With the Livermore Falls special town meeting coming soon, I would like to toss out some thoughts.

Just like last year, what the board of selectmen is resubmitting are the same articles, without any changes. The votes of approximately 150 individuals could be overturned by somewhere around 25 people who show at the special town meeting.

Taking even a casual look at the town report, anyone can see that at the time it went to publication, there was nearly $500,000 in uncollected taxes showing. That is nearly 25 percent of the money appropriated to run the town.

And when will the discussion turn to what the town is going to lose to revenue sharing, and how will that be compensated for?

Article 10, which passed last month, contains more than $100,000 “carried over” in accounts for which that money was appropriated last year. None of it is used to lower the current tax rate. That $100,000 represents just about two-thirds of a mill. Additionally, the accounts which carried over that surplus have not been reduced accordingly for the new fiscal year, the net effect of which is that the opportunity to share $200,000 from the budget is being squandered. More importantly, it is adding to the slush fund for items not discussed at budget time but for which money always seems to be found, paving the brush pile.

The town’s finances are not really sound. Twelve articles were defeated because there is unhappiness with a 20.8 mill rate.

Ron Chadwick, Livermore Falls