To the editor:

In 2010, Paul LePage signed a pledge to oppose any tax increases, and since then he’s spent a lot of time talking about his ambitious plans to lower Mainers’ taxes. But from what I can tell, my taxes are going up next year, and pretty substantially: Our budget in Brunswick calls for a property tax increase next year of more than 5 percent.

Is that Gov. LePage’s fault?

You bet it is. His administration’s state budget slashed support for schools, and the only way the towns can plug those holes is to raise property taxes.

The governor’s school cuts, if not addressed by local funding, would mean losing teachers in core subjects like math and English, and increasing class sizes. In other words, the cuts would damage our schools at their heart, not trim away unneeded frills.

So it’s tough to argue with a straight face that our town could just absorb the cuts and avoid a tax increase: Doing so would mean allowing the quality of our schools to plummet, scaring off potential new residents and businesses from coming to Brunswick at a time when we’re already reeling economically from the closure of Brunswick Naval Air Station.

Do our town leaders have a choice whether or not to raise the tax rate? I think the governor already made that choice for us.

So, Gov. LePage: Your plan to lower our taxes has actually raised them. Tell me again, what exactly do you stand for?

Jim Adolf
Brunswick