An Open Letter to the Town of Fryeburg

Fryeburg Taxes Rise Nearly 10 Percent....

What can we do??

by Mike Corthell

   We can increase tax revenue by broadening the tax base. We can do this is by telling our town government to actively market Fryeburg as a great place live, work and recreate. If the town officially gets behind not only a solid marketing plan but also has an active role in planning community events we will make our town much more attractive to business.
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Fryeburg taxes rise nearly 10 percent — What can we do?

This is not only an appeal but an invitation. It is also a shout-out to those who spend hours and hours of unpaid time to make the town of Fryeburg, Maine a better place. Fryeburg Business Association is a perfect example of people working hard to better our community, not only without pay but often reaching into their own pockets to build a stronger, better community for all of us. They can't do it alone so I ask that we all step up and get involved in a solution to our financial crisis. It's our responsibility to pay attention and take action.

There are two ways to mitigate the tax situation:

We can cut the cost of government, thereby reducing the tax rate. When things get financially tough we all look for ways to cut back. It requires a level of sacrifice, prioritizing, and number crunching. At home it means not eating out so much or watching a movie on television rather than the theater, or making that old car last another year. For the town this may mean modifying services, pulling in on the spending, working more efficiently and cutting back on hours and/or staff.

It may mean running the town within a set budget rather than increasing the taxes to meet wanted spending. It does not mean sacrificing the services that are essential for protecting the public but perhaps re-evaluating the needs verses the wants could be enlightening and cost effective. It would be nice to have a new cruiser but we can't afford it; it would be great to have a new plowtruck or grader but we have the make the old one last right now; it would help to have an extra man on the crew but we have to make the current crew more efficient right now; we want a police department but do we need one as heavily staffed as we have? In this day of computers and Internet do we need a full time library? Is our town manager working efficiently and in the best interest of the taxpayers or the municipality? All legitimate questions to think about.

Is cutting back on spending verses increasing taxes a reasonable answer? Taxes are increasing beyond the inflation rate and residents' ability to keep up with the increases is beyond capped. The town must live within its means just as families need to live within their means. It would be nice if we could go to our boss and say "I need a new car, a new plow, a new wardrobe, and a maid so you are going to have to give me a 10 percent raise this year so I can afford that and next year I will be sending my child to college so be prepared for my salary to increase again and I'll let you know how much once we have chosen a school." It doesn't work that way in real life and asking people to support a municipality that they cannot afford is not working either. Something has to be done.

Another answer is to increase tax revenue by broadening the tax base. We can do this by actively marketing Fryeburg as a great place to do business. Should we be telling our town government to actively be involved in attracting, pursuing, and welcoming new industry and business to Fryeburg much like our neighbor Bridgton has and is doing? Has the time come to be business friendly and encourage new businesses? This can be done without compromising Fryeburg's quality of life, our rural character and New England charm. New businesses mean big tax dollars which will help the home owners carry the expense of supporting the municipality. Something has to give. Fryeburg used to have lumber mills, shoe shops, and active Main Street commerce to help defray the tax base. Our municipality has grown and our business tax revenue has shrunk. We need to bring industry and business back to Fryeburg. Promoting and bringing in new business will take some time but we cannot get it done if we don't get started. Recognizing the solution is the first step.

There are things that we can do in the near term, if we really want to. We can demand that our town government make the most of what it has until we can get on a better economic footing and we can even demand that they make cuts to lower our taxes. Subway is here and set to open next month. They will pay taxes. For every dollar that Subway pays the town that is one less dollar needed from the residential tax payers. The other benefit to us all is that this new business will encourage more new businesses. We need to be business friendly and welcoming!

I ask you to join me at an unofficial "town meeting." This is just what we need, a true "town" meeting to discuss this financial dilemma that we find ourselves in. If people of Fryeburg are really interested in working together for a solution I will gladly set up an established location, facilitator, and date for a gathering. The municipality works for us the people, the taxpayers so let's gather our voices and direct them to a better solution than simply raising our taxes.

As promised my contact information: cell: (603) 986.8110 email: mikecorthell@roadrunner.com