Ken Troup Letter to the Editor

Letter to the Editor

I want to urge all Bolton voters to vote YES on the override at the town election on May 12, 2025.  It’s been 21 years since Bolton had an override so people may not be familiar with the process or the details of the budget.  There have been three excellent information sessions, all of which can be viewed on demand at Bolton Access TV.  The officials explained in some detail the reasons for the revenue shortfall and what would be lost if the override fails.  I urge all voters to get educated through the recorded sessions.  From my perspective, having been on the select board when all of the previous overrides were voted upon, I view this current override as somewhat existential for the Town of Bolton.  Because of the education assessments and the likelihood that Stow and Lancaster will approve the Nashoba budget, all of the approximately $1.9 million in cuts will have to come from the 35% portion that funds all other town services.  Bolton is still a relatively small town and many of the town services have seen few if any increases for many years.  Yet the services provided, whether in the Town Hall, the Council on Aging, or Parks and Recreation, Library, Public Safety, or Public Works have continued to be important to the residents.

If the override fails, the town must follow an arduous set of steps to achieve a balanced budget by June 30 as required by state law.  Town officials will need to confer and then recommend to a second town meeting the budget cuts that will be necessary.  Each proposed cut can be debated and each will need to be voted upon by the town meeting.  From what officials have said up to this point, the cuts could include elimination of the budgets of the Council on Aging, the Parks and Recreation Department, some Public Works projects, and some cuts in the Library and Public Safety, including the well-regarded Nashoba Cadet EMT program.  Bolton will not be the same without these services.  It is possible that that second town meeting might not be willing to make all of the cuts needed and vote for a second, presumably lower amount override.  This was done one year when I was in office; it was a difficult process but it at least preserved some budgets.  In any case, the process to get to a balance budget must be completed during late May and June.  If the override passes on May 12, the town has the balanced budget voted at the May 5 town meeting, and the town services are preserved.  

While the school budget will remain intact if the override fails, Bolton will not be the Bolton I have worked for since before Proposition 2 ½ started in 1980.  We need this override to continue to be a town people want to live in.  Please vote YES on May 12.

Ken Troup, 21 Meadow Road Bolton