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I hate covering the Lansing Schools Capital Project Facilities group.  Tension runs high and productivity generally runs low.  Animosity is obvious and omnipresent.  It's what stand-up comedians call 'a tough room.'  My sense of it is that it's a fairly accurate microcosm of Lansing at the moment.  One side is deeply suspicious of tax increases and spending, with some residents wanting to stop tax rises of any kind at any cost.  The other side sees a real need for spending, feeling it is worth it to alleviate over-crowding and unsafe conditions in the schools.

School officials will do well to keep this in mind as they go forward from Tuesday's vote.  I have heard some people marvel at the 706-413 vote, saying that it was an overwhelming victory.  That voter turnout makes the difference and most people support the budget.  But what I'm hearing people say is that the budget was a lousy one that was too high because it was trying to please everyone -- and pleased no one.  Many people voted for it because they were afraid of the alternative and what it would do to the community.

This year has been an eye opener for me as I've listened to people get up in front of the Town Board and elsewhere to say that if taxes go up even a little bit more they won't be able to afford to stay here.  Some have been in Lansing for generations.  It is heart wrenching.  Real people who live in our town.

At the same time I can see a real need for improvements in the school buildings, especially the High School.  I can see how a sewer will benefit Lansing as a whole in many tangible ways, and the County as well.  All you have to do it look at the Oakcrest Road fire station to know it isn't big enough (unless you want to buy midget fire trucks).

So what's my point?  The school budget didn't pass for 'Little Mary Sunshine' reasons.  It was not an overwhelming victory.  The reasons it passed are complicated and interconnected.  And it was too high in a year when a capital improvement project is being contemplated.  Personally I am hoping it didn't torpedo the capital project, but I fear that could happen.  It also made it harder for the other municipal bodies that have projects in the works.

Going forward I think that all municipal bodies have to take a holistic view of budgeting and taxation.  The Town Sewer Committee is doing that by seeking donors so that the per-household cost of the sewer will be acceptable.  The Fire District is doing it by slowly building a contingency fund that will account for half the total cost of a new fire station in the Village.  The Lansing Community Library Center is doing it by only spending money they have raised and keeping their finances in the black.  But you could argue that none of them are doing it, because all these projects are coming at the same time.

That makes for a tough situation.  Taxpayers can only bear so much.  If the School District comes up with another budget like this one, who knows what will happen?

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