Letter to the editor in support of override
June 13 ,2009
More opinions on the Northampton
override
By Daily Hampshire Gazette
EDITOR'S NOTE: Next Tuesday, Northampton residents will go to the polls for a Proposition 2½ override vote. Here is the final collection of reader opinions. Many more letters can be found under Opinion on the home page of GazetteNET.com.
By Daily Hampshire Gazette
EDITOR'S NOTE: Next Tuesday, Northampton residents will go to the polls for a Proposition 2½ override vote. Here is the final collection of reader opinions. Many more letters can be found under Opinion on the home page of GazetteNET.com.
To the editor:
My wife and I have been homeowners since 1995 and during those 14 years have enjoyed an incredible array of city services and amenities. Our two daughters have received a quality education from an inspiring team of teachers and staff at Bridge Street School. Our streets have been faithfully plowed in winter and swept clean each spring by the DPW.
We've enjoyed family hikes around Fitzgerald Lake, the Sawmill Hills and other city conservation areas. We've battled dragons and visited faraway lands via our well-worn Forbes Library cards. We've bought discount composters, rain barrels and recycling bins from our city and pedaled her miles of bike lanes and trails to "green" our family. The Arts Council has afforded us access to an incredible diversity of artists and performances.
Our kids have participated in Recreation Department programs and look forward to sports, music, and other extracurricular activities at JFK and NHS. We've even experienced the heart-stopping moment of dialing 911 when an electrical fire threatened our home and we remain grateful to the professionals in our dispatch, police, fire, and building departments who saved the day.
Inflation has risen over 45 percent in the years since 1995 but so have returns in value and equity on our home investment. What's lagged behind the curve is property taxes: we paid more in 1995 than 2009 when adjusted for inflation. We stand ready and willing to pay a little more in property taxes each year so we don't fall further behind as a community and lose the employees and services that have made Northampton a great place to live, work and raise our family.
David Narkewicz
Ward 4 City Councilor
My wife and I have been homeowners since 1995 and during those 14 years have enjoyed an incredible array of city services and amenities. Our two daughters have received a quality education from an inspiring team of teachers and staff at Bridge Street School. Our streets have been faithfully plowed in winter and swept clean each spring by the DPW.
We've enjoyed family hikes around Fitzgerald Lake, the Sawmill Hills and other city conservation areas. We've battled dragons and visited faraway lands via our well-worn Forbes Library cards. We've bought discount composters, rain barrels and recycling bins from our city and pedaled her miles of bike lanes and trails to "green" our family. The Arts Council has afforded us access to an incredible diversity of artists and performances.
Our kids have participated in Recreation Department programs and look forward to sports, music, and other extracurricular activities at JFK and NHS. We've even experienced the heart-stopping moment of dialing 911 when an electrical fire threatened our home and we remain grateful to the professionals in our dispatch, police, fire, and building departments who saved the day.
Inflation has risen over 45 percent in the years since 1995 but so have returns in value and equity on our home investment. What's lagged behind the curve is property taxes: we paid more in 1995 than 2009 when adjusted for inflation. We stand ready and willing to pay a little more in property taxes each year so we don't fall further behind as a community and lose the employees and services that have made Northampton a great place to live, work and raise our family.
David Narkewicz
Ward 4 City Councilor