To the editor:
As a member of the Citizens for Responsible City Management, I was very disappointed in our City Councilors’ decision not to hold the line on spending. Last year most everybody got hit very hard with their taxes. This year we got hit with a budget that could raise our taxes by 10 percent higher than last year. Our councilors should be very proud of themselves.
We, the Citizens For Responsible City Management, brought hundreds of ideas over the last several years of how to keep the taxes in line with our surrounding towns so we could live better. But no matter what we would bring in to them, they would not listen to good advice. So here we are, paying the price for Special Interest people.
One thing that was brought up by a councilor was that 56 percent of our tax money was spent on labor. Anyone that knows anything about a budget knows you can’t stay in business that way, but when asked about cutting back on hiring, the councilors instead want to hire more.
It is not my intention to hurt the snowmobile club or any other organizations, but merely to suggest ways to help the people that are having a hard time to keep their homes and to live here. My consensus is that the city councilors care more about the wants of over-bloated departments than the citizens and businesses in this community that are trying to meet their basic necessities.
Lastly, in view of monies being transferred through different departments and the confusion by the councilors and department heads on how to read the budget, I was merely suggesting that an internal or forensic audit be done, whichever is better for the community, to better understand the different accounts and where everything is. I was not accusing anyone of taking anything, but trying to clarify budget problems Caribou is going through. My understanding of what an audit would cost is that it is based on how in depth they have to go and I believe that for the councilors to suggest that it would cost $75,000 is inaccurate.
Even though our taxes are going to be higher, based on the budget that was voted on, I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Milo Haney
Caribou
