Thursday, July 26, 2007

The Deval Patrick Memorial Trash Fee

This column first appeared in print July 26, 2007

I have a new alarm clock. A very thoughtful and conscientious Hairy Woodpecker drums loudly on the fascia board outside my bedroom every morning at 4:23. I have yet to work out a thorough threat response plan but being up so early in the morning, I have more time to think about Governor Patrick’s veto of Tewksbury’s Home Rule Petition. Yes, I actually wake up with the budget on my mind; it’s about as annoying as a woodpecker.

In Patrick’s veto message, he cited his pending Municipal Partnership Act as a way that communities struggling with structural deficits may overcome galloping costs; his threat response plan, if you will. When I wrote an article on the veto last week, I asked Patrick’s staff if he was actually just trying to push through his legislation. His staff said no.

Patrick’s administration refused the home rule petition because it does not want other towns to pursue teacher salary deferrals. Dubbing salary deferrals bad fiscal policy, the Patrick administration believes fees are the wave of the future for municipal revenue generation. Tewksbury’s new Duval Patrick Memorial Trash Fee (thanks Jerry) represents a “long term” solution, according to the Governor. Fees are just another way to sock it to townspeople without allowing residents to deduct the fees from income taxes.

The salary deferral may have been less-than-desirable fiscal policy, but Tewksbury voters and town officials agreed upon it. The deferral would not have cost the state any money nor would it have deprived teachers of their pay. More importantly, it would have bought the town another year to find the solutions needed.

Of the $26.8 billion budget, the governor vetoed a puny 0.2 percent of it, or $41.4 million. No, Patrick was not terribly interested in cutting the budget and ultimately taxes for Massachusetts residents. He just wants to look like he cut the budget. The legislature plans an override of his vetoes, and at the end of the day, his cuts will remain irrelevant. Indeed, Tewksbury may yet get its salary deferral if Representative Miceli can pull an override rabbit out of his hat.

So what is Deval’s plan? He does plan to close “corporate tax loopholes,” which will bring more revenue to the state. The Municipal Partnership Act may also send revenue back to the state for “redistribution,” which is another way of saying “socialism.” With programs like paid volunteerism, I am not entirely sure we can trust him to spend the money on issues important to Tewksbury, like education.

Patrick’s Municipal Partnership Act would allow towns to raise meal and hotel taxes. For Tewksbury, that is a mixed blessing. We have several hotels largely used by business travelers, and therefore not paid mostly by town residents. However, a meals tax would burden local restaurants and residents would pick up the tab. The meals tax, for Tewksbury, amounts to just another tax increase except residents cannot deduct it on their state income taxes. Thereby Patrick “gives” towns another revenue generator while keeping state revenues rolling in. Who pays? You and me.

There’s a better way. Towns need help attracting businesses and encouraging businesses. The state needs to help towns grow. Patrick is investing in biotech and Tewksbury ought to jump on that bandwagon. This town hosts several major corporations. Everyone knows that Market Basket headquarters in Tewksbury. So is Raytheon’s Integrated Defense Systems, which generated $4.2 billion in 2006 and employs more than 13,500. Across the street from Raytheon is Avid’s headquarters. Avid’s technology, digital media creation tools used in film, video, audio, games and broadcasts, has won two Emmy’s, a Grammy, and two Oscars. In 2006 Avid earned more than $900 million in revenue.

Other major companies headquartered in Tewksbury include IP telephony company BlueNote Networks, online content, application and transaction provider Mirror Image Internet, CPA firm Moody, Famiglietti & Andronico which was recently named one of the 50 Best Small and Medium Companies to Work for in America, and another new technology company, Starent Networks, which IPO’d in June.

Retail space languishes along Main Street while high technology companies flourish in the office parks. Tewksbury needs to court high tech companies, bring in entrepreneurs and encourage them to develop here, pay their property taxes here, and attract smart employees that want to settle their families here. Corporations and their office headquarters require less drag on town services than retail businesses or malls.

As a community, Tewksbury has much to offer industry and individuals. With the new Lodge at Ames Pond development, attractive apartments will be ready for young engineers, scientists, and technology professionals. Families enjoy fantastic community sports programs, great schools with excellent teachers, and compared to most towns around here, very few fees. We have a new library, police station, and fire station.

Yes, there is work to do in Tewksbury, but it takes time. Too much emphasis and hope was placed on building a mall that has not, and may never, come through. I called Simon Malls last week and the company is still reviewing acquisitions from Mills, reluctant to breathe a word about possible development in town.

Tewksbury needs time to bring in high technology. The Avids and Starents and Raytheons are jewels in Tewksbury’s crown and important references for other companies shopping for a new spot to settle down.

We need time to turn the ship around. As a town, we need to ante up our share which likely means a trash fee this year and possibly a Proposition 2 ½ override next. Tewksbury needs to roll out the red carpet, welcome high technology companies, and make them partners in our community. Raytheon is already there with many donations to and volunteer opportunities (unpaid, I might add) in our schools. But while we work on that side of growth, we must maintain our services. In fact, we really need to grow those as well after years of budget cuts.

The Financial Plan Task Force is meeting August 6 at 7PM in the Library Community Room. Task force members are asking the public to come and talk about solutions for Tewksbury. Now is the time for residents to get involved and evolve answers. Don’t wait for next spring to roll around to get involved. Go to this meeting and say something about what matters to you. The task force cannot hear you if you don’t speak up.

Perhaps Patrick will someday come to Tewksbury. I hope he comes when Tewksbury has turned itself around and when he tries to take credit for it, for saving us from our salary deferral and ourselves, I want to be there. I want to show him that Tewksbury found a better way than the popular and prolific fees seen in the toniest towns across Massachusetts. I believe Tewksbury can still be the kind of town that does much for its residents without nickel and dime-ing everyone to death or foreclosure.

But it’s up to us to prove him wrong.

Monday, July 16, 2007

This Column first appeared in print July 10, 2007.

Town Side. School Side.
Share the Pain, Share the Gain.
Essential Service. Non-Essential Services.

These are the refrains of Tewksbury’s budget process over the last four months. Hitting fever pitch in the days leading up to the continued Annual Town Meeting, anyone with even a passing familiarity with the goings on in town is likely sick of the song and dance playing out repeatedly in meeting rooms and cable channels across town.

As an observer of the process for more than a year, watching as various boards, committees, departments, and residents study, review, wrangle, finagle, argue, and ultimately agree on a way to figure out another tough budget year I’ve learned much. I have tremendous respect for everyone involved in the process, particularly those that attend all the meetings and present real, plausible solutions. I am thankful that smart people give so much time and effort to the process, especially those that volunteer their time.

Looking at the comments at the top, one sees an essential divide. That gap will widen substantially in coming weeks and months. That which is ‘town side’ and ‘school side’ either blurs or sharpens depending on which side of the argument each participant stands. As a town, we must resist the need to trivialize the needs of one portion of our population while over blowing the importance of another, singular area.

Now that the fiscal year 2008 budget has passed, the next step begins as boards and committee turn their collective attentions to the three-year fiscal plan. This year Tewksbury faced only a $3.3 million deficit. The projected deficit for next year rises to well over $6 million. If we are not careful, we will face the same kinds of cuts and damages Stoneham with which Stoneham grapples. Stoneham had a three-year financial plan and as part of that plan, Stoneham officials requested an override. The measure did not pass and Selectmen began the painful process of devastating cuts we only read about. Just because the FY 08 budget has passed doesn’t mean we can stop talking about the budget.

I think it is likely that we’ll be asked to consider an override for Tewksbury. I trust that we’ll know where every penny will go, and as a town, we’ll be invited to set our spending priorities through public hearings. I also hope that we’ll have these answers ironed out well in time for town meeting next spring and not end up throwing another Hail Mary pass with dubious outcome.

Follow the progress of the Three-Year Financial Plan Task Force in the news over the coming months. It may not be the most exciting, interesting, or fulfilling reading encountered within these pages, but staying informed and active on the budget topic will help bring a smart solution to Town Meeting next spring.

Low voter turnout is partially blamed for the Stoneham override failure. Tewksbury cannot afford not to find an elegant, intelligent solution to our fiscal woes. We must remember that our town is one town of many departments, under one budget, and that all departments are important. Right now, there is enough time to find that answer unique to Tewksbury and make it happen for our town.