Opponents of the new Taxpayer Bill of Rights citizen initiative on the November ballot have begun their campaign to convince voters that enacting the legislation would devastate Maine's economy and wreak havoc on our communities.

TABOR supporters argue that government spending limits and voter approval of tax increases promote a strong financial future for our state and our families. Supporters say controlling spending and empowering citizens with a voice in how government taxes and spends their hard-earned wages will achieve real prosperity for all of Maine.

TABOR's supporters are right. We can look to the city of Waterville, Maine's 13th largest municipality, for proof that lowering taxes and limiting government spending increases and raises more revenue, promotes community development and encourages a more efficient and responsible government.

When I began my tenure as Waterville mayor in 2003, I entered office with the goal of working with the City Council to control spending and cut property taxes while improving the quality of crucial local services Waterville residents expect and deserve.

We did just that.

In only six years, we invested $3 million in city road repairs, including some state roads that Maine's Department of Transportation could not afford to maintain. We also built a new maintenance facility and salt shed, which our Public Works Department found necessary to deliver a safer, cleaner community for residents.

Together, the council and I also found opportunities for greater efficiencies in city government. We signed a contract with neighboring Winslow to share the cost of a fire chief and consolidated city departments to streamline costs and preserve services. We consolidated the number of city departments from 15 to four, without cutting services. This consolidation effort allowed us to reduce the number of taxpayer-paid city employees from 130 to 114, saving Waterville taxpayers more than $600,000 annually.

Achieving these results was not a quick and easy process. It required a close examination of how the city operated, and the council and I spent countless hours poring over the books to identify opportunities to save our residents money. But we accomplished our goals, relying on hard work and a commitment to responsible spending and tax relief.

Our efforts were made to improve the community in which our taxpaying residents call home. By reducing costs through streamlining government, we not only made necessary investments in transportation and public works, we also increased our reserves fund nearly seven times its original size, from $1.5 million to more than $10 million.

Perhaps our biggest accomplishment these last six years was creating tax relief for Waterville residents. Together, we lowered property taxes from $2.79 for every $1,000 of assessed property to $2.415 per $1,000 -- a decrease of more than 13 percent. Today, Waterville has a property tax rate much lower than comparable service centers.

We did not raise taxes to invest in road repairs. We did not raise taxes to build new city government facilities. We did not raise taxes to increase our rainy day fund. What we did was control spending and reduce taxes to promote a growing local economy, and to improve the financial future of our residents.

We now have several major projects under development in the city. The multi-million-dollar redevelopment of the former Hathaway shirt factory into the Hathaway Creative Center is nearly complete. The redevelopment of the former high school into 30-unit, moderate-income housing is due to begin in the fall, and a new 30-unit senior-housing project is approaching completion. Further, new cross-country ski trails will go into operation this winter.

The progress we can point to in Waterville is possible for every city and town in the state of Maine. Reducing taxes encourages businesses to expand and provide new opportunities for employment. Allowing residents to keep more of their hard-earned wages gives those residents new buying power to invest in the local economy and better save for the future.

These are the same results TABOR will achieve throughout the entire state.

In Waterville, we put reasonable parameters on ourselves so we could control spending and lower taxes. As a result, we became innovative and efficient so we could improve our community.

That is what TABOR will do for all Maine towns, counties and our state. Change is possible, and TABOR will make the changes that Mainers deserve.

I'm voting for TABOR this November because it will achieve real progress for families and communities across Maine. Mainers are ready for results. TABOR is a guarantee.

Paul R. LePage is mayor of Waterville and general manager of Marden's Surplus & Salvage stores across Maine. E-mail to mayor1 @waterville-me.gov