By now, you've probably heard that Dunstable will have two override questions on the May 21 Town Election ballot. And, maybe you've already decided to vote No, because that's what we do on overrides, right? Enough is enough! Our taxes are too high! We have to live within our means. We hear this every year.

Well, this year is different. You will very likely lose many of the services you need if these overrides fail. So, this year, you might want to take time to listen up and understand what you'll risk losing if you and enough others decide to vote No.

Over the next month, you will have many opportunities to hear presentations or read about the town and school budgets. Our town and school officials can explain why we are in this position and what you are likely to lose if the overrides fail. Typically, budget presentations and public hearings are poorly attended; a handful of people show up relative to the number of voters at the polls. Newspapers barely scratch the surface of what you need to know, and often get it wrong. (The number of factual errors in the SUN lately is particularly disconcerting.) Information sent out in mailers is often ignored or interpreted as "propaganda." For some people, some relatively small controversial aspect of the budget or news report grabs their attention and becomes a reason to vote no.

This year, you need to pay a little more attention, understand the consequences of your vote, and open your mind to the possibility that, maybe this year, a "yes" vote is in your best interests. Attend the public presentations. Read the information our town officials provide through mailers or on the websites. Tune in to the cable broadcasts. Make sure your information sources are good. If something sounds unbelievable, get the facts.

You might not like what you hear. Nobody likes hearing that they have to pay more. We don't like the prices at the gas pump either, but we buy the gas because we need to get around in our cars. Nobody likes to pay taxes, but we need the services they buy us.

You might question what you hear. Do they really need that much money? This becomes a question of trust. We elected or hired these folks to do a job. When it comes to the budget, that job involves putting a LOT of time into understanding where every dollar goes. We've made it clear that we don't want our taxes to go up. That's why they spend so much time coming up with the budget and trying to avoid overrides. As budgets have grown tighter, department heads have been put through more and more intense scrutiny in meetings where every line item is questioned. The department heads spend a lot of time justifying expenses in order to get the funds they need to serve us. Nobody knows what it costs to meet our needs better than they do. We should trust them to do their jobs.

Not listening to learn about the consequences of our votes, while saving us grief in the short term, is precisely the behavior that gets us into these kinds of pickles in the first place. To make a decision, or to cast a vote, without knowing the facts is a very dangerous thing.

Even if you take the time to learn about the override, you might still choose to vote No. If enough people make the same decision, we will have to live with the loss of services, in spite of how it changes the town. But at least nobody will be surprised.

Please, listen up!