OUR BUDGET COMMITTEE - ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL

Epping Taxpayers are at the breaking point!  Prices of nearly everything is at an all-time high as families in our Town, and all across our country, are having to get by with less money.  Not only is it expensive to go to the grocery store, the gas station and the nearly doubling of our energy bills, those who have retirement accounts have suffered with their balances now far less than what they were just 18 to 24 months ago, all while our Town and School District dig deeper in to our pockets for more tax money…while the majority of our Budget Committee, led again this year by Chairman Michael Charkowski, paid lip service to Epping Taxpayers.

Higher taxes impact our senior citizens, a good many on fixed incomes, and threatened with being taxed right out of their homes…is this what you want? Stop and think about how an elderly taxpayer, one who may have purchased their home here in Epping 30+ years ago for $90,000 or less to where now that same house is assessed at a much much higher amount…they will have paid nearly as much in property taxes equal to what was the original purchase price of their home…essentially “buying their home all over again”…just to pay more property taxes for the Select Board and School Board to spend…or stash away in their “unassigned” or “assigned” fund (surplus) accounts.

The majority of the Budget Committee seems to purposely turn a “blind eye” or have their “heads buried in the sand”.  Do they not recognize what’s occurring all across our country and even closer to home.  A vast number of large Fortune 500 companies are terminating tens of thousands of employees (even smaller companies here in New Hampshire are downsizing).  Employees losing their jobs where many are unable to pay their house payments or rent, car payments, etc.  Yet, nevertheless the majority of Epping Budget Committee members agreed and recommended significant budget increases for both the Town and School District. What the Budget Committee should have done was demand budget reductions, since both of those governing bodies have been hoarding plenty of funds over the past several years…padding their “annual operating budgets”, “unassigned” and "assigned” fund (surplus) accounts.

The only ones who can change this willful overbudgeting and overspending is us, the taxpayers.