EAST PROVIDENCE

Tax increases will not aid residents or economy

It seems to me that the East Providence School Department would like the City Council to impose an illegal tax on our community. Remember, by our charter, we can increase taxes by a maximum of 3.5 percent. This would be the only way the citizens of East Providence could support the budget proposed by the School Committee.

As any longtime East Providence resident knows, a strategy of trying to tax your way out of hard times has been tried before with disastrous consequences. Tax increases will not solve the budget crisis but will exacerbate the economic downturn.

With the current economic conditions and taxes at an all-time high, any increase will only drive more people and business out of our city and produce little or no additional monies. The long-term effect and damage to our citizens could be profound. People will leave the city, our local business will suffer, and our students will not get the education they deserve.The facts suggest that there is enormous room to cut the city and school budgets without severely damaging services or laying off crucial workers. East Providence spends more money, and employs more public workers per capita than most Rhode Island cities. Yet the city has taken few steps to bring costs in line and reduce expenditures.

The city has also failed to win any significant concessions from its unions on such issues as health insurance buybacks and retirement benefits, even though workers enjoy much more generous benefits than similar private-sector workers.

At a time when most workers in the private sector pay at least a portion of their health-care insurance, the city has asked its work force for a modest contribution to premiums. We will see what the school side does.

Cooperation is the key. The goal of the City Council and the School Committee should be a government that provides basic services at reasonable tax rates, but that does not heap unnecessary costs on residents.

The big-time problems that have created this financial crisis are a lack of leadership and teamwork by our elected official and overspending of our tax dollars by our administrators. What can we do as citizens?

Become active. Support the financial summit proposed by Councilman Robert Cusack. This will help instill a culture of responsible budgeting and accountability in city government.

Making sure that we, as a government, don’t waste energy and monies, doing the little things such as turning off lights when no one is in a room, turning motors off when vehicles are not moving, etc.

Vote.

Speak up, join citizen groups.

Visit schools see what going on..

Demand consolidation of jobs, which isn’t happening.

In 2008, we will elect a whole new city government. Don’t make the same mistake by voting for individuals that will continue backing special-interest groups and not doing what’s best for the city. The only way for this to happen is going out and vote.

Bob Enos

East Providence

PORTSMOUTH

Girl Scout Troop 727 cleared away the beach trash

On Sept. 20, 40 volunteers, including Girl Scout Troop 727, showed up to receive their cleanup marching orders. All the volunteers were incredibly dedicated to freeing the sea of debris in Common Fence Point.

All the volunteers did a super job! Three people tackled one of our notoriously nasty litter sites — near the Sakonnet River Bridge. We usually send several teams down there, but had been informed that the beach was surprisingly clean on this Saturday.

A team led by Leann Gablinske, her daughter Hailey and friend Sabrina Aguiar, thought differently, and had the data to prove it. In that area alone, these three picked up and catalogued 211 plastic bags, 13 balloons, 104 beverage cans, 94 caps and lids, 11 pieces of clothing, 137 food wrappers, 35 food utensils, 81 straws, and yes, as always there were 3 diapers festering in the sun AND 9 of the 42 neighborhood total of tampons.

This team deserves a whole lot of credit for tackling that area on its own!!! Bravo and thanks!!

Karyn Lidstone and company found the strangest item ever found in my 18 years as a beach captain — a watertight 5 gallon pail of guar gum! (Guar gum is a food stabilizer made from the seeds of an East Indian plant.)

More intense dedication to free the sea of debris from Troop 727: After they catalogued a very heavy tire and car bumper, they took the initiative to roll/drag the debris all the way back to the Common Fence Point Hall to make it easier for the Portsmouth DPW who once again hoisted all the bags of litter to their proper receptacles. Thanks, Brian and Dave!

The total number of plastic bags found on CFP beaches was 524, there were 652 food wrappers and 43 balloons.

Do people still not get it that turtles and other ocean goers think the bags and balloons are jellyfish, and so swallow them, leaving little room in their stomachs for real nutrition, hence they starve to death? We found 51 clumps of fishing line. If fishermen saw a photo of a fledging, dangling from its nest, with fishing line wrapped around its neck, would litterers be more conscious of their actions?

Education is definitely a key, so thanks to the 40 volunteers who “get it”.

Now what will you do the next time someone drops trash on Mother Nature’s face? Will you turn a blind eye or educate?

Mil Kinsella

Beach captain

Common Fence Point