GilfordGrok

First, I want to say thanks to Terry for his kind words - they were unsolicited thus mean a lot more to me:

Skip is a strong conservative voice. Whether or not you like Skip’s style, there’s no denying that he studies every dime in the budget. Skip pushes very hard to assure that all spending is accountable and reasonable. His continued questioning on budget items has served the community and the committee in immeasurable ways. I strongly recommend this candidate.

Yes, I am running for re-election to the Gilford Budget Committee. It has been a full three years since first being elected to the Budget Committee and during that time, I have helped to do a number of innovative tasks including:

• Researching and presenting a study of how high Gilford municipal pay rates are compared with the other demographically similar towns in NH.
  
• Introducing the use of the Web into Gilford politics by posting that study here on GilfordGrok for public viewing and commenting.
• Personally offering real time/live streaming of the audio portion of Budget Committee meetings
• Posting video recordings of the Budget Committee meetings.
• Helping the process of moving taxpayer funded charitable donations to "outside" agencies from "inside" the overall budget to "outside" warrants to that allow you, the taxpayer, to  decide whether you want your money to go to a given entity (or, not at all if that be your choice)
  

During that time, I also publicly detailed my budget process observations here from time to time, which in itself, was a cause of consternation by some (and have been happy to do so, too!).

Some in town have accused me of having an agenda; I freely admit that they are, indeed, right. It is rather simple: as a conservative I believe that it is never my money that I am watching over - it is yours.  Add to that, government's rise in spending should not be outstripping that of the inflation rate (as inflation can be viewed as a relatively good measure as to how fast the average family's income is rising) - a goal that has certainly been achieved this year. Government should be serving the residents and not the other way around in this regard.

My measuring stick has been, and will continue to be, the question of “What is the proper role of government?” so as to determine needs vs wants. Being a conservative, I believe in keeping taxes as low as possible so as to keep your money in your pocket; you know better how to spend your money far better than I or Government can.  I also believe in limited government, expecting it to do what we as residents would find difficult to do either as individuals or even in small groups. The flip side of that equation is, however, that I also believe in personal responsibility.  Thus I try to slow the rise in growth of government activities that individuals or small groups could do for themselves instead of more expensive government programs.  Everything connected to a dollar amount has been fair game for examination and questioning - no area has been spared (and yes, a few feathers have been ruffled in a few accounts during that process).

Thus, with the forethought that money should be treated as a scarce resource, I feel that there should always be a priority within the Town (public safety, roads, and education) for that spending. As part of that body that is that last set of eyes watching over your money I promise to maintain that over-watch philosophy – it is not my money, it is your's.

I respectfully ask for your vote for re-election to Gilford's Budget Committee.

Kindest Regards,

-Skip