The town of Rumford is at the crossroad of an economic downturn and residents must deal with the unfortunate persistence of town officials who continue to spend beyond taxpayers’ means.

We can do better.

The largest business, the Rumford paper mill, has experienced a significant business downturn. Officials there have requested tax relief from the town to sustain operations and retain their work force. During the past two years, our town officials have played “rope-a dope” while ignoring the inevitable loss of revenue.

Currently, we have two important openings for change on the board of selectmen. We need town officials who are skilled at sensing the changing socio-economic environment and willing to make tough decisions. They must be committed to a reasonable spending plan.

That has not been the case.

There are obvious cost savings opportunities in the 2014 budget that were overlooked or ignored by the current Rumford officials. The cost-saving ideas will support the need to provide tax relief to the paper mill and may prevent a large tax increase for residents. The new proposals shall be available for consideration for the 2014-2015 budget year — after the new Rumford select board is elected.

I will vote for change on June 10.

The new “Save Rumford” signs ask the voters to “Vote No … on Town Government Budget Items.”

I hope the voters will use discretion and vote “yes” for specific initiated articles, which represent our moral fiber (youth recreation and several of the social services requests).

Len Greaney, Rumford Center