To the editor:
It’s election time again and four of the seven seats on the Caribou City Council, including those of Mayor Aiken and Councilor McDougal, are up for grabs. Predictably, the posturing and theatrics coming out of Caribou City Hall are downright hilarious.
The drama began on October 10 when the stage was set by City Manager Austin Bleess, who submitted his conscientiously written 12-page Budget Message to the Council. He reported that, “Overall we have set the goal for the 2015 budget to come in flat with the exception of health insurance, wages, and funding of compensated absences.” He goes on to say, “Wages have been increased in accordance with union contracts and guidance from the personnel committee.” He then takes the reader on a department by department tour of the ups and downs of the expense budget and concludes his dissertation by saying, “Overall, after the revenues are taken into consideration, property taxes would have to increase $276,078. Right now that is estimated to be an increase of 0.71 mills.”
So, there you have it ladies and gentlemen. Proof, in black and white, that secession from Caribou is the only way to achieve tax relief for rural taxpayers. Even as the secession petition drive is in progress, the out of touch City Manager and City Council are trying to force us to pay even more due to higher wages and very generous fringe benefits for employees. And because Article 8 of the City Charter expressly prohibits a citizen’s initiative if it deals with taxation, appropriations or salaries of officers and employees, secession is the only option. We have said all along that the size and cost of city government is too great, and it’s about to get bigger yet!
Last year, taxpayers were told the mil rate would only increase by 1.4 and we ended up paying 1.8, which shows that none of them can be trusted. I strongly urge others, no matter where they live, not to vote for anyone who has a proven record of increasing our taxes. Please give their opponents a chance. Our mil rate is already too high!
Paul R. Camping
Caribou Secession Committee
