Dover taxpayers take note. In the November 3rd election, you

have the opportunity to choose our next leaders. Over the

past 2 years, under the stewardship of the current Mayor, very

expensive projects such as the $86M high school, $9M police

station and $11M parking garage have been approved. This

has doubled Dover's long term debt and will directly impact

your tax bills for the next 25 years.

Taxpayers have been promised a small increase in their tax

bills to pay for the school. However, what I find alarming is

that the financial model depends on Dover receiving an extra

$1.45M per year in education funding from the State. In an

August 18, 2015 Foster's article, city manager Joyal says

"The two-year state budget contains roughly $1.45 million a

year in additional state funding for the Dover School District

starting in 2017. That money can be used for capital projects

such as this one, reducing the amount that must be raised by

taxpayers."

What happens if Dover does not get this extra money? Who

will pay that extra $1.45M per year the financial model counts

on? What if the lawsuit Dover filed against the State to force

them to pay the extra money takes years to resolve? What if

Dover does not win and we NEVER get that money? In that

scenario, an extra $36M over the 25 year bond payback ends

up on our tax bills! I challenge anyone to apply for a

 

mortgage and tell the bank you are counting on a salary

increase next year in order to make your payments and see

what happens.

Scare tactics you say? Misinformation? In case you missed

it, the current school budget very irresponsibly counted on the

extra $1.45M in State money and DOVER DID NOT GET IT.

This created a massive budget shortfall and on Sept 23, 2015

the city council voted to override the tax cap and appropriate

the funding needed to plug this gap. If you don't believe me,

check the city's website and meeting archives.

These are just a few examples of risk and irresponsible

behavior under the leadership of the current Mayor and we

taxpayers will be left holding the proverbial bag. We need a

mayor and city council who will represent taxpayers and

control spending. Mayoral candidate Jeff Brissette and Ward

5 council candidate Norm Allie have both recently come to my

door and I've shared my concerns about these issues. Both

candidates have significant experience with engineering, large

projects, leadership, team collaboration, and rational thinking.

I am confident they will make sure taxpayers get a fair shake

and I will be supporting both of them.

Whether you agree with my positions or not, please get out

and vote.

 

Ted Anglace