By now most homeowners in our town know of the town council's and Klimm administration's plan to sewer the entire town. What most people do not know however is that this plan of pure lunacy will cost billions, yes with a B! It is quite apparent that our appointed Town Manager and ten councilors seem to care less that this reckless proposal will tax some from their homes and place hundreds of others in financial burdens that will live with them for the rest of their lives, that is if they can manage to carry this debt long enough.

There are many disturbing things about this moronic plan which has not had barely an ounce of honest public input from the residents. Looking back, one Hyannis councilor sneaked in an amendment in the dark of night last April without anyone even knowing that this plan was being born. This was fair? This is democracy? This is right and honest government when our elected leaders ram through million-dollar proposals without the public ever even knowing about it?! It is nearing recall time for this irresponsible public official and I for one, am glad to finally see the public doing their “right thing.”

Our Town Manager is appointed by the 13 town councilors. He is accountable to not one voter or taxpayer in this town. If I am correct, he also no longer owns a home in our town nor does he pay taxes.

Does anyone here really believe that he truly cares that a few hundred people around Hyannis may or may not be able to afford to pay these unconscionable betterments that are being cast upon these innocent homeowners? In my opinion, he could care less! Neither do at least six or seven councilors who voted for this sickening plan to force town sewer on anyone here, especially without an ounce of scientific evidence that these homeowners’ septic systems are even the problem in the first place! The Cape Cod Commission's own groundwater map shows that the real plume of nitrogen running toward the creek is in fact coming mostly from the town's own wastewater treatment plant and yet, not one word of this has been uttered or printed anywhere.

Our town council has four attorneys sitting on it. At least three do not have the decency or intelligence to understand that if this ridiculous billion-dollar plan is implemented, once in place, very few from this town will be able to sell any home here unless of course some very wealthy folks come here and want a waterfront home on “town sewer.” Big deal. What about the other 99 percent of homeowners in our town? Does anyone think that any of these people will stand any chance of selling their homes when the public comments on the Realtor's public comments info sheet reads, "Buyer shall be responsible for $32,480 betterment for sewer?" Has even one town councilor thought about this? Has our appointed Town Manager or his Assistant? I can personally promise everyone who reads this letter one thing: If we allow these irresponsible public officials to begin down this road, very few people will come here to buy any homes and even fewer will be able to sell theirs! While town sewer is sometimes a plus, when the costs begin with a "B," there are better and more inexpensive avenues.

Our town officials continue to lie when they say that there may be a mandate or that we could be sued. Unless and until a Federal EPA judge rules that TItle 5 septic systems are no longer allowed under the statute, then no one is suing anyone, and if anyone will be sued, it will likely be our very own town officials for failing to add a denitrification system to the town wastewater treatment plant years ago!

A more simple plan might be to start with a town mandate to force every homeowner with a Title 5 septic system to have these inspected by a certain date and once every three years after. If one is found to be in failure, the homeowner would have ample time to have this repaired. This is exactly the procedure when one sells a home anywhere today in this Commonwealth and this works just fine. Under this procedure, our environment is being cared for as the Commonwealth deems appropriate and our home values can remain intact. Homeowners would then not face these unrealistic and ridiculous betterments that will likely place devastating financial burdens on many innocent people here.

John Julius

Hyannis

In-state tuition subsidized by taxpayers

It seems that those in the legislature need to be reminded of how in-state tuition works. Does it cost less to educate a student from Massachusetts versus one from Wisconsin? No. The student from Massachusetts pays less out-of-pocket because we the taxpayers pay the difference. In-state tuition is subsidized by the Commonwealth for its residents. Since the in-state students and their parents are legal citizens and pay taxes in this state, this entitles them to the subsidy. What sense does it make to subsidize people who are in this country illegally and many of whom do not pay taxes? I expect our legislators are smart enough to see that in-state tuition for illegal aliens makes no sense. Stop legislating based upon emotion and start thinking about the hard working legal taxpayers of the Commonwealth!

Jennifer White

East Sandwich

Litter bug

Should the taxpayers of Massachusetts even be shocked and appalled at the mere fact Beacon Hill’s finest in the state Senate have come up a new tax so absurd? Well unfortunately the liberal left side of the elected Senate are at it again. Senator Robert O’Leary of Barnstable has concocted such a bill.

Senator O’Leary proposed a bill that would punish manufacturers and distributors by adding a new tax on the product(s) these companies make, and/or sell. Which the result will obviously be paid by the consumers of the commonwealth.

Clearly Beacon Hill has not received the Memo, Massachusetts is one the most affected states of the recession, yet the far left of the spectrum in the state still come up with a new tax that just has to be paid by the residents of the Commonwealth. Instead of trying to solve the problem and following the Town of Holbrook in attempting to reduce the amount of trash thrown out by a household a week, they feel they can tax their way out.

The Town of Holbrook came up with a program that is attempting to solve the problem without having the taxpayers dish out cash mandatory. Holbrook officials came up with an idea of have a household purchase a large blue trash bag, mark it town of and it will be picked up by the town. Now if someone feels it unnecessary to take out the trash this way, the individual can go through a private contractor. Each bag sold at $3 a piece may seem steep; however, one has to factor in how much they dispose of on a given week on average. An elderly household versus a household with a family of four will be quite different.

Maybe before this recession ends and everything is on the upswing and in an “economic boom,” the liberal Democrats in the commonwealth will get in through their thick heads that this is not the change we need, or want.