GRA: Voters must take back control of Goffstown

Voters must take back control of Goffstown
February 17, 2006

We remain stunned at what transpired during the Town and School Deliberative sessions. Double-talk, subterfuge, and a continued disregard for the will of the voters.

Of course, this disregard by both the BOS and the SAU for what we voters want - and mandate - is nothing new. We've seen three distinct instances of this behavior in 2005 alone.

The first was the transfer of the Glen Lake property to the school district, a move that completely ignored - and overrode - the will of the '77 voters. And although we voters approved that transfer, we did so after having been intentionally misled and misinformed about the restrictions on such a transfer, as the Conservation Commission pointed out in their July '05 report. By then, of course, it was too late.

Next was the BOS ignoring our mandate from the March '05 that they present us with a plan for implementing 24/7 coverage in Goffstown. The BOS ignored that mandate, declaring that regardless of what the taxpayers voted for, the BOS didn't think we needed it, and that's it.

And, of course, there's the current Police/Fire merger mess. Despite a firestorm of objections by the voters, despite a Superior Court order, despite a rejection of an appeal of that order, and despite taxpayer reaction to it at the Deliberative Session, the BOS continues its attempts to implement their plan! Indeed, the BOS cleverly worded Article 24 to intentionally mislead voters into believing the Article was binding when in fact it is not. And even after Nick Campasano succeeded (with overwhelming support) to amend Article 24, the BOS continues to declare they will not be bound by the will of the voters! Unbelievable!

We don't know about you, but we're still reeling after seeing our last tax bills. And now the BOS and SAU want to raise them again? The SAU declares we supported building a kindergarten, and now we have to come up with more money to furnish it? What kind of planning is that? Does Goffstown really need to spend $1.8M on preventative road maintenance again this year, or can it wait? $100,000 for an excavator?

Enough is enough. We urge all taxpayers to take back control of Goffstown from a BOS and SAU that are running amok. First, stop these sly foxes from guarding their own henhouses - give control of both the town and school budgets to the Budget Committee by voting YES on Town Article 33 and School Article 4.

Please support Nick Campasano and John Caprio, vote NO on Town Articles 9, 12, 16, 17 and NO on School Articles 2 and 3.

Put control of Goffstown back where it belongs - in OUR hands.

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