Important Brewer election

Just a few thoughts about the referendums regarding the changes relating to the School Committee in the city of Brewer.

The City Council, spearheaded by Larry Doughty, in its constant quest for more and more power, is looking to make some unneeded changes to the city charter.

There is no need for the City Council to appoint any members of the School Committee for any reason. If there is a vacancy that has to be filled, let the voters decide. Are those “in tune” with the ideas of Doughty and the council necessarily looking out for the good of the Brewer school system, and the city?

For what reason does the City Council need to change the budget process, other than to try and gain more control over the School Committee. Let’s let (members of) the School Committee, who are elected by the people, do their job. They are doing an excellent job now, as they have in the past, and will continue to do in the future, without further council interference.

It seems more centralized power is the way of the past. Just ask the people in the U.S.R.R. Peg Schwarz Brewer

Next week Brewer residents will be asked to vote on a proposed charter amendment which will require the School Department to provide a figure for the total administrative costs to run our schools. There is nothing radical about this amendment nor is it inconsistent with what is required in other communities.

The School Department presently submits its budget to the City Council each year with the total budget broken down under nine major line items such as transportation, instructional employees, and tuition. This enables the council to get a handle on the costs of running the schools and to gauge the incremental increases from year to year.

The City Council does not and should not be involved in the many expenditures within each of these major line items. That is the function of the School Board. The proposed charter amendment does not take any authority away from the School Board. All it will do is provide a separate line item for the total administrative costs. This will allow city councilors, parents or anyone else concerned to glance at the budget and to have some understanding of what the administrative costs are relative to all the other costs. It is confusing and somewhat of a mystery as to why these costs are now mixed in with food, health, and other expenditures.

The City Council is responsible for establishing the tax rate and for passing the entire budget including the school portion. For this reason it is essential to have the information needed in order to make informed decisions. The only way the approval process can now occur is to take a lot of questions and attempt to piece together these costs or by simply rubber-stamping the budget. The latter is the most likely to occur. This amendment will provide exactly the same concise figure for administration as is already provided under our charter for teachers.

Question 4 on the ballot will simply make sense out of a budget format that now makes no sense. It will provide a clearer understanding of the costs to operate the school system. It deserves your support. Ron Harriman Brewer city councilor

The Brewer School Board and the Bangor Daily News are attempting to mislead the voters of Brewer. The Brewer City Council represents all of the Brewer taxpayers, not just the schools as does the Brewer School Board.

It was extremely bad form for the Brewer School Board to raise administrative salaries when there is a depression going on, when Brewer taxes are one of the highest in the state, and when Brewer sewer and water rates are skyrocketing. Incidentally, water and sewer rates is another area over which the Brewer taxpayers and their council have lost local control.

So, listen to the facts, not attacks on personalities, and vote on Monday, Sept. 30, to support the Brewer City Council’s right to have a say in where your tax dollars go. Andrew J. Freese Brewer