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Resident warns council about borrowing and TERS subsidies
Summary
Joel McGregor used his public‑comment slot to question the fairness of tax/rate treatment and to urge caution on borrowing, citing a $27 million borrowing figure and asking whether residents are subsidizing development.
During the public‑comment period, Joel McGregor of East Samley Lane criticized the town's use of TERS and expressed concern about the scale of municipal borrowing and its fiscal fairness. "If it costs 29.5¢ to provide services for me, it should cost 29.5¢ to provide services for everybody else," McGregor said, and he asked when the town's borrowing — referenced informally as "another $27,000,000" — will stop.
Council responded on the record: the mayor said that the debt issuances on the agenda that night "are part of previous agreements and none of them are being paid through property taxes," clarifying that the particular issuances under consideration would not be covered by the general property‑tax levy.
Why it matters: McGregor's comments foregrounded resident concern about long‑term debt and perceived unequal treatment of taxpayers, an issue councilors addressed briefly before moving into the consent agenda. The exchange remained a public comment and did not change council policy that night.
