As a long-term member of Greene’s Budget Committee, I feel it would be irresponsible not to speak out in opposition to the Palesky initiative on the upcoming November ballot.

Our committee will not be able to come up with any real budget numbers until after the vote as we do not know how much money will be available to our community to pay its commitments for next year.

The reality is that there are many services that will be affected in Greene and every other community if the tax-cap question passes. It takes a certain amount of revenue to maintain roads, pay wages for the administrative office personnel and the road crew, cover the costs of lights, telephone, insurances, maintain the transfer station, support our schools, pay our county tax, support our fire department and the many other commitments our town has. I would much prefer to see our town’s personnel working than to see them collecting unemployment checks, which would have to be paid from the town coffers.

If the money that is required cannot be raised in real estate taxes, it will have to be raised by other means, such as fees and other taxes. Please don’t say that I am using scare tactics to defeat the tax cap, because the truth is, I am simply telling it like it is. In reality, the truth is extremely scary.

I will vote no on the tax cap. The future of this town as we know it depends on others doing the same.

Brenda Theriault, Greene