At next Wednesday’s election voters will be asked to decide whether to fund the budget town boards have worked so hard to develop. Even if the requested Proposition 2½ override passes, firefighters will have stipends cut and will have less to spend on materials; the Virtual High School will be eliminated, the school maintenance staff will be down a person, there will be one fewer fifth-grade teacher, and there will be no writing lab assistant in the schools. Voters already made those choices.

If the override fails, the consequences will likely be—in addition to all of the above: the reduction of the Department of Public Works staff by one person and a corresponding reduction in the speed with which roads are cleared of snow and ice in the winter; the elimination of the receptionist position at Town Hall with a likely reduction in the hours Town Hall is open to the public; reduced hours of operation at the library, and the elimination of more teaching positions in the schools.

People who are against the override have legitimate concerns about costs that seem to be spiraling upward, out of sight—the cost of gasoline and home heating fuel, the cost of electricity, the cost of food—the cost of living. All of these are costs over which people have no control. The cost of town services seems to be one area where people can have some say. But voters should consider carefully the quality of life they want in Harvard and whether that will be achieved by the votes they cast.

And residents should not underestimate the importance of this vote—every vote really does count. The last override failed by 85 votes. People keep saying “It was a close vote.” But if you’re on the losing end of a close vote—whichever side you’re on—the word ‘close’ doesn’t matter. A loss is a loss.

Make sure to get out and vote on Wednesday.