Tax figures in Orient don’t add up

To the editor:
    I mailed a certified letter in December to the Town of Orient Board of Selectmen to address several areas of concern regarding the 2011 property tax bills. As of this date, I have received no response from the town leaders.
    In an interview one of your reporters conducted with Town Clerk Ms. Alicia Silkey last October, Ms. Silkey is quoted as saying that the rise in property taxes in Orient was due to a decrease in State funding and the rise in the cost of heating fuel.
    I believe there are more disturbing reasons for the sharp rise in property taxes in Orient. Decreased State funding and the cost of heating fuel are minor compared to what really happened. In fact, my household is requesting an abatement of our property taxes for 2011 as we believe that we have been double-taxed in several accounts.
    Specifically, why did the Orient Selectmen ask Orient registered voters to raise:
• an additional $12,125 to pay town Selectmen, planning board, appeals board, code enforcement and animal control officer salaries … when funds have already been raised and appropriated under Article 18, the 2011-12 General Government Account?
• an additional $400 to pay three school committee members when education funding and accounting is addressed and managed separately by the Orient School Committee.
• an additional $1,800 to pay registrar of voters, ambulance committee representative, moderator, ballot clerks, election warden and health officer when funds have already been raised and appropriated under Article 18, the 2011-12 General Government Account?
• an additional $7,700 to pay transfer station attendant when funds have already been raised and appropriated under Article 24, the 2011-12 Waste Disposal Account?
• an additional $11,700 to pay the “town’s insurances’ when $4,161 for General Liability (MMA) and $1,889 for Workers Comp funds have already been raised and appropriated under Article 18, the 2011-12 General Government Account?
• an additional $900 to pay the cemetery groundskeeper when funds have already been raised and appropriated under Article 23, the 2011-12 Cemetery Account?
    This adds up to $19,975 in additional funds raised and appropriated for general government, $7,700 in additional funds for waste disposal expenses, $900 in cemetery expenses, and $400 in education expenses — a total of $28,975. If that figure was deducted from the 2011-12 Orient property tax commitment, the mil rate could be reduced by one full mil from .01210 to .01110. I tried to address these questions at the Annual Town Meeting in August, but I was rudely shut down by Selectman Terry Silkey. We demand that the 2011 property tax commitment be recalculated and that our tax bill be adjusted accordingly.
    My complete letter and a detailed analysis of the Orient town reports can be viewed by visiting the town office or viewing them online at www.nowthefacts.com.
Marybeth Foley
Orient