While I agree that more needs to be done to cut the towns portion of the tax rate, the schools portion has the largest impact.

There are certain services that are really required,

Police

Fire

Ambulance - Can we look at contracting this out, and save some money?
I believe that if we contracted this out, we would still have a cost involved, so that may not be the best option, but it’s somethng to look into.

Snow Removal - Do we need a plows down policy? does this cost extra in repairs vs quality of removal?
Does this push the salt slurry off the road after a truck has been through?

Trash removal - Could we go with the Single Stream system?
Would this reduce costs at the transfer station to compensate for the indicated loss in recycle revenue?

Also we require the town’s business office for vehicle registration etc…
I have heard people in other places claim that they could just have town hall open one or two days a week.

I don’t know very many people who could survive on a 2 day paycheck, so that is probably not a viable solution if we want to be able to run the towns business.

Now I believe that the towns people need to decide where they are willing to give up or reduce services which do require us to pay for them.

If everyone in town used a private trash and recyling pick up service, and paid out of pocket, could we do away with the transfer station completely?
Would that really be a good solution?
Everyone would be paying for the service they use, and have to pay extra for out of the ordinary items like couches, white goods, construction waste etc…
Is that the best solution for the town?
What would that ultimately save us?

That being said, I think we should be looking at the employee health benefits costs, as well as some other areas where we may be able to invest some now to benefit in the future such as seeking out grants for alternative energy for town buildings.

We see constant calls for us to reduce greenhouse emissions, reduce oil use and dependancy, and look in to alternative energy sources, then we hear about how the alternative sources will impact the environment, or cause us to look at towers we would rather not see, etc…

Since the cost of oil is so high, and impacting us right now, can we afford to wait until the “perfect” alternative source is available, or do we as a nation invest in available sources that can have a direct impact on our use of oil, while still looking onto a more acceptable energy source that the fewest people will object to?

If we look long and hard at any solution, we can always find something that people will object to.

Start with this.

If you need more info just search the web. Be careful there is a lot of negative propaganda and positive propaganda but if you do the research there is some good info.

October 20th, 6:30-9:00 pm at the Town Hall Auditorium, a forum for candidates for both Town Council and School Board is being held by Friends of the South Berwick Library. All the candidates have accepted our invitation. The format will be that of an interview, one candidate at a time. If time permits, there will be questions from the audience. The questions we have given the Town Council candidates, and will be asking that night, are these:

1. Is there a specific event or concern that made you want to run for Town Council?

2. What specific skills and/or resources would you bring to the Town Council?

3. With so many concerns facing the town, what would your priorities be as a new member of the Council? List in decreasing order of importance.

4. When you picture South Berwick 10-20-30 years from now, what do you see?

5. How do you think libraries fit into modern communities? How do you see the South Berwick Public Library contributing to the life of our community in the future?

6. South Berwick is going to have a new library. The St. Michael’s Church property has been purchased by the Town with Library funds and will be the site of a new library. Given that this is a time of great economic uncertainty, what ideas do you have to move the process forward?

Town Council Candidates (20 min.)
6:35-6:55 Gerald McPherson
6:55-7:15 Gary Spaulding
7:15-7:35 Virginia Jennings
7:35-7:55 David E. Webster
7:55-8:15 Eric Pelchat

School Board Candidates (15 min.)
8:15-8:30 Angela Walters
8:30-8:45 Laura Leber
8:45-9:00 Susan Pullar

The questions for the School Board Candidates are:

1. Is there a specific event or concern that made you want to run for School Board?

2. What specific skills and/or resources would you bring to the School Board?

3. What will your priorities be as a new member of the Board? List in decreasing order of importance.

4. What is your opinion of the recent State mandate to consolidate school districts? Should Kittery have been allowed to join SAD35 and why or why not?

5. The largest portion of South Berwick’s tax revenue goes to school funding. Some citizens feel that they are not included in the budget process. How do you propose to represent/respond to taxpayer interests?

6. Given the expected economic difficulties ahead, what is your plan to make SAD 35 more fiscally responsible?

More opportunities to learn about the candidates:
Marshwood Adult Ed has scheduled their Candidates Night for Wednesday, October 29th. I don’t know what time or where, or if they will be including candidates for state office. And Molly has invited the candidates to submit their thoughts to this forum, for posting sometime next week.

Hope to see you Monday the 20th!

Patti Mitchem
Friends of the South Berwick Library

Someone needs to take a stand and take a long look at the Town budgets. Bring some prosperity back to this Town.
Does anyone know where I could get some information on whose running and what their biographies are?

The wind power sounds like a good idea. It would almost promote South Berwick’s independence. It would be nice to pass by those towers on 236 everyday. But, how much would this project cost and how long would South Berwick have to wait to recoup the costs of it and get into the green? Also how far back off 236 would they be? I’d hate to see all that land used for wind power when it’s a perfect place for some industry this town really needs.