Cap or not, either way it’s death by taxes. I’ve read and watched with interest as the tax cap heads to the voters.

Now I’m not sure who is putting out the facts and figures in Augusta and down at city hall saying the average person in Maine is paying 4.5 percent of their hard-earned money in property tax. But my tax bill for my single family home is almost 8 percent of my income.

Let’s review: 103 full-time police officers in Lewiston that equals 23 offices on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Maybe cutting the police force in half is a good idea.

Closing all but the central fire station and cutting out half of the firefighters. Mr. Bennett let’s think out of the box: Lose half of your full-time firefighters and start training volunteers.

Now, some fees make sense. Pay for trash removal. Other cities have been doing it for years. Charge fees for nonprofits using city services, looking at the size of CMMC and Saint Mary’s, both are nonprofits. Service fees on mutifamily homes and apartments?

Bottom line is, you balance a budget two ways: increase income and cut spending. Those of us who are the on this end of the property tax bill want to be clear: Cut spending.

Garry Robitaille, Lewiston

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