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By Aaron Bowman

Stop the scare tactics. Give voters the facts because it is their money. The Mansfield town budget is headed to a referendum. And that’s a good thing.

But, Deputy Mayor Ben Shaiken is telling people essential services will be cut. And that is old fashion scare tactics. Instilling fear instead of offering facts is not leadership.

The fact is, there has been no vote by the full Town Council to approve any budget cuts. And, why would anyone start with essential services that affect our residents so directly like fire protection.

We all know the answer, to scare people.

Key details: Shaiken does not speak for your Town Council. He is speaking for himself. There’s been no vote by the full Town Council. No fiscal mandate requiring them. And no rationale for why these services would be touched at all. Less than 2% of registered voters who voted for the current budget is not public consent. This year’s proposed budget totals more than $68 million. Yet only 146 residents voted. We need inclusion. Not rubber stamps of a first draft budget.

Spending has grown 33% over the past four years in the Town Manager/Council Budget — and 4.8% for next year. As spending increases, so does the future burden on taxpayers. Pretending that sources of revenue from federal and state grants is sustainable is misleading. The Town keeps spending and eventually the federal and state governments will not be able to keep redistributing other people’s money. When that happens, we all pay.

Mansfield voters are living in a state with the highest energy costs and one of the highest tax rates in the nation. The plain truth is Mansfield’s spending may be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. Elected officials like Deputy Mayor Ben Shaiken using fear tactics to get what they want is not how democracy should work. And it’s not how Mansfield should operate.

Aaron Bowman ran for State House in Mansfield, CT. He describes himself as a Frederick Douglass Republican, inspired by Lincoln and a defender of the Constitution and life. He is an advocate for limited government and personal responsibility. You can follow Aaron on X.

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