George Tremblay: If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It

This letter from George Tremblay was written to local newspapers in response to those who agonize over the potential impact of our budget surplus on Charlestown’s property-tax rate. George Tremblay is a past member of the Charlestown Town Council.

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The budget surplus reflects superior fiscal management in Town Hall, and a declining enrollment in the regional school system. Charlestown has the fourth lowest tax rate of all 39 municipalities in Rhode Island. It is a mystery to me why anyone would want to mess with current policy, other than to fuel political wrangling.

Adjusting the property-tax rate in order to zero-out the fund balance amounts to pennies on the mil rate, and unnecessarily introduces volatility in the real-estate market.

The proposed Fund Balancing Policy is a solution in search of a problem.