Dear Citizens of Upton
On May 7th and June 4th the Upton Annual Town Meeting will be held. The voters at the ATM will determine the financial appropriations for the Town’s operating budget, capital improvement, and the Regional School Districts for the upcoming fiscal year. Through open discussion the voters that attend the ATM will determine how much funding is needs to be raised by taxation. On May 4th the citizens of Upton will go to the polls to elect town officers that provide leadership to our local government. Leadership’s role and responsibility is to implement the actions of Town Meeting. On May 18th the citizens of Upton will go to the polls to determine the fate of a tax override question.
We all want tax relief. The question that needs to be answered is what are we willing to sacrifice to reduce our taxes? Many of the functions performed by your local government are mandated and regulated by the Federal and State governments. It’s too simplistic to state that we can reduce taxes by simply reducing the budget. Our budget is driven by the services that your local government provides. The challenge becomes where do you reduce services that will minimize negative impact? Do we close departments? Do will eliminate services? Do we reduce the workforce? Do we impact education?
The Town of Upton has a $20,041,901 budget that provides service to 7,431 residents. The Town of Upton has approximately 58 employees that deliver those Town services to us. Upton’s portion of the Mendon Upton School District budget is $11,060,062 that educates 1,226 of our children. Upton’s portion of the B.V.T. School District budget is $1,228,630 that educates 120 of our children.
I grew up in Upton and have benefited from the services that were provided by the Town and the School Districts. My children grew up in Upton and have benefited from the services that have been provided by the Town and the School Districts. Upton is a community that has a strong sense of responsibility and shared valves. Our Town government services and our School Districts are linked to the success of our community and what we value.
I am not willing to sacrifice any services that we all benefit from until I have no other choice. I know how I am voting at the ATM and at the polls. I am voting yes for the override.
Ken Picard
Upton
UPTON DAILY 
This makes common sense to me. We just came out of the worst winter in recent memory. But I do not recall seeing streets unplowed. I have seen potholes repaired in town. Trash pickup, police, fire, schools. These are my main concerns as a resident of Upton. I do not want fewer police on our streets. I want to be secure in the knowledge that we have a fire department that will get to my home quickly if the worst were to happen. And I do not want my child to receive an inferior education in classes that are too large for any of the students to receive adequate attention. That is why I am voting yes on the override.
No new taxes, period.
Thank you so much for your pledge of support Ken. We appreciate your service to the community. Our Selectmen have done an excellent job of controlling spending while investing in necessary infrastructure needs. Communities that grow better over time are those that conduct long range strategic planing and make smart investments in community services. Communities that don’t plan and invest deteriorate over time. Thanks to you Bob and Jim for putting in the long hours of managing the business of our community and for supporting the MURSD strategic plan. With the communities of Mendon and Upton working together our school district and towns can continue to move in a positive direction.