I was fairly surprised to read the formal statement issued by Bob Stevens and the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation board in response to the proposed 1-percent local-option sales tax.
This statement comes at a time when so much of our infrastructure needs to be updated, repaired, or replaced. At a time when the needs of our community are both significant and glaring. At a time when Brattleboro seeks to stretch its reach to find both visitors for leisure, as well as professionals and/or families to come and help our local economy thrive - a task that really requires said infrastructures to be up to date.
Opposition to the sharing of tax burden (our current property owners carry about 85 percent of the current municipal budget) seems shortsighted and smacks of the kind of “no new taxes” rhetoric that is completely unhelpful when making tough decisions like this one.
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I write in response to questions about why I chose to vote against proposed signage intended as a public service announcement on the topic of panhandling in Brattleboro. The idea to develop a sign came out of an informal committee that has formed itself in response to downtown concern...
I really appreciated this piece, Shanta Lee Gander. It has been on my mind quite a bit lately, and others I know are thinking about it as well. Who our community is for is such an interesting question, because the answer seems easy. Yet it is not, as it...
At the March 25 Annual Representative Town Meeting, Kurt Daims brought up a motion to have the Selectboard sit with the representatives during the meeting rather than on the stage. Mr. Daims cited when that change should have been made, and read from the Town Charter. I did not approach the microphone to support him. And that is a shame, because he was quite correct. The Selectboard does not preside over RTM. The moderator does. The elevation of Selectboard members...
To my friends, my family, my community, and people I do not know who fear for their safety and for the stability of their family, I want to say a few words: You are not alone. You do not live in a country where the majority of people feel you do not belong. You are not marginal. I am here, and will always support you, and I will stand up for you, your family, and your rights. And I am...
When my husband and I contemplated having babies, we factored many things into our decision. But we never imagined that we would have a hard time with a two-parent-working household. Why would we? We both have good jobs that pay well, and other people do it, right? What we found out very quickly is that working and paying for child care is not that easy. With two kids enrolled, we are paying more for child care than I bring home,