To the Editor:
It’s time for Watertown to recognize that we need to do more to create affordable housing, educate our kids for the present and future, maintain and improve our public parks and other recreational spaces, and preserve the heritage of old Watertown that’s getting destroyed.
The pressures on us from commercial development and economic forces much bigger than our town or state make it necessary for us all to pitch in to keep Watertown an attractive place for young and old, families and individuals. The Town administration has done an exceptional job at keeping our tax rate well below the state average, but that discipline has come at a major cost.
As a community we haven’t had the wherewithal to deal with the changes washing over us. We can’t afford to dream about how cities and towns ought to be funded while ignoring the realities of how the system now works and how to make the most of it. We can’t pretend we can stand still while the ground shifts under our feet. It’s for that reason that I’m voting yes on Question 5 and supporting community preservation.
It’s a smart way to concretely deal with many of the challenges we face, harness more of the wealth being created by this wave of development, and also get our share of money we are now paying to subsidize other cities and towns. It’s not a question of choosing among education, housing, parks and heritage – we have to face up to the pressing need to address all these area. If we don’t do it now, we’ll only be less and less equipped to face the future.
Jon Bockian
Watertown Resdident
Sure, tax most everyone, even those who can least afford it, and I do not mean those that are considered low or mid income, but those young families with children and large rents or mortgages and plenty of monthly bills that middle age folks no longer have. Do you really think that a new tax for nice to have things will solve our problems.
I suggest that we prioritize our needs and with that thought the first priority is our schools, then you can prioritize our other needs and fund them with our current revenues. As far as affordable housing the town just raised the number of affordable houses/apartments that developers must include in their mid to large sized developments, and with all of the development going on that should help to make a good sized dent. Just how much affordable or low income housing is needed. We all want to do the right thing regarding affordable housing but do we make our goal 10, 20, 30 40, or 50% of our housing stock as affordable housing ?
Again prioritization is the key to getting things accomplished on time and within the towns budget.
VOTE NO ON QUESTION 5