Dear friends,
Sorry for the delay in getting a newsletter out, but that just means this issue will be packed with more information than usual. As always, if I can be of any assistance please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Local Aid Cuts
The Leadership on Beacon Hill is forecasting more doom and gloom. As of this writing we seem destined to have our local aid cut by another 4% (roughly $150,000) for FY 2011. Since taking office, I have seen Gardner’s local aid free fall from $5,273,964 in FY 2008 to a projected $3,584,191 in FY 2011. This represents a loss of $1,689,733 in local aid from the State. The Chapter 70 (school aid) cut could equate to as much as $750,000.
Local aid is the money given to Cities and Towns by the state. The idea is that the money will help offset the mandates that state passes down to municipalities. About 85% of the City’s budget is mandated spending. This amounts to just over $20 million and does not include mandated spending of $21 million for the schools or the $7.5 million in enterprise accounts (Water, Sewer and Trash). The $3.5 million in local aid barely touches the mandates handed down from Beacon Hill.
The $3.6 million in non-mandated spending consists of items such as $1.8 million in debt service (to pay for things like street upgrades, fire trucks etc.), Library spending of $600k, Municipal Grounds Dept, Greenwood Pool, Senior Center and other quality of life items. These are hardly considered discretionary spending items by many.
What does all of this mean for Gardner? The cuts that will have to be made in order to balance our budget will affect the schools, firemen, policemen and virtually every department within the City and that means you, as a resident of Gardner, will also feel the effect of the cuts.
That’s why we need to ban together and with one loud and clear voice tell our elected officials on Beacon Hill that we cannot afford another local aid cut. Please reach out to our legislators and let them know State government needs to shrink, not the core services local governments deliver every day.
Solutions to the State’s Budget Woes.
I am always hesitant to offer a complaint (e.g. don’t cut local aid) without offering a solution. Two quick, easy and common sense solutions are to allow municipalities Plan Design authority for health insurance and remove, or put a threshold on, prevailing wage.
Plan Design authority would allow cities and towns to make adjustments to the health plans offered by municipalities. These adjustments are limited to adjusting co-payments and removing and introducing health plans. This is the same authority enjoyed by the state government as well as the private sector. However, the state has mandated (M.G.L. Ch. 32B) that municipalities must collectively bargain these changes. Furthermore, in order to join the states much ballyhooed Group Insurance Commission (GIC) a municipality must get 70% of their unionized employees to agree. This is nearly an impossible goal. Forcing us to collectively bargain every little change does not save us a dime. Plan Design authority or the ability to join the GIC would save the City of Gardner a couple hundred thousand
dollars.
Prevailing Wage is the rate of pay municipalities must pay for virtually any service, construction project, or wage that is paid for services rendered. For example, when City Hall had all of its windows replaced we received a quote of $40k for the work and windows. When we went out to bid we had to make sure Prevailing Wage rates were used and the price skyrocketed to $60k. What did we get for the additional $20k? Nothing! The same local company manufactured and installed the windows. Same windows. Same workers. We just had to pay an additional $20k because of the Prevailing Wage rates.
This is not a onetime example. In fact on another project, funded with grant funds, the City bid the project with Prevailing Wage rates. The project came in at $360k. The state informed us that this was a rare and unique situation that did not require Prevailing Wage rates. We re-bid the project and the price dropped to $220k. Again, same project, same work and even the same company won the bid. What would we have received for that additional $140k? Nothing!
This is our tax money that is being wasted. When you call or email our legislators, please mention that Plan Design authority and a removal of, or at least a threshold exemption for municipalities, should be enacted to save money. It’s not always a case of raising taxes (revenues), we should be reducing our costs in order to live within our means.
Gardner’s 225th Anniversary
The 225th Anniversary Committee has been hard at work planning events for this summer and fall. I’m sure you’ve seen all the Banners hanging throughout the downtown advertising local entities and individuals as well as the 225th anniversary of the City. I want to thank all of the area businesses, individuals and community organizations who have donated their time, money and advertising in order to help make the celebration a success.
The weekend of June 26-27, 2010 will be chock full of activities including a plaque dedication ceremony, Gardner Museum activities, walking tours, church fairs, historical re-enactments, a Fireman’s Muster, a chicken BBQ and FIREWORKS!!!!
The weekend of September 25-26, 2010 will feature a 5k road race and one of the biggest parades Gardner has seen in decades. The parade will feature bands from around the region and from across the state as well as the Woodland String Band (the Mummers) along with floats from around the community, the Shriners and much, much more.
There is still time to donate or volunteer, see the website for all the information.
E-Government Award
For the second straight year Gardner has been recognized by Common Cause Massachusetts with their E-Government Award with Distinction. Common Cause Massachusetts is a nonpartisan, nonprofit, government watchdog, dedicated to citizen participation in an open, honest, and accountable government. An independent, member supported organization, Common Cause has more than 200,000 members nationwide and 10,000 in Massachusetts.
Municipalities who post their governing body’s minutes and an agenda, their budget, their bylaws, and, if applicable, their town meeting warrant and results received the 2010 e-Government Award.
Those who additionally post a year’s archive of minutes and agendas, their calendar, their zoning bylaws, their school committee’s minutes and agenda, and the minutes and agenda for another board or committee received the award with distinction. Gardner went the extra mile and achieved this distinction.
Local Government Advisory Committee & MMA Board of Directors
Entering my second term in office I was approached by my fellow Mayors and asked to seek the position of District Representative and a seat on the Massachusetts Municipal Association (MMA) Board of Directors (the MMA divides the state into five districts). At the MMA Annual Meeting in January, I was elected to this position. I was also nominated by the MMA Board of Directors, and appointed by Governor Patrick, to serve on the Local Government Advisory Committee (LGAC) chaired by Lt. Governor Tim Murray.
What do these two positions mean for Gardner? They allow me to do a lot more work for the City. The biggest gain for the City is that these two positions allow me direct access to the decision makers. I meet directly with the Governor, Lt. Governor and their Cabinet members and express the needs of mid-sized communities like Gardner. Again, this gives Gardner a seat at the table next to Mayor Menino of Boston, Mayor Curtatone of Somerville and Mayor Sullivan of Braintree and gives us a chance to have our side of the story told so that not all legislation is geared toward the largest cities.
Medication Drop-Off Program
On May8, 2010 from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM at the Waterford Street School, 70 Waterford St, the City of Gardner in conjunction with Henry Heywood Hospital, The Gardner Police Department and the Gardner Public Schools will hold a Medication Drop-Off Program.
Residents are encouraged to bring in their expired, unwanted, and/or unused medications for proper disposal. This can be done anonymously with no questions asked.
Drugs that accumulate in our medicine cabinets can contribute to accidental poisoning and illegal access that can lead to abuse. Unwanted medicines which are flushed down toilets or thrown into the trash eventually end up in our surface and ground water. This can potentially impact wildlife and aquatic organisms.
This type of program is the safest way to dispose of prescription and over the counter medications. Check your medicine chests and I’ll see you on May 8.
Painting
If you have ventured down to City Hall in the past several months, you may have smelled the aroma of paint permeating the building. We have been using the North Central Correctional Institutions (NCCI) prisoner work crew to do a lot of painting.
For the cost of a few hundred dollars in paint, we have been able to have the City Clerk’s office, the Treasurer / Collector’s office, the Engineer’s office, the lower level hallway, the Personnel Director’s office, and several other area’s in City Hall painted.
We also use the NCCI work crew during the summer to perform spring and fall clean-ups of municipally owned land. In fact the work crews were instrumental in getting the debris removed from parks, playgrounds and other municipal lots after the ice storm.
This is just another example of how we are all working to get the job done with the least cost to you, the taxpayer.
Trash
From Left to Right: 96 Gallon, 64 Gallon & 48 Gallon Toters
By now you have all heard about the new trash program. There is a lot of misinformation floating around about the program, how we arrived at the new program and what it means for everyone. If you have questions, your best solution is to call the Board of Health directly at 978-630-4013.
However, I will try to give some answers to the most common questions. The City converted the Pay As You Throw system to an Enterprise system in 2007. An enterprise system means that the revenue derived from the annual fee, bag sales, the transfer station and other miscellaneous fees must cover the cost of the trash and recycling services. It is a completely self-contained system that is separated from the General Fund of government.
The City typically seeks a five year contract for trash and recycling services in order to receive more competitive bids than compared to a shorter three year contract. This past year the City sought and received bids for a new five year contract. Waste Management was again the lowest bidder.
Waste Management offered two options (as did other bidders). The first option would have allowed the City to continue the trash and recycling service in the same manner as we have done for the past several years. However, the cost of the service would have increased over the current, expiring, contract. This would have resulted in eventual annual fee increases in the next year or two.
The second option was to move the City to a toter system. A toter is an industry standard “barrel” with an attached cover, wheels and handle. This option decreased the current contractual amount by roughly $130k per year. This savings will be used to purchase the toters that will be supplied to residents. At the end of the five year contract, the toters will be paid for and owned by the City. This will result in an instant savings moving into the next contract. As I mentioned earlier, it is important to note that these are industry standard toters, so if Waste Management does not win the next contract another hauler will still be able to use the toters.
Under the toter system, the City is able to remove a resident’s toter for non-payment because the City technically owns the toter. The current system does not allow an effective shut-off measure.
Yellow City bags would still be used and picked up at curbside. Also, if the recycling toter is insufficient for your needs you will be supplied with a second toter for recycling. The trash toters are 48 gallons, so they do allow for a little more volume. The recycling toters are 64 gallons.
The toter system may prove to be a breakeven scenario during the five years of the contract and could possibly end up costing a little more than if we did not change the system. However, starting in year six when the toters are paid for, a tremendous savings will be had. Projections show that by moving to a toter system, a savings of over $425k will be achieved over the course of ten years.
The City can no longer afford to look at the short term and must continue look at how the decisions we make now affect us four, seven, ten and more years down the road. The change to a toter based system is in the best long term interest of the City and her residents.
U.S. Census
By now you should have received your U.S. Census information form. Why is it important? Many of the state and federal dollars that flow to cities and towns have a population component to them. The more people that fill out the document and get counted, the better chance we (as a City and State) have of getting more dollars for needed programs. It only took me two minutes to fill mine out. Please make sure you fill yours out too.
Thanks for reading.
Mark Hawke
Mayor, City of Gardner
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