On Monday (April 4), Tiverton’s Town Council holds a public hearing at THS on a proposed ordinance from Councilor David Nelson. While advertised as a “tax cap”, it in fact "caps" no tax or budget, since our Town Charter gives full authority for those decisions to voters at the Financial Town Meeting. From town documents, we now know that it’s true purpose is to take that right away from the citizens and give it to the Council, in direct violation of the Charter and state law.
While the wording of the state’s tax-cap legislation is ambiguous, the Standards & Procedures adopted by the agency charged with implementing the law are clear-cut.They state that in years when a town qualifies to consider exceeding the state tax-cap, to do so requires “the approval by at least a four-fifths vote of the members of the governing body of a city/town, OR a majority vote of electors in the case of financial town meeting community.” Unless a court or the state alters these regulations, the Town Council can no more pass an ordinance violating them than it can ignore the state and exceed the cap at will. This ordinance also violates the Town Charter in ways too numerous to list here; detailed information is at www.curbtiverton.blogspot.com .
Some Councilors have already decided to pass the Nelson Proposal to “settle” a lawsuit brought by members of the political-action group Tiverton Citizens for Change, of which Councilor Nelson is President. It would give two members of the Town Council the ability to veto decisions of FTM voters. We face the unprecedented spectacle of a Council siding in a lawsuit with a special-interest group over the people of Tiverton they represent. Worse, if the Council fails to defend our FTM rights, there is a possibility of past FTM results being challenged, and the town losing millions of dollars as a result.
The people of Tiverton have long guarded their right to decide budgets & taxes. And attempts to falsely suggest taxes & spending are out of control ignore reality: the large tax-increases in recent years were the result of extraordinary one-time factors (the elementary-school bonds, the loss of $1.5 million in state car-tax funds). And because FTM voters responded wisely, Tiverton preserved town and school services, ended the year with a surplus, and now faces a minimal tax-increase request this year. Ask yourself: how business-friendly is a town with decimated schools, defunded community services, & crumbling infrastructure?
If the Council approves this illegal ordinance, there are ways for citizens to defend their rights, including legal action to enforce state law and the Charter, and collecting 500 signatures to force a voter-referendum on the ordinance. For now, concerned Tiverton residents should contact their Councilors and attend the hearing to let them know we take efforts to take our rights away seriously.
Brian Medeiros
Tiverton, RI
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
0 comments:
Post a Comment