http://www.masslive.com/news/topstories/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1176623476180640.xml&coll=1&thispage=5
Naturally Amherst town officials gave the reporter a bad figure. Yes, Cherry Hill was scheduled to lose $35,649 of taxation in FY06 and that was the budget Town Meeting approved…. however:
Cherry Hill overspent its budget by $13,419 and missed target revenues by $10,745 more than $24,000 over original projections conjured up by Pollyannaish town officials, thus costing taxpayers $59,649 in FY06—not $35,000.
On April 3, 2006 I publicly challenged “acting Town Manager” John Musante to a $10,000 bet--with all proceeds to charity--that Cherry Hill would not intake $207,000 in FY06. He refused. Cherry Hill only generated $196,667.
I will make the same bet now with current Town Manager Larry Shaffer that Cherry Hill will NOT intake $220,000 this year. As of April 1’st (no foolin) Cherry Hill was $8,000 behind last year's revenues to date, and so far the weather has been a lot worse this April than last.
Can you imagine how much revenue is lost when it snows on a Sunday (especially on this prime holiday weekend)?
How about it Mr. Shaffer: try walking the walk.
What don't I get here? It seems there is a simple choice between two options: Let the town run the golf course and thereby lose the town money....Or let someone in the private sector run it and thereby make the town money. Why is this considered a controversial, hard to make decision?
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately ego is contagious. Long time town manager Barry Del Castilho (and his merry band of cohorts) simply didn’t want to admit I was right; and the new Town manager Larry Shaffer, simply wants to prove he’s better than Barry.
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