Editor, Gazette-Journal:

Since mid-September, this paper has published seven articles supporting a “Yes” vote for the upcoming referendum. In addition, the county spent $8,500+ of taxpayers’ money on mailers advocating for the referendum and held two town halls where county officials pushed the “Yes” narrative.At the editor’s request, I wrote a short editorial in the Oct. 18 edition supporting a “No” vote. My dissenting voice was apparently more than Chris Hutson could bear.

Most senior county officials do not want a fully-informed public deciding whether or not the referendum is in the community’s interest. They simply want you to vote “Yes.” The particular issue that captured Mr. Hutson’s ire was my contention that there were funds available to pay for the fire station without borrowing. I based that conclusion on the Sept. 19 Director of Finance’s report on the unassigned fund balance and the approved FY24 budget statement of required minimum reserves. Using those two numbers...