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Flies in the Face of the Voting Record

A recent letter to the editor (“Let Them Down,” Oct. 5), ostensibly in support of our beloved North Madison Volunteer Fire Company, is a disappointing politically inspired misrepresentation of the truth. The leadership of the Board of Selectmen (BOS) and Board of Finance (BOF) members recognized the need to increase the town’s support and made decisions to ensure this was the case.

The pension is now on track to double its current amount, and, as a result, the BOF allocated an additional $1.2 million into the pension fund this year. Compare that to the previous nine years’ combined total contribution of $800,000! This was presented as two separate votes, one for $1,000,000 in February and another for $200,000 in August. The August vote passed with two dissenting votes: one Republican and one Democrat. It is important to note that the pension is an obligation and is paid irrespective of the funds contributed. This year's victory for the firefighters was the decision to double the yearly pension amount.

Additionally, the argument that committing less to the firefighters’ pension would cost the taxpayer more money is presumptive and inaccurate. Both the monies in the pension fund and undesignated fund collect interest, and depending on the investment profile, at any time, one might do slightly better than the other. As with all investments, there are no guarantees.

I am very proud to be a member of the BOF. The board, composed of three Republicans and three Democrats, is responsible for the fiscal stewardship of all of our town's services—fire, police, emergency services, schools, public works, and facilities. Our decisions are rarely easy, but we work well together and have often formed majority consensus decisions. The characterization of the process as “Democratic party strong-arming” is absurd and flies in the face of the voting record.

John Picard

Madison