Submitted by Richard D Bielinski Jr candidate for Town Council
To the Town of Londonderry residents:
My name is Richard D. Bielinski Jr. and I’ve been a resident for 40 years this coming June. This is not my first involvement with the Town of Londonderry. I was the Vice Chair of the Londonderry School Charter committee back in 1999-2000. I was also the Londonderry Town Treasurer from March 2001 to March 2004. In addition to the town positions, I coached youth soccer and baseball. In the years since, I have spoken at many Town Council meetings about various issues affecting the residents of Londonderry. Unfortunately, over the last 10 years or so, I have been concerned with what’s been happening to our town. Both the commercial and residential growth has been unprecedented. With this growth you also have the associated problems such as traffic and the increased need for town services. At this point there is no going back. The Town Council as a whole need to look at all possible remedies to control future growth in the best possible way to have the least impact on the residents of Londonderry. I do not believe in all the tax breaks that have been given the commercial businesses to entice them to come to town. They should want to be here as part of the community. Some will argue that these businesses which are currently bringing in revenue would not be here without these tax breaks. While this may or may not be true, these companies should not be blamed for coming to see what the town will offer them. As seen over the last few years even with the commercial development and skyrocketing assessments on homes this resulted in slower increase of assessments on commercial buildings therefore shifting the tax burden to the residential property owner. To be honest this can also potentially go the other way should commercial assessments increase at a faster rate than residential. It’s a balancing act residential property owners are currently losing.
I believe you need a candidate with the ability to make the hard decisions. I am known for being candid and forthright with my opinions and I will not shy away from anyone. My opinions are based upon research into the appropriate state or town statutes. When speaking at Town Council meetings, the agenda item(s) are always backed up with verified information. The Town Council for many years has played the game of putting off whatever problem has been brought to their attention in the hopes that it will just go away. This way of doing business needs to cease. Does anybody remember the five warrant articles from last year that overwhelmingly passed? There was little talk about them and then they just seem to disappear from the Council’s agenda. The Council may use the argument that they were advisory only, but they still show the direction the citizens of Londonderry want to take. I believe at the very least they need to vet these warrant articles to see if they can be enacted. The residents of Londonderry need to be listened to and not ignored. I can bring the following attributes to the Town:
- Believe in government transparency
- Ability to make the hard decisions
- Known for candid and forthright opinions
- Believe in responsible Growth Management
- Strong knowledge base of Town and State Statues
Please consider me for Londonderry Town Council.
Respectfully
Richard D Bielinski Jr
rdbielinskijr@comcast.net
