New direction coming up for Paris, here. Many voters are concerned about the state of our finances. There seems to be a standard glib response from the chairman, the vice chairman, the interim town manager, that the town has plenty of money - all set - not to worry.
Has anyone even spoken with the Finance Clerk and Appointed Treasurer Sharon Gendreau? She is the person who knows.
Figures on paper do not give the same look into the wallet of the town as actually looking into the wallet of the town. The Paris town budget was carefully prepared, and accepted by voters at the 6-13-09 Town Meeting. The 2007/2008 Town Report (copies available at the Town Office if needed) includes several pages of audit charts, to show the different ways of breaking down the cash flow. Check them out.
But these are projections, pictures of the money. All of these graphs and numbers do not tell what is in the pot of money today. That is a very different story. Go and ask the Finance Clerk about that.
And then, there are any number of limitations (page 76 and page 77, Town Report 2007/2008) on how some of the money can be used. Legally. Flexibility and total elasticity are not the same thing.
There is serious cause to worry. Do not be reassured. There is no $800,000 available for use between now and November. There is some money set aside for a rainy day - but not for rain that lasts forever. Good planning in the past can be wiped out by poor judgment in the present.
Ask more questions. Look deeper. Ask for information from people who know, not who want you to know what they want you to know.
There will be more information coming from concerned voters, because there are several people already looking deeper.
