Then this week, still facing a large budget deficit, the School Committee decided to recommend that voters at Town Meeting vote against the override. In a similar vein, Bill Pennington has indicated that he will request voters approve withdrawl of his private warrant article requesting an override, and in a recent letter Pennington claims that an override "... is not a viable option this year".
So if an override is really needed, then why isn't this year the right year for voters to address the issue?
Another letter in last week's Townsman states:
"How can the citizens make an intelligent decision on a tax override that is
thrown out to them 30 days prior to the Town Meeting — or is it just a political
tactic? It has been obvious for a long time that Andover needs to increase its
revenue base."
It seems to me that this statement is self-contradictory. If indeed it has been so obvious for so long, then why can't Andover voters make an intelligent decision about an override this year?
I actually believe that the Andover voters are quite competent at making decisions on complex issues that affect their town and their lives. At Town Meeting on April 30, they will be asked to vote on the specific budget amounts for each department, as well as an extensive array of financial and legal articles. In contrast, a Proposition 2 1/2 override question seems really quite simple, and well within the ability of voters to descern their best interests.
It appears to me that those who think an override shouldn't be addressed this year are concerned because they have not seen sufficient buy-in across the town to insure that the override would be passed. This is an understandable concern from that perspective, but one that flies in the face of an open decision-making process.
Several proponents of increased spending on operating budgets have agrued that the Town should use 'reserves' to meet the shortfall in this year's operating budget, and "try again" to get adequate support for an override next year. This approach seems disrespectful of the votes that might be cast on the override question this year, as if to suggest that people voting against an override are simply "not yet prepared" to make such a decision, and need more time to be convinced. Perhaps if an override concern were a sudden recent issue, then this position might be defensible. Since in fact the issue has been a topic of broad town discussion for several years, this argument sounds to me more like a short-sighted tactic to mollify the conscience of people who want more money to spend this year, but realize deep inside that the town can't afford it with passing the override.
