Newburyport, No to the Override

I’ve seen literature from the “Yes for Newburyport” folks, but until this Saturday, I had not seen anything from the “Know Newburyport” (knownewburyport.com) folks.

But, as I was walking around Newburyport, MA, , at least in the South End of town, there were bright yellow flyers with the heading “Stop Tax Override.” The content of the first page of the flier is below:

Passing the Override Fails Our Community

    • It is a “Band-aid” approach to long-standing systemic issues.
    • Adds to each property owner’s real estate tax forever without any assurance of a solution to the financial challenges of the schools.
    • No assurance that the money will go to the schools after the first year.
    • This override only addresses school needs and ignores the fact that our city has other financial challenges. Additional overrides/debt exclusions are currently being considered for as early as the November 2007 election. A full comprehensive city/school plan is needed.

    Saying No to the Override is a Positive Response

    • Voting No encourages responsible analysis and fiscal accountability within the School Department.
    • Allows the School Department time to create a long term plan, based upon the recently approved reorganization, thus ensuring Newburyport’s children the best education possible.
    • Allows the necessary time to fully investigate other revenue sources and options.

    Vote No to Encourage Adoption of True Zero-Based Budgeting

    • Zero-based budgeting ensures against unnecessary spending by requiring complete analysis line by line in each program.
    • Successful private large and small corporations have utilized zero-based budgeting for decades as a means of insuring fiscal responsibility (not a “modified” version as the schools recently claimed they used this budget year).
    • For the past 10 years, citizens have requested the school committee and Superintendent to utilize this effective tool because it is a proven sound business practice.
    • Why is there continued resistance to this request???

    VOTE NO ON TUESDAY, MAY 22nd

    (Editor’s Note:  I was unable to duplicate the format of the flier. My apologies to the folks involved in the “kNOw Newburyport” campaign.)

    Mary Eaton
    Newburyport