Sellers using misleading percentages to get a rise out of you

To The Daily Sun,

Bristol taxpayers, here we go again. As if national and state politics using spin, fake news and misrepresentation of facts is not bad enough. Must we now put up with it in our local debates?

The letter to the editor by John Sellers on January 15 is filled with misleading and incorrect information. Throughout this piece, he gives numbers as percentages that are calculated on a false basis to make them appear spectacular. He gives many misconstrued opinions and presents them as if they are facts. However, the worst part are his outright false accusations that, in my opinion, are slanderous. I feel the public deserves to know the truth.

First and foremost, I know of no one on the Bristol Budget Committee or Selectboard that has ever voted for their own monetary gain! They are all Bristol taxpayers and are NOT on the spending spree he insinuates. The members take their positions seriously along with their responsibility to spend the revenues to the town wisely and in a way that provides the services the town needs and wants.

Here are some examples of facts versus the skewed opinions given by John Sellers:

“The Selectboard gave themselves a 100 percent raise.” The truth is that the Selectboard reduced their stipend by half as part of the nonspecific reduction made to the 2018 budget. The Selectboard pay line was restored to its traditional level in the 2019 proposed budget. I have lived in Bristol for 15 years and 2018 is only one of two years that the selectmen were not paid $3,000 per year. The other was during the 2008 recession. I was on that Selectboard. We took no pay for the year to keep the budget as low as possible in hard times. The line was restored the following year. Calculated by John’s formula, that was an infinite percentage raise!

“The Selectboard increased their expenses by 900 percent”. In the past, the Selectboard has pieced together the funds to have a Christmas luncheon for the town employees. This year they are placed in an appropriate line. This was explained in the department presentations and I think is an example of correct and more transparent budgeting. Yet he portrays this and so many other lines as outrageous!

John, as an elected member of the Budget Committee, hears all the requests that the department heads have made AND THEIR REASONS for them. Presentations are done every year so that the Budget Committee members can make intelligent decisions. Why has he not made any attempt to convey to you the justifications given for all of these increases he mentions? Why doesn’t he want you to know this information? Does giving the public all the facts go against his agenda?

Let’s talk about the town website. Money was budgeted last year to rebuild the town website. The project was put off a year as part of the reductions last year. Basing the 351 percent increase on a line that was part of the reduced by postponing this project, rather than the proposed line from 2018, is just being dishonest with the numbers for shock value. The town website is outdated and hard to navigate, the public has complained to the Selectboard, and we would have liked to correct that last year. We are proposing to do so this year.

Now, let’s discuss the special warrant articles “to the tune of $640,000.” First, this number is not yet finalized by the Selectboard. Second, the $640,000 is not only overstated, it neglects to mention that it is not all coming from taxes. The contingency fund ($25,000) comes from the unreserved fund balance and $15,000 towards the police cruiser will come from the Police Detail Fund!

Additionally, the CIP recommended additions to the highway and fire equipment funds were voted down last year. This short-sighted move causes the need to once again play catch up this year and illustrates the up and down spikes that the CIP recommendations are designed to smooth out.

Yes, there are additional positions and hours for some positions in the budget and also a special warrant article to add a firefighter. Bristol may not be growing in population, but it is growing. The planning and zoning boards are busy. The Fire Department is going on more calls. We are upgrading the transfer station. If you don’t agree that any of the positions are needed after listening to the request, then vote against them. That is what Town Meeting is for.

A final word about Town Meeting. Please ignore his threat that you will be tied up for hours at Town Meeting. Ask yourself, do I have anything better to do on the Saturday of Town Meeting? For me, the answer is NO. Town Meeting happens once a year. Attending town meeting IS the most important thing I have to do on March 16. It is important that everyone comes to Town Meeting. Listen to the facts. Decide what is true and what is spin. Make an intelligent vote, not an emotional one.

Don Milbrand

Bristol