Years ago there was an advertisement for Fram oil filters. An auto mechanic said, you can pay now (for a new oil filter) or pay later (for a car engine repair).

Today we are in an analogous situation. We can pay now with a tax increase, or we can pay later for the consequence of not having a tax increase. The following demonstrate the consequence of our decision:

*Pay now for fire department and EMT services, or pay later with the destruction of our houses by fire and needless deaths by greater response times and increased fire insurance.

*Pay now for adequate police protection, or pay later with insecurity, less personal and property safety, increased crime and decreased house sale prices.

*Pay now for the use of our public parks, tennis courts, dog walks and playgrounds, or pay later with less happiness and health of our walkers, joggers and dogs.

*Pay now for acceptable opening times for government buildings and adequate staffing by the town employees, or pay later for inadequate service and service hours.

*Pay now for street repairs, or pay later with increased auto repairs, travel times and house prices (third-world streets mean lower house prices)

*Pay now for preventative maintenance of facilities, equipment and roads, or pay later with breakdowns, unscheduled availability and eventual increase in cost.

We must decide to pay now with a tax increase, or pay later with the consequence of our town government not being adequately funded.