4/5 12:11am   MA: I appreciate your concern for our town government and share your consternation about the use of an override. In fact, in the last four years of my being on the board of selectmen (up to March of 2005), I resisted all attempts to have an override. There were none during this period. I would have also resisted the $1.1 million override that we had last spring. I personally voted against it at the polls. I also wrote a Norfolknet posting in June of 2005 saying that because of the override, be prepared for "sticker shock" in your February 1, 2006 tax bill. However, in support of the selectmen I will repeat my comments of an earlier post and say to all, please note that it is often difficult for a selectman to avoid the pressures of the electorate when they say `put it to the vote of the town.' The selectmen did just that last year and the voters passed the question. It is the electorate and not the selectmen that approves an override.
I have to challenge your comment that, "This (an override) will be the 3rd within 12 months." There is a distinction between an override and a debt exclusion. We did have a debt exclusion called by the King Philip School Committee during the past year and neither the town nor the selectmen are involved with this. Contrary to the postings on Norfolknet, the town has had only one override (last year) in the last five years. We have had several debt exclusions for King Philip and one for the Library for the same period, and I will add, be careful because most of the added taxes for King Philip have yet to hit your bills. So it will get worse before it gets better even if no further overrides or exclusions are voted.
There is one bright light. Because of the huge increase in your February 1 and May 1 tax bills, you will see a decrease in your August 1 tax bill approximately totalling half that increase. In other words if your February 1 tax bill went up 30%, your August 1 tax bill will drop back approximately 15%. Plan on that in your budget.
You ask another question about the clock in the town center. First, let me take full responsibility for the clock. I insisted on having a clock. I also am reponsible for the roundabouts. I turned down all other designs. I am also responsible for getting the land (free) for the library expansion. Our goal was to have beautiful town center that we all can be proud to show to others. The clock is not there just to tell time, it is there to announce Norfolk to ourselves and our visitors. I think we have done that. A beautiful town center means pride in our town and enhanced property values for all. Yes, better roads would also be nice and that was the subject of our 2001 override.
You are correct to be concerned about the cost of the clock and how it impacted our taxes in a time of financial constraint. Let me explain all the costs. The Gazebo was paid for with our taxes several years ago before the financial problems began in 2001. Since then things were different. The library expansion was paid from a grant, CPA funds, and the remainder from our taxes using a debt exclusion question. The burying of the utilities underground is being paid for from a surcharge on our utility bills. The remainder of the town center project which includes the clock, the lights, the road, the wall, the roundabouts, the Norfolk sign and the monuments do not come from our taxes. They come from state and federal grant funds and Chapter 90 Highway funds from the state. The entire project and each of the separate parts were discussed and voted at numerous selectmen meetings over the last five years. In fact, the clock was voted at least twice that I remember during that time.
What do you think? Doesn't it look beautiful? Except for a small part of the library project it didn't cost us one cent on our taxes.

- Jack McFeeley, Selectman 1981-1984, 1999-2005

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