Posted Wednesday by Andrew Romano, a member of the Fairhaven select board.
“Yesterday, the Town of Fairhaven voted not to fund a proposed Proposition 2.5% Override. During this process there was a bit of discussion that voting for an override is supporting mismanagement of funds or an attempt to avoid “cutting the fat.”
I want to be clear, our town does not have “fat.” We have an extensive list of services that we offer that are funded by taxes, and the voters get to decide where those taxes are spent and which services are valued enough to fund. That is the beauty of our democratic process.
At any point during the town meeting process an amendment could have been made to move money to different departments, the vote yesterday is what we landed on. If this path continues, there will be more next year. The Fairhaven Select Board will continue leading an effort to seek more state aid, but we need to make difficult decisions with what we have. We can not count on the state to come and save us. We will feel the effects of what we will need to cut as a result of yesterdays vote.
I want to congratulate Ms. Kuechler and Mr. Trapilo and welcome them to the board. I look forward to collaborative and creative discussions during FY27. Today is day one, and we need to get back to work for our residents. “
As always, I am available to chat at aromano@fairhaven-ma.gov
