As many of you know one, of the largest portions of our town budget is our highway system. Our road agent and his predecessors, in conjunction with the Board of Selectmen, have on numerous occasions pointed out that next to our school, it is our largest investment and biggest chunk of our tax bill. In tough times, it becomes the easiest target for cuts, and we have continued to “kick the can down the road” over time, causing a serious deterioration in this investment.

I do not believe that one person or board has the answer to solve this problem, however I do believe that we as a community need to have a serious fact-based discussion to come up with viable and efficient solutions. At the March 12th Town Meeting, I will make a motion from the floor under the final warrant article, entitled “other business,” to adopt a referendum instructing the Selectmen to form a committee of those residents knowledgeable in highway infrastructure and/or municipal finance to research possible changes to our highway maintenance system and report back to Town Meeting in 2014 with their findings and recommendations. (Items under this article are not legally binding, however historically the Selectmen honor the wishes of the voters, as they work for us.)

My hope is that this committee would work similarly to the committee that researched our fire departments and come back with several options for the voters to choose from, as I feel that in several instances in the past, many voters would have supported some changes, just not the changes that were presented as a single option.

We have many people in town who are very knowledgeable in this field. To present a good plan to the town, it will take solid fact-based numbers, with everything placed out for each option. If we are willing to have this open, civil discussion, I believe that we as a community can do just as was done with our now more-efficient single fire department and move toward a better, more-efficient community.

I hope you will support this motion. Remember: voting in favor of it is not a vote to change anything. It is simply a vote to look into our options going forward as a community.