“Capitalism has its limits. I’m a capitalist but it has to end somewhere. In this case I am for spending taxpayer money.”
-- George Beebe, speaking on behalf of granting $170,000 of Community Preservation Act money to Windy Hill Farm for an Agriculture Preservation Restriction
The Town Meeting narrative: Dark doom filled the auditorium like the sky in Harry Potter. I checked my warrant and understood why: we were now entertaining the Finance Committee’s proposed bylaw to receive “regular and special reports and statements” about town and school district finances. The proposed bylaw was the by-product of a Mexican standoff between committee chair Sharon Gregory and the school district over her requests for detailed reports.
Dave Long of Housatonic, an outspoken critic of last year's Monument Mountain Regional High School renovation plan, and now an advocate for a systemic change to address the district’s financial and infrastructure issues, “implored everyone” to vote for the school budget. “If we start ripping apart the fabric of the schools, I think it could be disastrous,” he advised.
“Basically, we’re going after the school budget and the school committee. That [budget] has been bloated for years. [The district] wins every year by packing the [town] meeting. That’s the thing that’s driving expenses."
-- Republican Town Committee member George Beebe
