BELLOWS FALLS — To all those who are criticizing the Bellows Falls Village budget vote last week, the whining and carping after the fact is not productive, nor does it put you in a very good light.
This was the third vote relating to the budget, and those who wanted to reduce the budget could not gather enough support.
Don't blame those who supported the current budget that was passed in June, blame the lack of support for reducing it.
Don't call it stupid or a disgrace. That's 4th grade playground trash talk.
Above all, don't ever criticize someone for exercising their right to vote. Ever.
If you really want to contribute and make a difference, go to the budget meetings when the budget is being developed. Get in on the ground floor discussions and offer up some of the constructive suggestions you all have been working on. Help shape the budget, not tear it down.
The citizen taxpayers' group must have done a lot of work on what I assume they intended to present for a different budget, but I never saw any information on it or saw any public meetings to present it to the taxpayers other than a meeting that was held immediately prior to tonight's meeting. Too little, too late.
The police department has taken a major step to get its budget under control by contracting some of the dispatch services to the Windham County Sheriff's Department. The fallout was the loss of some full and part-time dispatch positions, but you can't cut costs without some pain somewhere.
The fire department has contracted with Mutual Aid for their dispatch, at an added cost. Overall, the net savings to the village will be in excess of $100,000 per fiscal year, and the price is locked in until June 30, 2016. That was a bit of creative collaboration between the village and the county.
As long as the majority demands the level of services we have, the budgets will continue to pass, and that is the way it should be.
If you want to control costs, get out in front of the curve and come up with reasonable, thoughtful, cogent proposals that will not impact the quantity and quality of public services, just as these departments have.