A three-year summary

To the editor:
    Three years ago, I volunteered my time and offered my name to the Caribou City Council. That was a year in which the tax rate in Caribou grew by two mils.  My philosophy has never been to have a goal to cut or reduce government, but a goal to control the spending and growth rate within the local government and to keep that government as transparent as possible. I have worked as hard as I possibly can to see just that. I took the time to understand the budget, both expense and revenue sides, and the general ledger to the best of my ability. Some would call this micromanaging; I call it my proper duty as your elected representative. However, over the past three years, my goals have not been fully achieved.
    In 2006, the city of Caribou had a surplus of $400,000. In 2007, it had a surplus of $450,000 and in 2008; it has a surplus of $650,000. Out of all these surpluses, not one thin dime has been returned to you, the taxpayer. All of this money went to growth of your local government – a growth rate over which I have tried to have an influence.
    In 2007, the school department received $1 million of extra money and then again the following year, got $1.2 million of additional money. Of this amount, only $16,000 was returned to the taxpayers for property tax relief. So much for the concept of LD1. Even with these surpluses, your property valuations went up by 10 percent in 2007. One of many things I have learned over the past three years is this basic rule of thumb: never trust government with you money.
    One of the best compliments I ever received was from a city employee during the union negotiations where I was told that the biggest problem with me was that I was trying to run this government like a business. Well, in my opinion, city government is a business. The first thing I learned in business was to be open and transparent to the bankers and financial people with whom I did business. And I view you, the Caribou tax payer, as being the bankers for the city of Caribou, and it seems that everyone in this government has had his or her fair share except for you. In this government, when you are in the minority, you have no influence. Compromise is not a word the majority uses.
    I have worked my hardest to keep government business open and transparent along with simple and understandable. If you don't understand the process, it's because they have designed it that way. I have not achieved my goals. Having said all of this, however, I want the citizens to know that I consider it an honor to have served this city for the past three years.