Letter to the Editor: When Is Enough Enough for Old Lyme’s Rainy Day Fund?

To the Editor:

In 2023, concerned about the elevated level of our surplus account, I wrote an article asking the question, “Are we being over taxed”? At that juncture our surplus was at 23%. Now it is 33%. I applaud Candace Fuchs and the other concerned members of the Board of Finance for their current proposal to address this issue.

The Lymeline article indicates that our surplus level was ranked at No. 10. Remember, that is 10 out of 169 municipalities. That means that 159 have a lower surplus than ours including many of our shoreline neighbors who also are exposed to the same risks.

There are many reasons floating about why Old Lyme needs a higher surplus level. These reasons are valid, but no one has ever adequately explained the formula for determining its current level or its optimum level. Darts thrown against some skewed target? It just keeps growing year after year. When is enough, enough?

I agree with Chairman Bernblum when he said “My personal concern is just the vagueness of saying it ought to be as much as possible because of some unknown calamity in the future … too vague and unpredictable for me.”

I would rather see the taxpayers keep their money in their own accounts, rather than the town’s. If there is a once-in-a-lifetime event that requires increasing taxes, tax me when it strikes, not before.

The choice is to continue to let the surplus grow, or addressing it so that taxpayers are not over taxed.

Sincerely,
Howard Margules
Old Lyme

Editor’s Note: Margules serves on the Old Lyme Planning Commission, Old Lyme Housing Strategic Planning Steering Committee and Lower Connecticut River Council of Governments Regional Planning Committee.