BRATTLEBORO — We, as the original petitioners, are only half way to a goal of defeating PAYT for Brattleboro.
I'd like to ask all the voters who voiced their dismay and unhappiness over PAYT back when they were signing the petition for a referendum: please go to either the town clerk to vote absentee or to the selectboard meeting room on June 29 to vote no on PAYT.
It's time to prove our value as individual voters and put our votes into a real solution for the future of Brattleboro, for all of the reasons why PAYT is currently such a bad idea, the least of which is that there is no absolute plan to increase recycling other than creating an unfair system of hidden taxation. Who among us really believes that taxes (and therefore rents) won't in fact go up next year, even with a system of PAYT?
We need to defeat PAYT and spend the coming year to find more, not less, in recycling solutions. In doing that, we are, in fact, solving a much bigger problem than simply building a system where everyone pays for the waste he or she creates.
It's time to tell our town and our Selectboard that we want to give them an opportunity to prove their worth on this idea and become a board to truly be proud of.
That's why I am voting no on PAYT and ask those who agree with me to exercise their right to vote along with me.