The following are excerpts from a recent article by West Barnstable Town Councilor Hank Farnham:
Budget: ...I expect the state will continue to cut back their budget due to declining anticipated tax and fee revenue collection. That will result in more reductions of local aid support to Barnstable, which will result in administration having to make additional cuts in the town budget. This current cash flow problem on Beacon Hill will follow us right up to the time we vote on our budget and probably thereafter.
...the fiscal craziness in Washington and on Beacon Hill is making me wonder about the town’s relationship with the state. Is it time for us to say the heck with Beacon Hill and its self-serving growing net extraction of funds from Barnstable’s taxpayers? Would Barnstable be better off as a separate entity? But then I think, who would be the leaders to pull that off if it were possible?
Have you reached the end of your shrinking rope? Is it time to analyze having Barnstable become totally self-sufficient? Is it time to cast off the mismanagement of a political system on Beacon Hill that is running amok, and is devoid of fiscal common sense, accountability and responsibility? I believe that time is long overdue, but I’m not sure that the will is there to turn against the political fat cats on Beacon Hill and start over here on Cape Cod.
When I moved to Barnstable in 1961, Cape Cod was the last conservative bastion remaining in Massachusetts, where fiscal accountability to those who pay the bills really meant something. Now, that accountability is gone, swallowed up by a one-party dictatorship that has spread across the state like swine flu. Don’t misunderstand me. I’d feel the same way if the Republicans held 80-percent-plus control of the state house and were not accountable to the voters.
A viable community needs a balanced system of political leadership, but Massachusetts has drifted far away from that balance. The result is, we get what we deserve: mediocre government reacting to the challenges and throwing money after them rather than thoughtful, conservative planning driven by fiscal reality. And talk about throwing money after a problem, how about what the “leaders” in Washington have done to you, your kids and your grandkids with their never-ending “stimulus” plan and bail outs?
Closer to home, we have the five separate fire districts. Could there be duplication there and tax savings? When I was on the Committee of 150 several years ago, consolidation of the town’s fire districts was the number one item identified to help reduce our taxes. In spite of a subsequent council committee to review the possibility of studying consolidation of the fire districts, no progress has been made toward a serious study of consolidation of the districts.
Town Charter: I just read the proposed new charter. While I don’t always agree with my council colleague, Greg Milne, or his motives, I did agree with his minority opinion piece that was a part of the charter document. Obviously many of you do, too, since I have heard your disappointment that mirrors Greg’s comments. If you have a chance, read the entire document including Greg’s opinion letter.
See: Greg Milne's Minority Report
For more from Hank Farnham, see: Barnstable Star Tabloid
With all due respect to Mr. Farnham, I not believe his brand of special interest, spend-a-holic town government remotely resembles something I would call "conservatism."
What is conservative about tax breaks for his buddies in the industrial park?
What is conservative about taking a million dollars from the Hyannis Water ratepayers to lay a water pipe to the doorstep of a political compatriot?
What is conservative about the millions more in bonding required to build an airport to no-where?
Giving Greg Milne's Minority report a little plug is a good first step toward a more meaningful political alliance, but Farnham needs to do more than write a short little puff piece in a dying newspaper.
Unless or until Hank Farnham puts his votes where his principles are he'll be remembered as nothing more than another free-spending bully in Barnstable's Hall of Shame.
oink. oink.
Posted by: old macdonald | May 21, 2009 at 10:31 AM