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A Matter of Money

Although more than a decade of surveying, reporting, proposing, and debating has confused and frustrated us all, the issue of Academy is quite simple: Will Madison residents vote to spend taxpayer dollars to renovate the former school into a municipal community center and add the cost to operate it to our annual budget?

Like so many things, it’s a matter of money. If someone were to hand us $14 million, is there any doubt the town would benefit from a community center beside the Town Green and near our downtown commercial district? What a wonderful second act for this historic building and a needed boost to our retailers.

There are economic benefits to town amenities. They are more difficult to quantify than construction costs, but real, and they impact the future of our town. Amenities improve quality of life and help maintain property values. For sustained, long-term economic health, we must attract families to buy our empty-nester homes and fill our schools. There is reliable data to show that if operated properly, revenues from programming and activities offered at a multi-purpose community center will significantly offset operating costs. The key to this project is reducing taxpayer burden by seeking funding sources such as historic tax credits, preservation grants, remediation grants and private philanthropy.

The tension between long-term fiscal planning and short-term taxation is real for all of us. Let’s bring Academy to referendum and find out where voters stand on this long overdue issue.

Kathryn L. Hunter

Madison