Hopefully we still govern by voting & not by flawed survey results

To The Daily Sun,

Earlier this week, Sanbornton Budget committee member Roger Grey publicized the findings of a recent survey funded by three Budget Committee members and a Selectboard representative. The survey has many serious flaws, starting with the definition of taxes. For example, while respondents may have answered that they felt property taxes are too high, they were given no context of which taxes are too high. The survey fails to mention that Sanbornton's property tax rate is comprised of county, state, school and town assessments. Town assessments are less than 36 percent of the total property tax assessment.

Per the N.H. Supreme Court, the general role of the Budget Committee is "to provide a committee with special knowledge to oversee and analyze the expenditures of the various town departments and districts. In this manner the electorate, which would ordinarily be without the detailed knowledge necessary to vote intelligently on certain budgetary problems, might be given sufficient information to determine the annual amounts necessary to properly manage town affairs." The circulated survey provides no information to determine the annual amounts necessary to properly manage town affairs. Rather it asks the participants who do you like best, your policemen, your firemen or another town department. Clearly these Budget Committee members have abdicated their responsibility as elected officials to advise the town electorate on the fiscal needs of the town.

The survey was reviewed by the town's attorney and the kindest words he could offer was "in-artfully worded" and "yield unscientific results". Hopefully we still govern by voting and not by flawed survey results. Please vote on Tuesday, March 10th and attend the Town Meeting on March 11th at 7 pm.

Ralph Rathjen

Sanbornton