additional because the tax bill for next year is already slated to go up more than 2 1/2 percent due to debt overrides that have already been approved. It might not seem like much to many of us; however, to those living on a fixed income, facing the current mortgage crisis, or suffering from the current economic downturn, it could mean their home.

Among many other important issues, the annual budget and override (or contingency budget) will be brought up at the Annual Town Meeting on Monday, May 5th at the B-R Regional High School. I highly encourage all taxpayers in Bridgewater to attend and have their voices heard. If the citizens vote for an override at the Annual Town Meeting, then it will go to an election. It seems silly that we keep holding override votes when we keep getting the same answer from the citizens: No! It goes from silly to frustrating when you realize that each override ballot costs the taxpayers about $10,000.

The Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility opposes this override attempt as it will hurt those who are already most at need, and it will enable the Town of Bridgewater to continue with business as usual. The citizens have already said NO to three overrides from 2004 until now. With each vote, they were demanding that our Town change the way it’s been doing things. The demand was for reforms, better planning and reasonable contracts. However, nothing was ever done by our elected officials. The raises included in the current contracts are still more than the Town can afford, and the employee contributions to their health insurance are still far less than the average.

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The Meeting Warrant is up on Bridgewater’s web site for the October 9th Special Town Meeting. Some people have expressed some confusion, and having read the wording, I can see why. This post will try to explain the Warrant to the best of our ability.

The first thing to note is the reasons for the meeting. We need to balance our budget which is currently in a $1.5 million deficit due to the previous decision to send that amount to the B-R Regional School District. The second reason is to fund the Town’s Health Insurance line item, which was intentionally underfunded when the budget was first passed back on May 7th.

Article 1 of the warrant is the major article. It seeks to do 2 major things in order to close the budget gap of $1.5 million caused by the transfer of money to the B-R Regional School District. The first part of the article applies about $800,000 of newly identified available revenue towards the current fiscal year’s budget. This revenue is from land sales, ambulance receipts, a $50,000 gift from Bridgewater State College and other such items. The second part of Article 1 transfers funds from departments in order to close the remaining $700,000 gap. This is the part that cuts certain departments and even adds funding to a few others. There are no impact statements yet one the Town website; however, it has been expressed by the Board of Selectman and in newspapers that these cuts and transfers will minimally impact Public Safety.

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