Old Forge Budget meeting - 5/11/2011 at 7PM

BUDGET MEETING WEDS. 5/11/11 @ 7PM


With the current recession that we are experiencing, our school budget is in trouble. We are looking at a $550,000.00 shortfall, possibly $650,000.00. The state is not going to be allocating any further funds and neither is the Federal Government. But we do not need them, we can fix this ourselves. As a Citizen of Old Forge, I know one thing about our Community…we ALWAYS stick together and help when one of our fellow Citizen needs us. So now our School district needs us.

It is time to stand together and see what we can do . WE need to set an example for our children and show them how to solve such problems. We need Parents, Teachers, Students and local business’ working together.. not apart. It is time for us all to roll up our sleeves and fix the problem without teacher strikes, without protests and without anger. But rather with solutions… OUR solutions as a community. And then we need accountability for how we got here.

This is a time where we can set an example not only for our children, but for the rest of America. We can take the lead in showing how a Borough should act when faced with a financial crisis. Old Forge can set the bar and be a shining example of a civil society that takes the reigns and comes up with solutions as a caring and genuinely concerned citizenry.

Many of our fellow neighbors have lost their homes, or are about to, many of our residents are one paycheck away from losing everything, or one unemployment check away from losing everything. We have retirees and elderly on fixed incomes that would be devastated by a tax increase. How many more homes have to go up for sale or be foreclosed on before we reach out and do something to help?

Rather than raise taxes on our Community, will you attend the May 11, 2011 school board meeting? The School board will have a line by line item list of expenditures to see where we can cut expenses. Where we can not cut expenses, we can work together as a community to see how we can help to defray some of those costs. I know that with such a diverse citizenry we can help in many ways. Donating not just our treasure, but also our time and talents of in-kind contributions if need be.

I know that the people of Old Forge love their community and will do all that they can to assist in this financial crisis we are now facing. Together we can solve this problem. Please make sure you attend the next Budget meeting to see where you can contribute in order to save our district from borrowing more money or raising taxes.