Well, it seems that the saga of officials from the Town of Gilford slagging a private citizen simply because she is holding them account and she has done well financially due to hard work, good ideas, and good decisions. From this post, let me remind of this from Town Administrator Scott Dunn (writing in his official capacity):
Fact # 9 — There are no town employees who own two homes on Governor’s Island with a total assessed value in excess of $2.6-million.
where he is trying to make an example and a target of derision. My response was “I am demanding a public apology to Ms. Aichinger for your lowbrow and low class tactic“. Well, I got a reply – and frankly, it was short, sweet, to the point, and is ready to double down:
On 12/27/2011 8:10 AM, Scott Dunn wrote:
Dear Mr. Murphy,
I respectfully decline to comply with your demand that I apologize to Mrs. Aichinger.
Nonetheless, I thank you for taking the time to express your thoughts.
Sincerely,
Scott J. Dunn, Town Administrator
Town of Gilford
47 Cherry Valley Road
Gilford, NH 03249
TEL: 603.527.4700
FAX: 603.527.4711
And then I heard from Selectman Kevin Hayes as I had copied the Gilford Select Board, as Town Administrator Scott Dunn reports directly to them. Now if you read it for content, see if it addresses my overriding point that the Town Administrator, Scott Dunn, decided to make sport of Ms. Aichinger – or simply tries to deflect it simply because Town Government is just so good for us all; On 12/27/2011 10:28 AM, Kevin Hayes wrote:
Skip and all,
As Selectmen, we value the trust put forth by the voters to do what we feel is right for the whole town. In that regard, we will never please all of the people all of the time and we know that. We deal with a wide range of economic and social levels, probably more so than many residents of Gilford realize.
With particular regard to Mrs. Aichinger’s numerous letters and comments, we receive and discuss them regularly, giving them due consideration when they give us a true path to reduce expenses and hence taxes. Some of the points she has made to me in email or conversation are very valid and we have been able to act on (with) them.
However, as I have pointed out to Mrs. Aichinger in the past, municipal government is not quite like the private sector. We still are in need of an active police force (even more so in a down economy). We still need an active fire department to answer the number of calls we receive annually, especially as our population ages and has a need for more services. We still are obligated to rescue people when they get lost on Piper Mountain and be prepared for the next fire disaster. We could and have given thought to cutting hours at the library and other municipal offices which then cuts back on citizen services, but have not gone down that path yet. We could decide to not invest in our public road network, however the repairs not made today will cost much more in the future; the knowledge being that road deterioration is an escalating problem over time.
As a body, we do not agree that the “Class Card” was thrown by our Town Administrator in his recent public comments to Mrs. Aichinger. Two factors are in play here: first, many of Mrs. Aichinger’s facts are not entirely correct, so the reader only reads what she want them to. TA Dunn was trying to set the record straight as we know it. Second, the fact is simply that she feels her assessments are too high, but her property is on the market for almost double the assessment. The TA’s comments were addressed to this, and not meant as a class issue. If and when she sells the properties, the assessment will change again. Our Town assessor reevaluates assessments annually in certain sectors and certainly the Governor’s Island properties have received their share of attention in recent years.
In the meantime, we at the municipal level are trying to maintain and when possible improve the services we can provide while reducing the tax rate or keeping it as level as possible. We have been able to do that by doing away with services, cutting back employee hours, terminating positions, and changing benefit packages (benefits, deductibles, and co-pays) to mirror the private sector. We have a long list of items that come before us annually at budget time that we say NO to in this effort. We just don’t make it public every time we say NO (maybe we should). To take everything back to 2004-2005 levels is absurd given the demand for services and the costs of certain items we must procure, as well as the dumping of certain State obligations onto local government. We also get complaints when roads are not salted and plowed right away, while we’re trying to control overtime in the DPW budget. Sometimes it is truly a “no win”.
Skip, while I usually value your opinion (and admittedly may not always agree), I think you read too much between the lines in Mr. Dunn’s response. That being said, let’s continue to be frugal where we can and be wise with how we spend the taxpayers’ money. This is not an us against them issue as it so often gets portrayed.…taxes and expenses are a Town wide issue.
NB: As I am writing this, I have received two other emails addressing the same comments. I will state again to all of you….this was NOT meant as a class issue.
To all of you, please accept my best wishes for a Happy New Year and a stronger economy in the upcoming twelve months. That and continued frugal government will provide the relief we are all looking for. We can only control the latter.
Kevin Hayes
Selectman
7 Given Drive
Gilford, NH 03249-6965
CELL: 603-724-7957
FAX: 603-528-2525
“… I have received two other emails addressing the same comments. I will state again to all of you….this was NOT meant as a class issue” – well, it seems like I am not the only one that has taken Town Administrator Scott Dunn’s words the same way – and I believe that Selectman Kevin Hayes has not, and cannot, logically defend that it is “not…a class issue”. If it wasn’t, Selectman Kevin Hayes , why would Town Administrator Scott Dunn not once, but twice, publicly state that no town employee lives on Governer’s Island (one of the “rich” parts of town) much less two properties?
So I worked on a response……later, folks!
