I was going to say something about Norwood's tax hike resulting in a $327,000 surplus but Mcgee (in the comments) sez it as good as I could:

" Let me get this straight. I was publicly admonished at November's meeting for not understanding how financial mathematics work by Mr. Fieo.

Now, we (residents of Norwood) have been paying too much in taxes, yet will not see a rebate from the surplus. Instead, ways will be found to spend the money.

My understanding of the taxes being raised last year was this: They were raised to cover a deficit. Therefore, with all other things being equal and the deficit having been covered, why would taxes not return to normal (or near-normal) levels in 2011? According to Mr. Feio, "That's not how it works."

Please, someone tell me; how does it work? We are overtaxed. Many of us are struggling. Some of us are unemployed. To me, this seems much the same as Democratic Taxing and Spending. Is this what we wanted from our Republican leaders, Norwood? "

Bingo! Once they get a hold of your money it's not yours anymore. Once they raise taxes, rolling them back becomes "irresponsible." Perfect!