Lessons for 2011

The budget has finally passed. Wow! But let's look at the details.

One hundred and fifty-one voters made the difference-a winning margin of six percent of the 18 percent of eligible voters who showed up on Tuesday. Get it? In other words, out of roughly 12,000 eligible voters, only 151 or about one percent of us got the budget approved.

Lesson number one is that our votes do make a difference. How can we get more of our fellow citizens to vote? Maybe, just maybe, we can hold these votes at more convenient times and on more convenient days of the week. Yes, we need to change the election laws to encourage participation. These decisions can't be left to one percent of us.

Lesson number two-and the most important, learning from these three votes-is that Madison voters expect flat or near zero increases in town spending while we live through the most uncertain times in decades. Even with all the recently approved projects, this is not rocket science. Challenging, but not impossible.

I hope next year will not require the agony of the 2010 budget. Rest assured, it will only happen if our elected leaders graciously accept the wishes of the electorate (instead of dismissing them twice) and we make our views crystal clear.

Lou de Ocejo
Madison