Budgeting is Annual

In Scotland Hogmanay was the traditional holiday . Like Hallowe'en originally it was a Pagan Festival.

It was more than a partee.

It was spiritual. But like everything else Scottish even spiritual is practical.

Home  had to be scoured clean. Everything that could be was polished to a gleam or sparkle. Every speck of dirt or dust remove

Knitting or sewing projects had to be finished. Any task uncomplete by New Year's Eve likely never would be.

A dark-haired man first across the threshold after midnight guaranteed good fortune in the New Year.

Merriment ensued.

War interfered considerably with tradition.

I moved to London before I was eighteen and lived the next several years in a Jewish household.

Jewish celebrations are not the same.

Merriment does not feature significantly.

Christmas became the focus afterwards but the imperative to complete tasks continues to be a driver.

The merit of turning over a publicly owned facility with financial support close to a million to a self-appointed group that meets in secret without accountability  is neither accepted nor considered a fait accompli.

A town  must strike an annual budget. . A million dollars represents 3 points increase in the  tax rate.

A conscientious Council must assure the community, taxes are  both reasonable and necessary

The community in turn must judge whether the assurance is  acceptable.

As long as the town hands over Church Street School  and hundreds of thousands of dollars to a non-
accountable body that makes decisions in secret no such assurance is possible.

There is no integrity in such a budget

Under the current agreement,Council must decide the level of financial support.

We have a new Council. Does community input mean anything?

Comments  to this blog indicate opposition to the expenditure.

Support is mainly expressed in name-calling and accusation.

People can make a difference.