On the Budget: An Open Letter To Fellow Manchester Citizens:

It is time to keep our emotions in check. The political parties and some organizations in Manchester are counting on us to get emotionally "fired up." I believe it is so that we can be more easily manipulated to champion their ideas on this year's difficult budget process. I'm not saying that we should be heartless. On the contrary, now is the time to be empathetic and give consideration outside of the line items in the budget that would be either to one's benefit or detriment.

To keep my emotions in check, I try to walk a mile in General Manager Scott Shanley's shoes, and look at the entire recommended budget.

• GM's Introduction to the FY09/10 Budget (Presentation)
• FY09/10 GM Recommended Budget
• FY 09/10 School Superintendent Budget Presentation
• FY09/10 BOE Recommended Budget

After that I open up a spreadsheet program (Microsoft Excel or Spreadsheet in Google Docs), create the formulas for figuring out my tax bill based on my property's assessed value, mill rates and then start plugging in numbers. I look at the mill rate calculation in the budget introduction, found on page 10 in this document. If the total town budget is increased or decrease by a certain amount, I can calculate what the new mill rate would be, and then determine what that change comes to in real dollars on my tax bill.

If you aren't computer savvy, then get out a pencil (you'll need the eraser, trust me), a pad of paper, and a calculator. If you can do your federal and state tax returns, you are smart enough and have all the skills needed to do this.

I promise you, if you do all that, you have just taken away the ability to be manipulated by someone who will be counting on you to be ignorant of this process. Now you will not be rattled by people throwing around large budgetary dollar amounts, percentages, or phrases like "actual tax levy increase." By doing the basic math, you have put the power where it belongs: in your hands.

I have included a Google Docs Spreadsheet here for you to view. It can be exported to Excel so you can input your own values. Just go to File > Export > .xls

Here is the budget process schedule. The town has made a budget comment web page available and it can be found here. There is also e-mail available. Look up the Boards of Directors here and the Board of Education here. There are plenty of opportunities to have our voices heard. Decisions are made by those who show up. We need to go to them with solutions, not problems and generalities.

"Speak your mind, even if your voice shakes."
Maggie Kuhn

Lastly, please remember that we as citizens have a new mechanism available to us this year in the town budget process. If enough people disagree with the outcome of the BOD vote in April, a petition for a budget referendum can be made. How to do that can be found here.

It is an austere year, but we are all in this together.