Is It Time

Every tax is a pay cut. Every tax cut is a pay raise.
Citizens for Limited Taxation

Is It Time For An Override ?

Ahhh! It's Spring 2003 and while a young man's fancy may turn to love, in a new era of diminishing state aid, the town government's fancy is already laying the down the rhetorical groundwork for another override. You can hear the moans, groans, whinces, whispers and whining from the Board of Selectman and particularly, the Town Manager.

These cuts (2.5%) are very deep and painful.
We will have to lay off police officers and fire fighters.
We will have to close (fill in your school of choice) School.
We will have to layoff our best teachers.
Core services will be traumatized.
Services will be decimated.
Students will suffer.

BUT, You know it's not quite time for an override vote when....

they've hired close to 300 extra people in the last seven years during the stock market bubble, while the town has only acquired 1500 new residents (inclusive of 800 new students to the school system).
the town owns 400 pieces of "disposable" real estate which are assessed at over $50 million.
we have a lot of unneccessary positions (filled or unfilled) such as Assistant Town Manager ($85K), Downtown Manager ($45K), Assistant CFO ($85K), and Assistant School Superintendent ($113K). Downgrading the assistant CFO position to a $80K+ budget analyst doesn't help.
the town employees only pay 10% of their health insurance premiums while the tax payer shoulders the other 90%, or close to $20 million in 2004. This represents 12% of the General Fund.
twenty seven (27) town employees are still doing their daily work commutes using town owned vehicles.
we still utilize police as flag men at $35 per hour when we can use private individuals for $12 per hour.
the Quinn bill allows police officers to get degrees in poor quality diploma mills which give a lot of credit for life experience, so that police officer can get substantial raises. The police department cannot quantifiably provide documentation that the police officer provides any better service to the community for those big raises.
we pay $25K/year to the MetroWest Growth Management Committee who then allows the Framingham Selectman to talk to the Selectman of the towns next door to us so we can ask them what they are doing.
we subsidize the Danforth Museum and have for years. If it can't survive on its own, it should be closed and it's assets sold. It's contents should (and do) live in well deserved obscurity.
we run an ice skating rink that cannot survive on its own. What is town government doing in the ice skating business? Perhaps, the town might be interested in running a theater? How about an airport?
state law stipulates that only children in grades K-6, outside a two mile radius may be entitled to school busing, but in Framingham we bus anyone who asks. The school system is now charging students $180 a year for busing which simply does not cover the real costs (closer to $300).
the tax payer should not have to pay for any expense related to extracuricular activities. This includes football, baseball, basketball, wrestling, drama, chess clubs, cheerleading, etc. The school system is charging $100 per sport. If this includes the cost of personnel and busing, then $100 simply does not cover the costs. Extracurricular activities do not fall under the education mandate. Parents utilize it as inexpensive daycare. Some towns are charging $380/sport.
field trips (including busing) should be wholly paid by parents and subsidized for the poor.
our high school has four (count them [4] ) vice principals (all paid over $85K). Are we sure that four are enough? Maybe we need ten of them. Anyone want twenty of them to be sure?
our assistant school Superintendent (Walter McClennen) either does not want the lead job, or is not qualified for it, and he gets paid $113K for his "assistant" job. He now has one year of experience.
the school system is threatening to close schools before they've sold any excess real estate holdings (see above). This time it's Juniper Hill school, only because it was Stapleton last year. Next year, it'll be another school.
we can afford to sell Natick a 14 acre piece of property for one dollar after turning down a $1 million offer from a developer.
we offer full health insurance to school bus drivers and school crossing guards. This makes their benefits more costly to the taxpayer then their salary.
we pay 75% of the health insurance premiums for all town retirees, for the rest of their lives.

Is It Time For An Override ?
Ahhh! It's Spring 2003 and while a young man's fancy may turn to love, in a new era of diminishing state aid, the town government's fancy is already laying the down the rhetorical groundwork for another override. You can hear the moans, groans, whinces, whispers and whining from the Board of Selectman and particularly, the Town Manager. These cuts (2.5%) are very deep and painful. We will have to lay off police officers and fire fighters. We will have to close (fill in your school of choice) School. We will have to layoff our best teachers. Core services will be traumatized. Services will be decimated. Students will suffer. BUT, You know it's not quite time for an override vote when.... they've hired close to 300 extra people in the last seven years during the stock market bubble, while the town has only acquired 1500 new residents (inclusive of 800 new students to the school system). the town owns 400 pieces of "disposable" real estate which are assessed at over $50 million. we have a lot of unneccessary positions (filled or unfilled) such as Assistant Town Manager ($85K), Downtown Manager ($45K), Assistant CFO ($85K), and Assistant School Superintendent ($113K). Downgrading the assistant CFO position to a $80K+ budget analyst doesn't help. the town employees only pay 10% of their health insurance premiums while the tax payer shoulders the other 90%, or close to $20 million in 2004. This represents 12% of the General Fund. twenty seven (27) town employees are still doing their daily work commutes using town owned vehicles. we still utilize police as flag men at $35 per hour when we can use private individuals for $12 per hour. the Quinn bill allows police officers to get degrees in poor quality diploma mills which give a lot of credit for life experience, so that police officer can get substantial raises. The police department cannot quantifiably provide documentation that the police officer provides any better service to the community for those big raises. we pay $25K/year to the MetroWest Growth Management Committee who then allows the Framingham Selectman to talk to the Selectman of the towns next door to us so we can ask them what they are doing. we subsidize the Danforth Museum and have for years. If it can't survive on its own, it should be closed and it's assets sold. It's contents should (and do) live in well deserved obscurity. we run an ice skating rink that cannot survive on its own. What is town government doing in the ice skating business? Perhaps, the town might be interested in running a theater? How about an airport? state law stipulates that only children in grades K-6, outside a two mile radius may be entitled to school busing, but in Framingham we bus anyone who asks. The school system is now charging students $180 a year for busing which simply does not cover the real costs (closer to $300). the tax payer should not have to pay for any expense related to extracuricular activities. This includes football, baseball, basketball, wrestling, drama, chess clubs, cheerleading, etc. The school system is charging $100 per sport. If this includes the cost of personnel and busing, then $100 simply does not cover the costs. Extracurricular activities do not fall under the education mandate. Parents utilize it as inexpensive daycare. Some towns are charging $380/sport. field trips (including busing) should be wholly paid by parents and subsidized for the poor. our high school has four (count them [4] ) vice principals (all paid over $85K). Are we sure that four are enough? Maybe we need ten of them. Anyone want twenty of them to be sure? our assistant school Superintendent (Walter McClennen) either does not want the lead job, or is not qualified for it, and he gets paid $113K for his "assistant" job. He now has one year of experience. the school system is threatening to close schools before they've sold any excess real estate holdings (see above). This time it's Juniper Hill school, only because it was Stapleton last year. Next year, it'll be another school. we can afford to sell Natick a 14 acre piece of property for one dollar after turning down a $1 million offer from a developer. we offer full health insurance to school bus drivers and school crossing guards. This makes their benefits more costly to the taxpayer then their salary. we pay 75% of the health insurance premiums for all town retirees, for the rest of their lives.

Send comments to: hjw2001@gmail.com