Connors, Petrarca earn thanks from councilor

I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank Senate Majority Leader Dan Connors, and Representative Peter Petrarca for truly doing their jobs as our elected officials and protecting the interests of the taxpayers of Lincoln, and restoring Lincoln's share of the VLT revenue from Twin River to the 1.45 percent instead of the 1.25 percent we were receiving.

Back in August, I drafted a Town Council Resolution (2009-51) that was passed unanimously that asked the members of the General Assembly to restore the increase in VLT revenue that had been awarded to the Town of Lincoln due to Twin River being able to operate 24 hours a day on the weekends. The reason I did this was simple. Without this law, our town will be losing approximately $70,000 per month, or over $700,000 this year! With our budget being as lean as it could possibly be, this would have had a tremendous impact either on the services the town provides, or on the taxes the citizens would have to pay. In addition, this loss of revenue would be added to the governor's proposed withholding of the fourth quarter vehicle excise tax, or another $750,000 which when added together meant that Lincoln could see close to a $1.5 million dollar deficit in revenues.

I kept in continuous communication with both Sen. Connors and Rep. Petrarca to keep this issue at the forefront as the leadership of the General Assembly was deciding on the exact dates and agendas for their return to session. Sen. Connors expressed that he completely understood the impact that this decrease in revenue could have on our town, and promised me that he would try to get a bill introduced into the Senate during their return. I also had the assurance of Rep. Petrarca that if any bill made it to the House floor, that he would vigorously argue in favor of passing it.

Luckily for us, the taxpayers of Lincoln, this past Thursday, Sen. Connors submitted S09-1060 which restored our percentage, and this bill passed the Senate easily and went over to the House. Once in the House, Rep. Petrarca passionately spoke in favor of passing this bill, and it was done.

So, in sum, thank you Sen. Dan Connors and Rep. Peter Petrarca. You have both demonstrated once again your commitment to understand the issues that face the taxpayers of Lincoln and take proactive steps to address them.

Keith E. Macksoud

Councilman, District 3, Lincoln

- Editor's Note: A similar letter arrived thanking Sen. Connors from Councilor John W. Flynn.