To the Editor:

As the author of "We the taxpayers are the boss," we the taxpayers have won!  This was largely possible from the excellent work that Guy Caron and the rest of the Budget Committee has worked so hard to accomplish.  For the 98 percent of us demanding lower property taxes, the Budget Committee has heard our voices loud and clear.  Thank you very much for a job well done!

Now for the 2 percent that feels that the budget cuts went too far, I've got a short-term solution and a long-term solution so this won't happen again in the future.  

For you folks that think the budget cuts went too far, this is what I'm suggesting.  If you've been so blessed by the good Lord with an over abundance of cash that the rest of us don't have, and you feel betrayed that your property taxes won't go up this year, here is what you should do.  There is nothing to prevent you from using the extra cash you've been blessed with, form a committee and restore the cuts that you feel were too drastic.  You'll be doing that with your money and not ours!

Now for the long term solution.  This is going to happen again and again unless the town starts looking for and recruiting business to locate in Goffstown, both industrial and commercial.  The Planning Board has got to stop being intimidated by such groups as the NIMBYs (not in my back yard), the cry babies and the folks from the Historic District Commission.  These three groups have hurt the town, especially the Village area where the Village is still in the 18th century and should be progressing into the 21st century.

Don't forget that several years ago we had an opportunity of putting over $3 million of tax revenue on the books.  Remember the Factory Street project?  The NIMBYs scared the Planning Board and the developers left town.  Having had that extra cash this year is just about what the town and the school budgets were cut by.  The cuts this year would probably have been minimal.

On the brighter side, the folks mentioned in the three groups are intelligent people and really could have an impact in turning this town around on the positive side.  If all three groups along with the rest of us start working together and share our views and concerns about growth and development, instead of going against the establishment, we could have a town that other towns would be envious of.


Robert P. Girard
Pinardville