Editor,

This is being written as a reflection on the two editorials on May 24. It seems they were both critical of the Windham Town Council. One for not spending money quickly enough and the other for spending too much. One appeared to find fault with the council for not putting a police officer in our school sooner. It stated that the reason the council gave, was the town could not afford that expenditure at that time. It implied that this was not good policy. Yet by waiting until we received a grant, we saved a considerable amount of money.

In the other editorial of the same issue, the council was faulted for spending close to the spending cap. Although each councilor brought with them ideas regarding spending for unmet needs, the collective council gave thoughtful consideration to each need.

The council felt we should honor the new contract worked out with our police and dispatch unions, that brought them into the pay range comparable with surrounding towns. Hearing that the police were spread very thin at the present time, a decision was made to hire a police officer. For anyone who has not seen the crowded conditions at the Public Safety Building or the outdated communications system would not understand why they needed to be updated. The usage at the library by town taxpayers is up, therefore more part-time help was warranted. Since our private snowplowing contracts are uncertain and our road mileage increased for those services and road maintenance, the council felt another person was necessary. We heard this need expressed by town residents all winter.

We need sufficient certified employees in the Town Clerk’s office to handle the increase in work load brought on by new state and federal laws as well as the town’s increasing population. We added 16 hours to the Deputy Clerk’s position. Because of the increase in the cost of heating and transportation or other circumstances beyond the control of our most vulnerable citizens, they need the support of our food pantry. Their need has increased while donations have decreased.

The town office building is crowded, has outdated windows, individual air conditioning window units and a cumbersome heating system. It is prudent to address those concerns so that that building will be very useful for the next several decades. This approach is much more cost effective than building a new, multi-million dollar building.

It may not be important to some that we maintain historic records, but as stated in the Comprehensive Plan, that job is assigned to the Historical Society and is a requirement of consistency by the state of Maine. We also felt that spending a small sum for a coordinator for a disaster plan in the event of an emergency in town, was a wise expenditure.

There are always a lot more needs and not enough money. Our population is growing and changing. The demand and need for services is increasing. I believe that a lot of thought went into the allocation of expenditures this year and it should be considered a catch up year. We tried very hard to stay under the cap and we succeeded. We all want to keep taxes down. A top priority of mine is to strive for a balance between needs and services while keeping taxes as low as possible.

As always, I welcome opinions and suggestions from Town of Windham residents.

Liz Wisecup

Windham

Copy the Story Link