Wrong Funding for Playscape

To the Editor:

 Next Tuesday at a town meeting, the people of Oxford will be asked “to approve $138,000, to be taken from the funds received from the Quaker Farms School oil remediation settlement for the proposed playscape.” That sounds simple, but there are some problems that the Board of Selectmen and the Board of Finance have not disclosed.

 By making people believe they can use the oil-spill money for one specific purpose, the Board of Finance gives the misleading impression that the playscape will be free. Not so.

 The settlement money cannot be earmarked this way. It must go into the town’s general fund. Like every other dollar in the general fund, the settlement money could be used to lower our taxes, repair our roads, replace aging ambulances and road equipment, or help construct a new Center School and library.

 The Oxford Democratic Town Committee is all in favor of building a playscape. It’s a much-needed amenity for the town’s families. But we believe that the town has more important priorities at this time. We urge everyone to attend the town meeting and vote against this budgetary flim-flam.

 In truth, town funds do not have to pay for the playscape at all. Oxford has an energetic and very capable grants administrator who can find benefactors to underwrite the cost of the playscape. Or, Oxford can do what many other Connecticut towns have done: raise the money through contributions from the townspeople. Oxford is a generous, giving town, gladly supporting events like Dog Days, Oxford Day, and the Made in Connecticut Fair. Surely the people can be counted on to support this improvement.

 Ann Krane, Oxford