Taxing Tyranny from Town Hall

The Town of Gardiner owes a lot of money, roughly $175,000 in debt for things like rebuilding town hall, the transfer station, highway trucks, hamlet sewer, and mostly the library building.  I consider all of these legitimate uses of town taxes (well, except the library, which the citizens of Gardiner will never own, but at least we can use it).

Recently, the town also identified several areas of urgent or critical need that will require raising taxes soon:  Assessment revaluation, more highway equipment, rehab of the town highway garage, additional maintenance on town hall, accounting software – there’s no end to where there are vital fiscal needs in the town.

However, instead, the town board of Gardiner*  has  stooped to new lows of tyranny by earmarking $10,000 in the 2013 for purchases of development rights for the Hess Farm.  That’s right, open space.  Never mind that this funding could and should be done privately by anyone who thinks its worthwhile, which I don’t.  Never mind that this is not a legitimate use of taxes.  The town board will pick our pockets and tax us, and then turn around and write a check to a PRIVATE property owner or land trust, and the people of Gardiner will not get any goods or services in return.  It’s a crony handout, pure and simple….from our pockets to theirs.  This is not only an abuse of taxing power, but it is immoral as well.  And if they get away with it now, where will it end?  What crony crack pot program will they wish to fund with your money in the future?

You, the hard pressed taxpayers of Gardiner should be mad as hell about this.   The public hearing on the 2013 budget is Thursday November 8 at 7pm.  It’s time that the Gardiner Town Board heard from ‘we the people’ as to where they derive their power.

 

*Carmine Mele is excepted as he voted against this expenditure.