Lane/Tommy: First we must remind the citizens of Windham with septic systems that the Windham Town Council is scheduled to hold a public hearing at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 22, to set sewer rates for users in South Windham and the Maine Correctional Center.

There is almost a 100 percent guarantee that the debt incurred when the sewer was extended from Westbrook to South Windham will be supplemented by our property taxes. We will also remind you that the town of Windham will not pay the bill if your septic tank gets pumped or your septic system fails.

Shouldn’t we expect a service we pay for in a reasonable amount of time. Again, that’s 7 p.m., April 22, in the council chambers.

Tommy: I have noticed that more and more citizens are paying attention to town and school business. Our economy is in a downturn and probably in a recession, which is forcing people to make painful decisions on what they will or will not have because of a lack of funds.

It is indeed painful when one has to decide what they can’t afford whether it’s a necessity like food, heat or medicines. Forget about wants like a new car. I sense their frustration when they observe government at all levels spending money like drunken sailors. Many citizens were upset when they learned the Windham Superintendent of Schools makes $120,000 and received nearly a 10 percent pay raise.

Another reason that they are upset is that the Windham School Department throws money at problems in an attempt to fix the problem and here’s a perfect example. It hired a new director for transportation with a salary of $65,000 plus benefits while creating a new position for an assistant transportation director with a $41,000 salary, which, by the way, is the former transportation director.

If all the administrators in the Windham School Department were lawyers maybe they would have their hands in each other’s pocket instead of ours.

Lane/Tommy: Our infamous governor keeps swearing with his right hand that he will not increase or create new taxes while reaching into our pockets with his left hand and taking even more money from us.

A case in point is that he just proposed increasing fees on motor vehicles. The increase on vanity plates is 50 percent, which is significant when one is trying to make ends meet. Perhaps one of the most notable waste of our tax dollars is light bulbs.

That’s right, we said light bulbs. Why our government has such a grand obsession on illuminating every building with millions of candlepower is beyond human comprehension. Just think about it, have you ever seen a government building in the dark (except those in Area 51)?

What is even worse is that some of lights are on 24 hours a day, which includes the numerous spotlights on the side of the South Windham Post Office. We wonder how much of the $1 billion deficit in the budget of the United States Postal Service could be reduced by turning off lights when not needed. We all know that Maine has some of the highest electricity rates in this country.

Lane: Alas this column is being silenced because I have decided to run for an at-large council seat in Windham. I sincerely hope that another government critic comes forward to inform the readers of this newspaper. I will write some letters to the editor when I feel it necessary and the occasion permits. It is time for me to run for a council seat for several reasons and the biggest reason is council leadership.

During my 20 years in the military I had extensive leadership training. Cooperation is, of course, a large part of having a successful military unit, corporation or government entity like a town council. It’s time that the Windham Town Council prepares our town for the future and at the present course it’s on a course for disaster.

I have heard that up to four businesses are in the process of leaving Windham, including Bushmaster. I only see one councilor fighting to reverse that trend. Yes, government must have money to operate but it should not have money to waste. Windham and other municipalities must have a system that includes finding ways for improvements. I am running to be a town councilor because Windham matters.