Frugality is the quality of being frugal, sparing, thrifty, prudent, or economical in the use of consumable resources such as food, time, or money, and avoiding waste, lavishness, or extravagance.

I am very disheartened, angry, and disappointed to hear our town manager making statements as to we the people being frugal. Since when does someone you don't even know decide what is best for you? I was under the impression that we were a democratic society, but recently our rights as Americans are being chipped away at. Each year, whether it be on a local level, a state level, or national level, we lose some of what this country was founded on. With the current economy being what it is, there is no reason to be raising our taxes, period. Businesses are leaving the state, people are unemployed and some are losing their homes, but governments want us to pay more taxes.

This town used to be a quiet, laid-back place, but some want to change that into a metropolis. We vote our leaders into office and we hire people in this town to do a job, so all I can say to them is, "Do your job and earn your keep," otherwise they should be either removed from office or let go. I say we should enact no budget increase without our citizens voting on this matter. We are supposed to be represented by our leaders, not convoluted by them.

In one final comment, I use things sparingly; I try to be thrifty, am working on being prudent, economical, and avoiding waste. Extravagances? Yeah, right-remember-I'm frugal!

Raymond Bernardini, Jr.North Branford