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A Financial Disaster Legacy

I understand why parents and teachers want as much money as they can get to educate the children, and I don’t blame them for that, but the Town of Clinton cannot afford to stay on the financial path it has been traveling for too many years. Poor choices were made and money has been squandered, always believing there would be more funds to tap, but those sources, the town residents, are tapped out. It’s time for hard decisions, cuts must be made, and the future of this town must be the priority.

As sad as it is to say, Clinton’s children are likely not the future of this town. They will be educated, they will graduate, and they will leave Clinton entirely. Why? Because at this pace, simply put, they won’t be able to afford to live here.

Once again we have a new administration running the show, and if it intends to live up to the campaign promises it made, it needs to put the future of Clinton first and to make the difficult decisions, make the cuts, and learn to do more with less. This is how nearly every resident in town manages his or her family finances because there’s no other choice. Living on credit and kicking the can down the road are not sustainable options. It’s time to buy when you can afford the cost and to forego the instant gratification. We simply cannot leave this financial disaster legacy to members of the next generation, assuming they will live here to inherit it. It is beyond time for Clinton to live within its means, before those means are depleted. My vote is to demand balanced budgets with minimal, if any, mill rate increase for this next fiscal year.

Paula Pellerin

Clinton