Thank you for informing the public of Sen. Matt Pouliot’s comments and vote in support of forcing municipalities, and property taxpayers, to continue to pay for a portion of teacher retirement costs (“Committee endorses bill to shift Maine teacher retirement costs back to state,” Feb. 28).
This shifting of the tax burden away from the state and onto municipalities was part of Paul LePage’s budget-balancing gimmickry. As a member of the Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs, Pouliot recently opposed lessening the tax burden on municipalities, and in doing so said it would be “grossly impudent” to shift the costs back to the state.
Pouliot failed to acknowledge the impudence with which former Gov. LePage and his fellow Republicans forced this tax burden onto local property taxpayers in 2013. Since then, local property taxpayers have paid approximately $114 million. This Democratic-controlled Legislature is merely undoing much damage done by LePage and his supporters.
When he campaigned for the Maine Senate in 2018, Pouliot claimed that he supported “high-quality public education.” He ran on restoring civil discourse and used the slogan, “Your trusted voice.” I would remind him that actions speak louder than words.
John Glowa Sr.
South China
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