Question 1 has passed; voters want a major reduction in property taxes. Now the next Legislature must implement the law. How will Maine fund the increase in school aid? How can taxpayers be sure to see a significant reduction in property taxes? Will this become an occasion to make government more efficient or just more of the old partisan blame game?

For weeks, opponents painted the grimmest picture about funding Question 1. They ignored a solution offered by two state senators, a Republican, Arthur Mayo from Bath, and a Democrat, Ken Gagnon from Waterville. They worked out a resolution with the sponsors of Question 1 to phase in full funding over the next two legislatures. The agreement also spells out “that the increase in funding for schools required by the passage of Question 1 will be made up by the use of surplus, growth in the state’s economy, efficiencies, cuts in current programs and increased revenues.” The resolution has it in the right order.

We also heard much about the possibility that local officials would go on a spending spree which would eat up all the promised savings. While I do not share this unfavorable view of our local officials, we should recognize that after years of cut backs in many towns there will be pressure to increase spending.

To balance these two concerns, the Legislature should pass a law that will be in effect during the implementation period. It should provide that any increases in local and school spending exceeding the growth in taxpayers’ earning power must be approved by a direct vote of the taxpayers. Local voters in each town can then decide if they want to use 100 percent of the savings for tax relief or if they want to use a small part of it to fix the roads or repair the roof of the school.

Passage of Question 1 must be seen as an opportunity for Augusta to make other reforms to lower our tax burden. Now is the time to remove jails from the financial responsibility of counties and to operate a much smaller number. Now is the time to put county government on a fee-for-service basis. Now is the time for the Legislature to look at spending programs that have been sacred cows in previous rounds of cuts.

For example, over the last 10 years the state has greatly increased the number of employees and consultants whose only job it is to keep track of other workers. We need to find less labor-intensive control systems so we can spend our money on digging the ditch and not on people with clipboards who just watch.

Other examples include funding programs to help business. Any program which really assists businesses produce or keep good jobs should be preserved and possibly expanded, but business friends of mine tell me that much of the money goes to fund little bureaucratic fiefdoms. This money could be better spent giving all businesses property tax relief.

We voters have started the ball rolling, now to keep it moving, we must elect people who can get beyond partisan differences. We join parties based upon our values, but in the end we must be able to find the common ground. We should reject candidates who say one party in Augusta is all right and the other is all wrong. These people have either never seen how things really work in Augusta, or they view the world through a lens grossly distorted by partisanship.

The second task before us is to defeat the Palesky proposal this fall. The Maine supreme court has ruled it unconstitutional, and it takes away from local taxpayers the right to decide what is best for them.

President Reagan had a sign on his desk which said there is no limit to what you can get done if you don’t worry about who gets the credit. If we can elect representatives from both parties who will adopt that approach, then the vote for Question 1 can be the beginning of real reform.

Barbara Merrill is an Appleton lawyer, a leader in the fight to save small schools and a Democratic candidate for the state Legislature.