WHY YOU NEED TO BE THERE WHEN THE BOW TOWN MEETING RESUMES ON MARCH 24
As one of the speakers at last night’s town meeting said, the town government needs begin acting as a steward of the money Bow residents pay in property taxes. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines “steward” as “a person whose job is to manage the land and property of another person.” A good steward keeps his job only as long as he manages the other person’s property at least as well as the other person can.
Last night, the voters of Bow sent the town government an unmistakable message that they are not going to tolerate extravagant spending by the town, particularly when so many families are already struggling to make ends meet. By a margin of 62% to 38%, the town meeting defeated the selectmen’s plan to spend $6.8 million on a new public safety complex even though there was a full-court press by the selectmen, the town manager, the architect’s representative, and the construction manager that was designed to wheedle, shame, frighten, and guilt voters into spending money that we don’t have.
The town meeting isn’t over, however. While we have to believe that no one would have the nerve to seek reconsideration of the vote defeating Articles 3 and 4, that possibility exists. For that reason alone, it is critical that everyone who was there last night come to the March 24 meeting as well.
Remaining on the warrant, moreover, are Articles 5 and 6. These articles would authorize the town to spend almost $6.4 million renovating the existing firehouse/community center and the police station. To be honest, we don’t think that the selectmen want to spend this money on the existing buildings. We think that the only reason the selectmen included Articles 5 and 6 was to make Articles 3 and 4 look like “no-brainers.” After all, what rational person would invest $6.4 million into a couple of old buildings when we could have a much bigger, new facility for just $400,000 more?
That plan didn’t work because Bow voters realize that the choice is not between doing nothing and spending over $6 million as the selectmen said. If anything was clear last night it was that Bow’s citizens are grateful for the police officers and firefighters who protect them and that they are willing to take reasonable steps to improve their working conditions. Instead of providing voters with alternatives, though, the selectmen decided to present us with an ultimatum. That was a gamble that disserved the police and fire departments and showed a certain amount of contempt toward the voters.
Also remaining on the warrant is Article 22. Concerned Taxpayers of Bow proposed Article 22 so that the voters would have a meaningful choice. That article would authorize the expenditure of up to $225,000 to repair the wiring and the stove hood in the fire station/community center. From our discussions with the fire marshal, we understand that the repairs to the wiring would satisfy most of the requirements of his letter to the town.
We all have to show up on March 24 to make sure that our votes last night weren’t wasted. Let’s prevent any reconsideration of Articles 3 and 4, defeat Articles 5 and 6, and pass Article 22. If we have to, let’s repeat the message that, as stewards of our money, we expect better of our selectmen than Articles 3-6.