TREMONT - The last time voters had their say on whether to partner with Southwest Harbor on police services was in October 2019, and that proposal was defeated by 51 residents - or less than 4 percent of the registered voters in town.
Can someone please explain to me why an American version of this can't be done? Innumerable benefits - job creation and an increase in the tax base, an increase in available labor, revitalized communities and more money in the pockets of local businesses. What's not to like (unless you think homeless encampment are cool...)
It's not just showing up at the Town's meetings it's being PREPARED to do so. Read the warrant rather than just hear the budget proposal line by line for the first time. KNOW what the referendums are to vote on. We, as citizens, have a responsibility to voice our concerns, pro and con and the town meetings are THE place to do so but, and I repeat, only IF you prepare youself with facts and not frenzied fiction or fear tactics. It's a gift to be able to have a vote that counts at this level. Don't waste it.
Second home owners have no say at town meetings. We have owned a house in Tremont for 25+ years. When I went to the door at the town meetings, they wouldn't even let me enter. I protested that I merely wanted to pick up a copy of the annual report. Someone brought it to me at the door. Pardon us if we feel like a resource to be mined. We don't use the schools. Our biggest burden on the town is around two dozen bags of trash a year that we drop off at the transfer station.
But our taxes are always paid on time in full. It would be nice to get police coverage for the price of admission. Chris Perham
Your points regarding the effects of low voter turnout for local meetings/referenda/elections are well-expressed.
My parents lived in Tremont (Bernard) for their entire retirement and often spoke of the need for a more focused approach to law enforcement than anything then available.
By the time of the 2019 proposal, I had inherited their property, but as a New Jersey resident I was not a local voter.
I was horrified to see the voters turn down what looked like an excellent proposal.
We sold the house in 2020 because we could not use it as a get-away spot—too far from here for folks in their 70s to weekend. Then, with the pandemic’s effects, we just stayed home.
I totally encourage you to continue supporting more involved behavior by local citizens! I also encourage grassroots organizing by those same local citizens to protect their own interests! It works!
I had your folks for customers for heating oil as well as members of the Head of the Harbor Church . GREAT people. I had some great conversations with your dad. Sorry you had to sell the house.
Can someone please explain to me why an American version of this can't be done? Innumerable benefits - job creation and an increase in the tax base, an increase in available labor, revitalized communities and more money in the pockets of local businesses. What's not to like (unless you think homeless encampment are cool...)
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/apr/30/california-housing-vienna-lessons
It's not just showing up at the Town's meetings it's being PREPARED to do so. Read the warrant rather than just hear the budget proposal line by line for the first time. KNOW what the referendums are to vote on. We, as citizens, have a responsibility to voice our concerns, pro and con and the town meetings are THE place to do so but, and I repeat, only IF you prepare youself with facts and not frenzied fiction or fear tactics. It's a gift to be able to have a vote that counts at this level. Don't waste it.
Second home owners have no say at town meetings. We have owned a house in Tremont for 25+ years. When I went to the door at the town meetings, they wouldn't even let me enter. I protested that I merely wanted to pick up a copy of the annual report. Someone brought it to me at the door. Pardon us if we feel like a resource to be mined. We don't use the schools. Our biggest burden on the town is around two dozen bags of trash a year that we drop off at the transfer station.
But our taxes are always paid on time in full. It would be nice to get police coverage for the price of admission. Chris Perham
Your points regarding the effects of low voter turnout for local meetings/referenda/elections are well-expressed.
My parents lived in Tremont (Bernard) for their entire retirement and often spoke of the need for a more focused approach to law enforcement than anything then available.
By the time of the 2019 proposal, I had inherited their property, but as a New Jersey resident I was not a local voter.
I was horrified to see the voters turn down what looked like an excellent proposal.
We sold the house in 2020 because we could not use it as a get-away spot—too far from here for folks in their 70s to weekend. Then, with the pandemic’s effects, we just stayed home.
I totally encourage you to continue supporting more involved behavior by local citizens! I also encourage grassroots organizing by those same local citizens to protect their own interests! It works!
Thanks for your journalism!
Nancy Banfill Helterman
I had your folks for customers for heating oil as well as members of the Head of the Harbor Church . GREAT people. I had some great conversations with your dad. Sorry you had to sell the house.