Town Must Vote On Police Issue

Regarding the recent front page announcement that townwide police coverage is "called for," I'd like to remind the members of the selectboard of the pledge that they made on more than one occasion: that there will be a townwide vote of the resident taxpayers to accept or reject the proposal.

This is an honorable pledge, an appropriate one, and the selectboard should be credited for allowing the town residents to exercise self-representation concerning their own property taxes.

Few would object to townwide police coverage, if it were free. But it is not, and if adopted, non-village residents will pay higher taxes, for some police service- in theory. Clearly the village will always enjoy most of the benefit from the Randolph Police Department offers.

If this matter is put to the town's taxpayers in the form of a vote- on election day- then no one can say that the final outcome wasn't reached with a majority approval.

If, on the other hand, the selectboard acts unilaterally without a vote, then 1) the selectboard's stated pledges to the town residents are worthless; and 2) non-village residents might feel they are subsidizing the benefits that village residents enjoy- and in fact, having it shoved down their throat.

I have no reason to believe that the selectboard will not honor its pledge to the residents. Please keep the promise; put it to a vote.

J.A. Larsen East Randolph