To the voters and taxpayers of Natick:

Thank you to all who voted on the override ballot question – whichever side you were on. It’s citizen participation that makes our town so great.

Question 2 on the March 25, 2008 ballot won, but that’s hardly the end of the story.

Starting today, all of us must work together to continue to preserve and maintain the town services citizens just voted to keep. We must also help those in our community for whom this tax increase is a hardship tap into one of the financial assistance programs available (click here for a list of programs).

This means that people must participate in town government. We must help ensure that budgets reflect the needs and priorities of the community both short- and long-term, and that we continue to find ways to improve services, economize, and find new sources of revenue wherever possible. It’s important, too, that we address the statewide issues that contribute to budget shortfalls in Natick and other communities.

Regardless of one’s opinion or vote on this ballot question, we are still one town. All Natick voters, and residents who did not vote, have a stake in how well our town government represents and serves the people.

To everyone who worked so hard in recent months to organize, inform and campaign: thank you so much for all that you have done!