An open letter to Reps. McLean, Sanborn and Sen. Boyle:
Thank you for holding the forum on Feb. 20. It captured the highest attendance that I recall for any type of town meeting in Gorham. Unfortunately, it was a huge disappointment for me. It was advertised as a “special forum to share your concerns about the budget,” the point being to discuss the concerns and impact of our governor’s proposed next budget containing revenue-sharing cutbacks.
Aside from my comments, the revenue-sharing cutbacks were never directly discussed. That our town and school insist that these reductions would automatically mean dramatically higher real estate taxes is disingenuous. It is up to Gorham’s voters to decide the appropriate level of taxes and local spending. We need to have serious deliberations of what kind of services we want, need and are willing to pay for. Having taken over business operations of several hundred enterprises nationwide, my experience is that cost savings of at least 5 percent (which is the maximum impact on loss of the proposed revenue sharing) is attainable without negatively impacting services.
The real dangers in Maine and Gorham are the misinformed and uninformed voters. I will do my best to communicate effectively with all interested residents about these important issues.
Jim Means
Gorham
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