Republicans seem to think they’ve found a chink in the armor of fiscal conservatism Peter Shumlin has donned since his election last year.
The governor last week sought to put an upbeat spin on dour news that statewide education tax rates are headed for a 2-cent increase. Vermonters can avoid the rate hike, Shumlin said, if only they tell their school boards to level-fund budgets local schools.
Republicans, however, say it’s Shumlin – not community school boards – who needs to shoulder the blame for higher tax bills. The Shumlin administration earlier this year authored a provision in the budget bill that reduced the annual contribution from the general fund to education fund by $27 million.
The move ameliorated a general-fund shortfall that had threatened the delivery of human-services programs. Rep. Oliver Olsen though says it created a hole in the ed fund that property-tax payers will now have to backfill.
Olsen and Rep. Patti Komline fired off a missive Monday taking Shumlin and other Democrats to task.
“In effect, the Legislature legalized a perpetual raid on the education fund, leaving Vermont property taxpayers to foot the bill for years to come,” Olsen said in a statement.
Komline, meanwhile, likened to move to outright theft.
“For the past two years, local school boards have worked hard to relieve the property tax burden by keeping costs down. Unfortunately, Montpelier will pocket those savings, even as the Governor sets up school boards to take the blame for increased property taxes next year,” Komline said.
It’s a line of attack you can expect to see more of as the 2012 political season heats up.
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