Poll: Did Town Meeting Get It Right?

During Monday's Warren Financial Town Meeting, residents voted to affirm the Town Council's approved budget, which calls for level-funding Warren's contribution to the Bristol-Warren School District.

The decision is in opposition to the Joint Finance Committee, which mandated a 2.25 percent increase in Warren's funding. Failing to adhere to the committee's decision could put Warren in hot water, potentially making the town subject to a lawsuit.

Residents and elected leaders in Warren favoring level funding have said the school district is heavy in administrators and has more room to cut from the budget than the town does from its municipal spending plan. Proponents of increasing Warren's funding said the school district needs the money, and the town should be investing more heavily in its children's future.

Increasing the school funding could have triggered an increase to the property tax rate of 21 cents per thousand dollars of taxable value. The alternative would be to further cut the municipal departmental budget, which has already been reduced by about 10 percent.

Going with the Town Council's recommendation will decrease the town's tax rate by 11 cents per thousand.

So where do you stand? Were Town Meeting voters right to approve the level funding or should the town have increased its investment in the regional school district? Vote in the poll below and support your argument in the comments section below.