Fiscal Responsibility is Key

MANCHESTER – The Republican candidates for the Manchester Board of Directors announced the second plank of their Covenant with Manchester Taxpayers today in a conference call with reporters. “The challenge of any budget is to provide essential services to the community while not losing sight of the community’s ability to pay. The government must live within its means just as any family would,” said Lou Spadaccini.

The Republican platform includes two action items for fiscal responsibility: first, the institution of performance-based accounting and second, keeping spending increases in check by passing cost-of-living budgets.

“On the first day of a Republican majority Board of Directors, we will establish working groups to bring performance based accounting to Town government. We need to be able to easily measure how well the Town of Manchester provides vital services to our citizens and where we need to improve,” said Director Matt Peak. He continued, “Performance based accounting is an accepted standard for measuring how well a town performs. By implementing standards of measurement for each town department, setting goals, and then demanding accountability to those goals, we can more effectively spend taxpayer dollars.”

“What we are suggesting is that Town government be given a report card to see how well it is doing each year,” said Mark Tweedie, a candidate for the Board of Directors. “We don’t always have to look at just the big ticket items. If we save our pennies, the dollars will take care of themselves.”
“We need to use our tax dollars more effectively and manage our priorities. Right now we are playing games with our budgets and our future. We can’t continue to do this,” said Cheri Pelletier.

On fiscally responsible budgeting, Director Lou Spadaccini said this: “We have a proven track record of advocating fiscally responsible budgets that would have reduced spending by $2 million in the 2006/2007 fiscal year and $1.85 million in the 2007/2008 fiscal year. These budgets would have resulted in lower property taxes, but they were rejected by the majority.”

Spadaccini added: “In the last two years, the Republican caucus proposed two budgets with spending increases that were far below the budgets passed by the majority. To our disappointment, we have not persuaded our Democrat colleagues to embrace more fiscally responsible spending habits.”

“As I talk to voters, they often ask me why taxes continue to go up even though we have the mall and other new development in town. They ask me where our tax dollars are going. I tell them its time for new leaders in Manchester to get some answers,” said Jeff Beckman.

“Keeping taxes low doesn’t mean drastic spending cuts, or reductions in town services. By using creative thinking to plan our budgets we will prevent tax increases,” said Rob Desilet.