Letter to the Editor

Waldoboro facts

Sun, 10/12/2014 - 8:45am

Dear Editor:

With all the misleading statements in the current political campaign, I would like to highlight some facts which should be of concern to all Waldoboro residents.

Since Gov. Paul LePage has been governor of Maine, revenue sharing from Augusta to the town of Waldoboro has decreased nearly $130,000.

During that same period, state aid to educate Waldoboro's children under the GPA has decreased $300,000.

As a member of the board of selectman, I can attest to how difficult it has been to make ends meet in the town budget. While I am pleased that we have avoided any significant increase in property taxes, I am very concerned at the deep cuts our road maintenance account.

We used to plan on repaving town roads every 10 years. That is a luxury we can no longer afford. In some instances, that has now been pushed out to 20 years. It's downright scary.

All this is taking place in the context of tax cuts to the wealthiest Mainers. Millionaires today are paying lower effective tax rates than average Mainers.

This needs to change. We need to turn out LePage and elect Mike Michaud; and we need to reelect our State Sen. Chris Johnson, who has consistently opposed the governor's proposed cuts to revenue sharing, General Purpose Aid and tax give-aways to the rich.

Ted Wooster

Waldoboro