Proposed Payback Period Too Short
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Dear Editor,
I was unable to attend the January 10th meeting concerning a possible referendum to be held this April for the residents of Monticello. Without getting in to the merits of the improvements/purchases or the reason of getting us to this point, one part of the equation that I think is amiss is the five-year payback. Many items mentioned in the article have a life expectancy of 20 to 30 years. It is not reasonable to expect taxpayers for the next five years to pay the brunt of these expenditures when taxpayers thereafter will benefit and have a free ride. The increase of $288.00 per hundred thousand is a big hit. Keep in mind that any other raises for the yearly budgets are not included. Therefore, if these expenditures are needed, the pay back should be over at a 10-year minimum at best. I fully realize that it will be more interest paid, but in the interest of fairness and affordability, it is the way to go.
Don’t forget the elephant in the back of the room. Several million to be spent at the wastewater treatment plant!
Sincerely,
Jack Stenbroten,
Monticello
