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Acumen and Prudence

I’ve never written a letter to the editor. I never believed I could be persuasive. Maybe this letter will prove me wrong.

Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote that “Taxes are what we pay for civilized society.” No one wants money wasted, but I see taxes as partially an investment. We pay for police and fire protection, education, etc., but, in the end, we are investing in a community in which we and others want to live, thereby protecting our quality of life and the value of our property. We expect financial prudence, but we also demand high quality services.

Look at where we stand fiscally. Our bonds are triple-A rated, our reserve fund exceeds $9 million, and the mill rate tracks the inflation pretty faithfully. We annually determine the town’s finances, and now we can decide how to keep the town and its future on track.

I have known Matt Hoey and Sandy Ruoff for decades. Matt has worked with selectmen of either party in his service on the Board of Finance. It is no fluke that the town’s finances stand on a firm footing, and the budget contains an apparently adequate reserve against lower state aid. Matt worked with the current Republican leadership to create this budget with a small increase in the mill rate; it passed overwhelmingly. Towns are at the bottom of the fiscal food chain, and Matt has kept us safe and sound.

Sandy’s stewardship of the library is universally acclaimed. She has guided the library into becoming an increasingly valuable asset. She has worked within a fixed budget and can stretch a dollar.

Both of them are proven managers and deserve to be elected as selectmen, their acumen and prudence validated by the town’s financial standing.

Irving Schloss

Guilford