I am worried about the impact of Question 1 on my town, school and family.

The tax cap sounds like a great solution to a financial problem, but I’m concerned that voters are only looking at what they would save, not what they would lose as a community.

If this initiative is passed, my dad will be put out of work. My grandfather will probably lose his job, too, because he works at the transfer station. The impact of Question 1 on my town would be that it would raise the cost of dump stickers from $5 to $150. The hours the transfer station would be open would be reduced to one weekday and Saturday, so the number of workers would be reduced to three.

My mother is an EMT on the Mechanic Falls rescue squad. If this initiative is passed, my town might have to sell all the equipment, and the citizens would have to wait for a private rescue unit.

My dad and grandfather are members of the fire department. If this initiative were passed, they would no longer be paid for going on the calls.

The town would no longer have a police department, so citizens would have to wait for the state police to arrive, which could take hours. Two dump trucks would have to be sold, and there would be no repairs to sidewalks or roads paved.

That is how passing Question 1 would affect not only one household, but the entire community.

Keith Bisbee, Mechanic Falls

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