The Chatham Board of Selectmen has failed miserably in keeping costs under control. It rubber stamps whatever the Town Manager proposes for spending almost 100% of the time. For this fiscal year ending in June, the Town Manager’s deficit spending plan went up more than $2 million by raiding emergency and off budget funds to support pay raises of 6% and more. Only Sean Summers tries to rein in spending. The two selectmen running for re-election are stand out spenders.

For fiscal 2011, another difficult year for taxpayers, not much is being cut but a lot is being shoved into fiscal 2012, which is shaping up as a fiscal disaster. And on the table is a demand for even more money by raising hotel and meals taxes. Voters at last night's annual town meeting showed their growing anger at overspending by voting NO on both taxes advocated by the Town Manager and Selectman Whitcomb, who is running for re-election.

Chatham and Orleans are about the same population size, but Chatham spends 34% more per person on its government. And costs for grandiose new projects, twice as expensive as they could be, are set to explode. Chatham’s debt is on track to be the highest in Massachusetts on a per person basis. The Hinchey sewer, if built as planned, will push Chatham’s debt from about $30 million to over $300 million. Does anyone think taxpayers won’t feel that?

There are other reasons why change is needed.

When citizens try to raise serious questions about saving taxpayer money at selectmen’s meetings, they are shut off, slandered, insulted, intimidated, treated with contempt and threatened with bodily harm. One citizen stood up at a recent selectmen’s meeting and said that in her 40 years in public office at the state and town levels she had never seen citizens treated with such disrespect. And a Chatham-born citizen, shouted down by public officials at another selectmen’s meeting, sadly stated, “Our trust is broken.”

We don’t need rubber stamps. We don’t need selectmen who show contempt for and insult citizens. We need selectmen dedicated to serving the interest of the people who live in Chatham and pay the bills. The status quo is unacceptable. Let’s make a real change.

There are two challengers. Tim Roper is a smart businessman who has met a payroll. He knows the town and is fiscally prudent. He will make an outstanding selectman.

Mike Onnembo deserves the chance to show he will make the tough decisions that the incumbents running for re-election have demonstrated they will not make.