Kudos to South Portland councilor for safety bond vote | Letter

I thank South Portland City Councilor Natalie West for voting “No” on the $88.6 million “safety bond” scheduled for vote in November. In the best of times, nearly $1,000 added to our property tax bill in the next few years would be a stretch. But in these worst of economic times it is simply too much.

New police and fire facilities are needed primarily due to decades of deferred maintenance and lack of capital investment. The current staff and councilors have an obligation to address the dire neglect of our aging city facilities. However, the city also has a duty to be fiscally responsible and not further overburden taxpayers.

Councilor West has stated that taxpayers alone should not shoulder the high costs of replacing police and fire facilities. Deferring both maintenance and necessary investment has made these projects more expensive. The council owes taxpayers a more affordable solution.

Unfortunately, less costly alternatives were not explored or seriously considered, and the prospect of yet another tax bond for the Mahoney project looms ahead as early as next year. Hopefully, some innovative funding ideas will work out to significantly reduce the cost if another bond is needed. For now, perhaps South Portland voters need to do what Cape Elizabeth voters did when presented with a huge new construction tax bond: reject it until the city gets it right.

Diane Gotelli
South Portland

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