For more than 12 years our town financial managers and advisors have been documenting the fact that, by the year 2018, unless some significant additional revenue source is identified, the town will no longer be financially viable. So here we are.

During the same 12-year period every possible alternative to a property tax, some even pretty screwy, has been examined and found to be unrealistic, impractical or inadequate. By process of elimination, then, you are led to the conclusion that a reasonable property tax is not just the best solution, it is the only solution to the problem.

Under these conditions, is it a tax or is it really an investment? When approved, the increase in your annual tax bill will amount to less than two-tenths of 1 percent of the market value of your home; probably about half the amount paid for your home owner’s policy or landscape maintenance.

When your ballot arrives in April, do the right thing, vote yes for the property tax initiative, the right thing to protect the future your community and the right thing to protect your future property value.