The Mexico town manager may be right that the town of Mexico is not required to have a budget committee.

That much was evident when he wrote the new ordinance (at the request of the chairman of the planning board) that there was no place on the ballot for residents to vote for the budget committee’s recommendations.

The budget committee still continued to meet with selectmen when they worked on the budgets so that the voters could still see that they had choices. Even if they could not vote for the budget committee’s recommendations, they could vote “no” on the selectmen’s recommendations.

Last year, Mexico residents voted to cut the 2014-2015 budget by 10 percent. Now the town manager and the selectmen have found wording in the law that they are not bound by that vote.

That is the second time they have gone against the voters’ wishes.

In the 2013-2014 town budget, residents voted “no” on the administration article but the town manager found a way to give raises. The town manager and the selectmen gave wages that were too high for the current economy.

There are about 1,500 taxpayers in Mexico and about 40 percent are senior citizens. I have not gotten an increase in my retirement pension for six years. It is getting more and more difficult to pay taxes.

Residents must say “no” to all the money articles approved by the selectmen in this year’s budget and make them come back with the 10 percent cut that the voters wanted.

Betty Barrett, Mexico