A taxing issue
Should Windham permanently take their tax assessment database offline? That is the current question in front of the Town Council. We say no.
There’s no doubt about it, Town Councilor Carol Waig makes excellent points in her questioning of why the town has residents’ housing information online. But, what’s the difference between allowing access to information online when the town allows access to the same information in the assessor’s office?
Real estate agents and other people who regularly use the assessment database have become accustomed to logging on to the town of Windham’s Web site and gaining access to public records. Since the system was taken down, the assessor’s phone has rung off the hook with people needing information they once accessed easily online. While it’s not necessairly bad to step back and rethink a procedure, taking the current system down is an unnecessary hassle and burden and increasing the workload for assessor’s office employees. And it would be inexcusable should Windham need to spend more on assessing department employees when, all the time, it has this available-but-untapped resource waiting in the wings.
A point to keep in mind here is that these records should be available to the public. As long as public business is kept public and America remains free, these records will always be available to the public. Another point to remember is that merely publishing assessing information doesn’t mean it will be used deviously. The public includes good people and bad people. Keeping public records out of the hands of bad people unfortunately keeps them out of the hands of good people, as well. The ideas of liberty and freedom center on equality of opportunity. Bad people may get their slimy hands on these records, but fear of these “terrorists” is no reason to keep them from the good people as well.
We can’t fight the information age. Information is getting faster, broader, more in-depth and easier to access every day. A tax database is not to be confused with credit card information and Social Security numbers. It’s understandable to keep these bits of information private. But assessment information does not to rise to that level.
Keep the records online. Keep the information age in motion. Let’s not be afraid of it, or the bad guys.
A solution’s coming
The Windham Town Council has once again taken the bull (in this case, the Maine Department of Transportation) by the horns by authorizing the town manager to seek a review of River Road’s speed limits. It’s a wise move that may save lives.
River Road, the scene of two pedestrian deaths since last January, is also the scene of multiple accidents. A couple of weeks ago, there was a head-on collision near the Westbrook line. That accident clogged the road for miles, as does every accident that occurs on the narrow, twisting road.
For most Lakes Region residents who commute to Portland or Westbrook, the road has become a highway of sorts, something it wasn’t designed for. Tailgating and aggressive driving is a common occurrence for regular travelers of the road. Some especially bad drivers even pass on dangerous sections, intent on getting to the red lights of Westbrook or North Windham faster than the rest.
A lower limit would do little to dissuade rude drivers, but it will allow police to stop these drivers at a lower limit. A lower limit would do much to slow the vast majority of responsible drivers who go as fast as they are allowed. Lower the limit and the majority will go slower. Lowering the limit should also make pedestrians on the road safer.
In order to improve safety, the transportation department should reduce the speed limit by 10 mph. Where the limit is currently 50 mph, a 40 mph limit would be appropriate. That’s a 20 percent decrease in velocity – plenty to improve pedestrian and motorist safety and ensure commuters get to work in a timely manner.
-John Balentine, editor
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