Executive Adminstrator contract expires

Curt Brown has an article in the Standard Times today and the editoral board opined yesterday about Mr. Gagne's last day as our town Executive Administrator.
Mr. Gagne is a hardworking and talented individual who has served the town for a long time. I want to thank him here for his service and I wish him well. I like Mr. Gagne and it was a difficult decision for me to vote not to renew his contract. In the final analysis, I came to believe ...

... that it was necessary to change leadership in order to change the functions and culture of the town government. Mr. Gagne has many strengths as an administrator and some weaknesses. I will keep my own counsel for now on what those things are.
I firmly believe I made the right decision for the right reasons.
As the old saw says, time will tell.
Click here to read on!

Jack Spillane on Chutzpah

Chutzpah is the title of Jack Spillane's blog post on Mr. Gagne. Link to the post here. Looks like Mr. Spillane doesn't get many comments on his blog or he chooses not to allow them. Don't know which. In any case, he seems to be a more active blogger than Curt Brown. Check it out.

All politics is local is a quote from the late Speaker of the House, Tip O'Neill
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Blue Mass Group on gas tax increases

Look here for Judy Meredith's entry on the gas tax hike. I would support a limited increase based on factors other than those which have been put forward. Those factors include encouraging better fuel economy, public transportation, and conservation and discouraging greenhouse gas emissions.
While government is needed to fund the infrastructure that allows our way of life, I think the proposed uses of the gas tax increase are so narrowly focused on the areas in and around Boston that the rest of the state has ...

... little incentive to support the increase.
It would be nice if the commuter rail line to Fall River and New Bedford could be funded from the tax hike but they are low on the list after Mass Pike and others.
The constituent who is quite happy to pay taxes is also probably concerned to get the best service for the lowest cost with their tax dollars. That is something that tends to be lacking in any government program. See this exchange between Senator McCain and President Obama t the Huffington Post (Watch the video!)
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The never ending story -partie deux

Having presented the letter from Attorney Bartulis where he questions the wisdom of the employee protection clauses, I would like to present the text of those clauses. You can find them here.
Some people have asked in comments to the first post for the notes on who were present at the meeting mentioned in the letter. Attorney Barulis' notes from the February 9, 2006 meeting can be seen here. (I added the highlight.)
You will notice that Att'y Bartulis is providing these contract changes to the Executive Administrator while corresponding with Ms. Copley, not the Executive Administrator or Select Board members. This can be confirmed by emails which I will publish in future posts. These changes were not in the town's interests but in that of the employee. Nonetheless, the town was paying Att'y Bartulis to draft them, not the employee who will benefit from the changes. Certainly employees can and should have an attorney help them draft contracts to present to the town ...

... but they should pay for it, not the town. Having the taxpayer pay for contracts which are contrary to their interests is adding insult to injury.
The portion of this contract language which I find as egregious as the automatic renewal is this

“For purposes of this agreement, the phrase “subject to the availability of Town appropriations” shall be understood to mean that the TOWN will make every reasonable effort to secure the necessary appropriation to fully fund this position. The Select Board will have an affirmative duty to budget for the position and to speak in favor of funding this position in total. It is also understood that if layoffs or staff cutbacks are needed in the Town, this EMPLOYEE’S position will only be decreased or eliminated after the Town has already undertaken to decrease or eliminate other positions which add up to the amount of the annual salary of this position first. In the event that the funding for the position of EMPLOYEE is not appropriated or is otherwise decreased or eliminated during the life of this agreement, it is further understood between the parties to this Agreement that EMPLOYEE will be offered another management position in Town, if any exists, as determined by the Executive Administrator, for the same pay and benefits which inure to him/her under this Agreement, for the remaining duration/term of this written agreement.

Bold emphasis added by me
Those who say these contract don't tie the hands of the town, please note that future Select Boards are to have a contractual DUTY to speak in favor of the funding. Then the town must still pay an equal salary even if the job is not funded by Town Meeting.
I am astounded and outraged to this day that five individuals who presumably should have been watching out for the taxpayers interests could think that language was a good idea. What do you think about it? Tell us in comments.
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Once again, Dylan on Friday

Tombstone Blues from Highway 66 Revisited


I'm in the kitchen with those tombstone blues.
Click here to read on!

The never ending story (employee contract edition)

I want to start out my series of posts with a letter on February 23rd, 2006 from Attorney Bartulis to the Executive Administrator, Micheal Gagne. Mr. Bartulis had been in a long correspondence with the Dartmouth town paralegal, Ms. Doris Copley, about her employment contract. First, let me point out that although the town was paying for Mr. Bartulis, as you will see, he was asked to present contracts which favored the employees. Most of the corerspondence was directly with Ms Copley. The executive sessions minutes for the Select Board only mention discussion of these contracts by the Board twice, one of those being when the contracts were signed. The two Select Board members that Att'y Bartulis mentions ...

... in the Feb. 23rd letter are Mr. Robert Miller (currently running to return to the Select Board) and Ms. Natalie Dias (Ms. Dias has denied being at this meeting but Att'y Bartulis' notes put her there).
Attorney Bartulis warns against including the automatic renewal langauge in the employee contracts. Attorney Barulis notes,

"Assuming this same language was in a number of different contracts in the Town, the Town could have a staff of potentially over-paid individuals doing less important management jobs, conceivably, just because the Town agreed not to let them go without just cause. Virtually every contract, even the union contracts which afford just cause protections, have management escape clauses which afford the employer the ability to terminate an employee at-will for lack of work, etc., as determined by the employer. This one does not."

As we know that warning was ignored and the contract for Ms. Copley and others were executed with wording similar to what Att'y Bartulis provided.
Click here to read on!

Judge passes on injunction, for now

The suit and counterclaim in Fall River Superior Court on the legality of the Dartmouth Executive Administrator's employment contract had a hearing on Wednesday on the matter of a preliminary injunction. Mr. Gagne sought an injunction to remain in his job and to prevent the Select Board from appointing an interim or new Executive Administrator. The judge did not issue an injunction Wednesday and gave the attorneys for the town and Mr. Gagne until Tuesday to respond to some questions that he had about the executive sessions where the contract was approved. You can find the complaint at this post. The counterclaim can be found at this post
Curt Brown's Dartmouth Beat blog post about the hearing ...

... can be found here Mr. Brown's article in the Standard Times about the hearing can be found here.
As it now stands, Mr. Gagne's contract will expire on Saturday. The Select Board is meeting on Saturday at 3PM at the Town Hall to appoint the Director of Budget and Finance, Mr Iacaponi, as the interim Executive Administrator until a successor is found.
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State library database

The state database on all things library can be found at this link. Mr Lynam has distilled some of the data into a comparison file which you can find hereMS Excel format. The headings on Mr. Lynam's report are somewhat cryptic. Look at the other sheets ...

... for definitions to decipher the headers.
I have been posting less frequently lately because I am buried at work. I will have a series of posts soon laying out the saga of the perpetual contracts given to some town employees.
Click here to read on!

Library department people costs

I have been getting a lot of requests in comments to provide the breakdown on personnel costs in the Dartmouth Public Library.
Mr. Friedman of the Finance Committee wrote about the library in an opinion letter in the Standard Times today. Mr Friedman notes that the top two earners in the department combined make over $150K. That amount is more than 15% of the total budget. He also points out that the Trustees gave the Director a contract in excess of the appropriation by Town Meeting.
When the Town Meeting did not appropriate the increase, the Trustees paid it from grant money. I don't think that grant money may counted as her salary. Now the Trustees are asking, in FY10, for a consolidation (in their word) which rolls the grant into the appropriation for the Director salary. They can not contract with the Director in excess of the appropriation (see here). I feel that the grant is not a salary increase and it is improper to call it so.
But back to the people costs, I don't have them in electronic file...

...format so I'll type them out here(these are the FY10 or next year's request which reflect a 15% reduction in the total budget as asked by the Budget Director),
Position_____________Salary/wage______ hrs/wk
Library Director_____________________$85,651.69___________40
Assistant Director__________________ $70,520.46___________40
Professional Librarian X 2______________ $54,631.06_______40
Administrative Clerk_________________$51,470.45___________40
Library Associate X 2____________________$41,752,37________35
Pre-professional Library Assistant X 2___$39,020.89_______35
Pre-professional Library Assistant___$35,665.67___________35
Library Assistant____________________$29,399.75___________35
Library Assistant ___________________$29,030.78___________35
Substitutes__________________________$37,116.00
Pages________________________________$15,261.90
Custodian(full time)_________________$44,593.92___________40
Custodian(part time)_________________$18,754.42__________ 18

The total people cost of library services is $696,547.92 or about 79% of the $873,350.66 budget request. By contrast, the library materials budget is $54,767.75
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Latest MOB file from Mr. Lynam

The link to the latest financial information and analysis from the Finance Committee can be found here, MOB file dated 2/20/09. Please note that I delete previous files from my server when I upload the latest. I do that because of the size of the file and the limited storage I get with the free web hosting. What it means to you ...

... is that only the link for the latest MOB file post will work.
Click here to read on!

Proposed Town Website Guidelines

The Select Board and Executive Adminstrator have asked the library department to assist in improving the town website. To that end, the library formed a Website Development Committee which has recommneded a policy guideline for the town's website. The cover letter from the library and policy statement can be found here.
I think that the committee has done a good job ...

... and I commend them for their efforts.
Although it is not on the agenda for Monday if the opportunity arises for discussion of and adoption of the guideline, I will bring it before the Select Board. If not, then I will ask that it be on the next meetings agenda.
Click here to read on!

Dartmouth meeting minutes and agendas on town website

The town has posted meeting minutes and agendas for most boards and committees on the town website. Kudos to Mike Courville, the town's IT manager and the town administration for getting this done.
The link to the minutes and agendas is now on my Useful Links list and can be found at http://www.town.dartmouth.ma.us/agendas.htm
A journey of a thousand miles begins ...

... with a single step. One way to keep the content of our website current and reduce the burden on Mr. Courville is to use an interactive format such as Hypertext Preprocessor, PHP. I have not talked to Mr. Courville about that yet but I will. PHP is interactive website management freeware which allows many users to participate and add content. You probably use wesite that are using PHP without knowing it. The URL page file extension when using HyperText Markup Language (HTML) is .htm or .html. If the webpage is using PHP, the URL extension is .php Click here to read on!

Bob Dylan Friday

Hurricane


And here is the story of the Hurricane from Wikipedia Click here to read on!

Library has no choice but to reduce costs

The Standard Times had a couple of items today about the Dartmouth Library. See op-ed here and Curt Brown's article here. The jist of the two is that the Library Board of Trustees and administration do not want to look at (note I said look at) contracting out library services.
A Library Trustee and the Administrator say in the article,

"Murphy-Aisenberg and Medeiros said the library has instituted ...

... measures to cut costs and it is aggressively pursuing fundraising efforts to raise revenue."

It is good that they are agressively cutting costs and raising funds because the library budget is likely to be cut by several hundred thousand dollars for FY10 and probably again in FY11. So the library has no choice but to reduce costs. They will not have the money to do anything else but reduce costs. The question remains what level of services can they provide with the reduced budget.
The whole argument that we can not be a member of the SAILS network if the town contracts for library services is not true. If, and that is still not known unless we actually issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) to LSSI and others, the contracted library services could be delivered for less money, the library might lose certification because we did not increase spending. Loss of certification would result in loss of SAILS network privileges. There are a lot of uncertainties in the two last sentences. The town could reduce those uncertainties by simply issuing an RFP and seeing what gets returned. The Library Trustees will not issue an RFP so we don't know if the town can save or not. Basically they have come to their decision without even obtaining facts to weigh that decision. Finally, the library may lose certification anyway since library funding certainly will not increase 2-1/2% and will probably significantly decrease.
It is also not true that communities do not contract with Library Systems and Services Inc (LSSI) to save money. See my post here,

"the county hired LSSI to reopen libraries on a much reduced budget"

Our town's fiscal situation is poor. Every opportunity to reduce costs while maintaining services should be explored. Bottom line is the library department is unwilling to do that. Time will tell if that was a wise choice.
Click here to read on!

Town Websites

Tiny towns and big towns use the web to provide information and services to their residents.
The Town of Tolland is tenth from the bottom in town population in the state, 426 residents. Their website is up to date, informative, and appealing. Tolland's meeting minutes can be found on the website for each board or committee. Content management is through town employee email postings through the software vendor
The Town of Barnstable website has everything from soup to nuts, calendar, requests for quotes, complete financial information and video on demand of every televised board or committee meeting. The content is provided and maintained by the town IT department.
Don't think volunteer efforts can help ...

...provide a website, look at the Town of Gill Here's what the DOR website ion E government says about Gill's website,

The Administrative Assistant to the Board of Selectmen “with support and maintenance by a local volunteer staff. We are fortunate to have a web site design firm in Gill, Starstruck Design, who takes care of the hosting and trained me to use the software, Microsoft Frontpage. We also have IT support staff from the Northfield Mount Hermon private school located in Gill on the town IT team that assist with network connections (actually set up and installed the network at Town Hall), email and computer related issues including purchasing etc. The only cost to the town is the annual fee of $100 for hosting the website and of course my time. I spend approximately zero to four hours a week, dependent upon the need for changes to the website. We recently added a recreation page highlighting programs and schedules and hope to add a separate page for library programs and board minutes in the future as well.

With a vision for what is possible and a commitment to make it work, even a town the size of Gill (population 1,620), can post Select Board agendas and minutes on their website
Click here to read on!

Finance Committee agendas

Via Email
Below is the schedule for the Finance Committee meetings for 2/19 and 2/26

Agenda (2/19)
7:00 Not yet confirmed: Street acceptance policy discussion with DPW and town Planner (Don Perry).
7:30 DPW budget

Agenda (2/26)
7:00 Police budget
8:00 TBD

Thank you.
Ed Iacaponi Click here to read on!

Irish Folk Singer-Christy Moore

The Reel in the Flickering Light
One of Ireland's treasures, Christy Moore
You Tube embed after the jump


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Community Preservation grant requests

This Standard Times article gives the information on how to apply for Community Preservation funding. The deadline for applications is March 13th.
Community preservation funds are provided by a surcharge of 1.5% on your property tax and matched by the state at between 5% and 100% of the total levied. The funds may only be used ...

...for historical preservation, open space preservation , recreational uses or affordable housing.
The funding recommendations are made by the Community Preservation Committee (CPC) who are appointed citizens of the town. The Town Meeting appropriates the funds based on the CPC's recommendations.
Click here to read on!

E government for Dartmouth

The Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR) has a webpage with links to resources and articles on electronic government (E government) for towns. As the DOR page says,

"E-government has the potential to shrink the importance of size, distance, and remoteness in interacting with state oversight agencies and in delivering services to local residents."

The DOR also notes that,

"State and local governments, therefore, both have a vested interest in expanding the potential of E-government services to all municipalities in the Commonwealth."

The Commonwealth has already invested ...

... in E-government and a wide range of state services are available online (from education results to the Registry of Motor Vehicles) as well as information from every agency and branch.
Towns can benefit from technology too. One interesting example is called One Call Town Hall or 311 customer service. All calls to the town are routed to an operator who prepares a task order based upon the call and forwards it to the appropriate department. The task order is sent electronically and provides a means for governments to measure their responsiveness and to manage with fewer people answering the phones. This technology is also inexpensive according to the case study.
The question will be raised, why commit to E government? The DOR lists four potential benefits,

Potential for improving internal processes
Increased public awareness of issues
Improved public participation in the democratic process
Faster, more efficient transactions

Technology has fundamentally changed our way of life and government has been slow to adapt. Towns are now faced with eliminating jobs and services or delivering them in a different way. E government will be part of the process.
Click here to read on!

Women Rock! Aretha

1968 R_E_S_P_E_C_T , Just a little bit, unh-unha
You Tube embed after the jump


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Odds and ends

The sale of the Schofield farm at the corner of Faunce Corner Road and Old Fall River Road as an affordable housing unit fell through when both bidders declined to execute a sales agreement. Turns out the house had more problems than originally thought.

No Select Board meeting Monday due to the President's Day holiday

The Finance Committee will meet with the Police Chief and Director of the DPW to go over the FY10 budget for those departments on Thursday at 7PM at the town hall.

The Select Board has received information from the law firm which provided advice on the now infamous contracts given to eight town employees. I have not yet had the opportunity to review the materials.

Take a look at this report from the Budget and Revenue Task Force from July 2007. Pretty much ...

...lays out the same course that we are pursuing now. Sadly, we should be much further along that path. Links to the complete report here.

A case study of 311 customer service call centers can be found here. Dartmouth might use this sort of system itself or on a regional basis. The idea is to provide better service while reducing staffing at various departments.
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Miles, Coltrane - Enjoy!

You Tube embed after the jump


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Town to auction properties for taxes

Follow this link to the Town website, for information on the properties to be aauctioned on February 27th. There are 3 tax title and 4 tax possession positions included in the auctions Click here to read on!

Latest iteration of the MOB file

You can find the latest budget file from the Finance Committee, the spreadsheet is called the MOB file, at this link.
The Budget and Finance Director gave updated information to the Finance Committee at their meeting on Thursday. The current file does not reflect those projections. The major changes were to school funding with the local district's required net spending going down due to declining enrollment and our Voke assessment going up as more Dartmouth students chose Voke.

Once again, I want to thank Mr. Lynam for generating the spreadsheet and analysis. It is an invaluable service to the town.
As part of the normal budget process, the Finance Committee will begin hearing from department heads next Thursday with the Police Chief and DPW Director presenting their FY2010 budgets.
Click here to read on!

Federal stimulus

Blue Mass Group has some details on the stimulus bill funding that may be headed to Massachusetts. Medicaid and education will get a big boost. Other details will be coming out as the funds are apportioned. While some have critized the specific ...

...programs that were included, I think the stimulus is the right thing right now. The question to me comes down to, "What is the alternative?".
Click here to read on!

Classic Dylan this Friday

Subterranean Homesick Blues


Look out, kid!
Click here to read on!

Local libraries lose state certification

Today's Standard TImes had an article that Freetown and Wareham libraries have lost their state library board certification. Dartmouth's library escaped that fate by obtaining a waiver. The amount of state aid is lost is small. The state doesn't contribute that much to local library budgets. The biggest loss is the ability to access materials through the interlibrary loan network, SAILS. Libraries that lose their state certification cannot borrow books from the network.
Freetown Selectman Lawrence Ashley was critical...

... of the state boards action saying to the Standard Times,

"Everyone on the Board of Library Commissioners should be fired. It is incredulous that they will not give the library a chance. Can't they see that the town has been doing the best it can? We are trying to balance everything out. We laid off teachers, police officers. It's sad. I think they have a very myopic view of the world. They are punishing all these people, many of whom don't have the ability to buy books or computers. The board is doing more harm than good."

Towns represented at a regional summit this past Tuesday indicated the most towns would not be able to meet the state funding requirement for certification which is a 2-1/2% increase every year in the library budget. Most towns are cutting budgets. One possible solution mentioned was for libraries to form their own lending consortium outside of the SAILS network.
Click here to read on!

Friends of the Elderly seek donations

Details on what donated goods are sought can be found at this Standard Times article. The Friends of the Elderly contribute the proceeds to the Council on Aging for many programs. Your help will be greatly appreciated

Thanks.
Click here to read on!

Gagne countersuit postponed

The hearing for Executive Administrator Gagne's countersuit against the Select Board has been postponed to February 25th at 2PM in Fall River Superior court. Curt Brown blogs about it here. In addition to the countersuit, Mr. Gagne is seeking an injunction ...

... preventing the town from ending his employment or hiring a his replacement.
Click here to read on!

10,000 Maniacs and 25,000 visits

In 1987, my sister, four brothers and I were vacationing on the Outer Banks of NC. We were in a tavern discussing different genres of music and which music groups were in each category.
Just the barmaid walked up, my brother Jim said, "What would you call 10,000 Maniacs?"
"A bad date", the barmaid replied.
We fell about the place laughing.

Since my first post on January 5th, 2008, this blog has had over 25,000 page loads. I couldn't find a band with 25,000 in the name, so here are 10,000 Maniacs - These Are The Days You Tube embed after the jump


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Mr. Gracie to hold fundraiser

Frank Gracie, candidate for Select Board will hold a fundraising dinner for his campaign on March 4th from 5 to 8pm at Shawmut Diner on Hathaway Road. Tickets are $15 and can be obtained by emailing Mr. Gracie at FrankLovesDartmouth@comcast.net
Mr. Gracie has served a chairman of the Privatization Study Group ...

... and as a member of the Budget and Revenue Task Force and the Tax Classification Study Committee. His participation with these town committees have given Frank insight into the workings of town departments and the town's budget.
Click here to read on!

Wind Power lnterconnect Study

The Select Board heard a preliminary report from the Alternative Energy Committee (AEC) on Monday night. The Committee recommended the installation of two 1.65 MW Vestas wind turbines on town land in the Paskamansett Valley. The site is owned by the town for water wells and is adjacent to the waste water treatment plant which will use power from the turbines. The AEC asked to fund an interconnection study by the electric utility, NStar. The study, which costs $2500, will determine if the distribution in the area can handle the output from the turbines and detail any protective relaying equipment that the power company would require. The Select Board voted...
...to fund the interconnect study from an expense budget or Reserve Fund transfer.
As presented, the wind power project would cost between $8.5 to 10.5 million dollars and the town would realize a $550K annual savings per turbine for the 25 year life of the wind turbines. That return gives the project an 8-10 year pay back, following which time the town would realize savings.
Initiating the interconnect study moves the town one step closer to having the project ready to go if federal or state grants should become available for such alternative energy projects. Other financing methods are also possible given the favorable economic analysis of the installation.
The turbines would sit atop 80 meter (263ft) towers and have a capacity factor of 30% given a 6.5 m/s average wind regime. The 30% capacity factor means the installation's average output over a year would be 495KW per hour per turbine
The town would have to permit the machines in accordance with the recently adopted commercial wind turbine bylaw. Further study and information would be required to meet the strictures of the wind turbine bylaw specifically with regard to impacts on surrounding residents.
UPDATEA previous post on wind turbines can be found here
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Regional meeting report

Steve Urbon's article in today's Standard Times notes that old habits die hard and the meeting of South Coast towns last evening to discuss regionalizing services often strayed into reasons it couldn't be done. I thought that Roger Cabral of Acushnet's Finance Committee hit the nail on the head with his comment that,

"We filled a room with people because what we're doing now doesn't work. There are a lot of hurdles but we have to find a way to look at everything."

Another frequent distraction was discussion of state rules that are unfunded mandates or interfere with co-operation. My feeling is that while state rules may be part of the problem, the problems themselves are ours to fix. Our state representatives may be able to provide some help but we can make their job easier by coming forward with well developed plans ...

...which they can take to the General Court.
I was encouraged by the turnout and the fact that everyone was ready to look to regional solutions. Dartmouth Select Board chair, Mr. Michaud offered to host the next meeting in Dartmouth and the feeling among attendees was it should be soon. The date for the next round is March 5th.
Frank Gracie, who attended the meeting, suggested to me afterwards that each town come to the next meeting with a list of the top 5 items that they will struggle to fund in FY10. We can look at the lists from each town and find common areas where towns may want to consider regional services. A good suggestion, I thought. A list of attendees will be distributed and when I receive it, I will contact the attendees and suggest Frank's idea.
I don't think that Westport was represented at the meeting which was disappointing as they may be a good partner for regional services with Dartmouth.
Several towns noted that they have already shared services with other towns in animal control, consolidated purchasing, and schools. Areas where those attending felt that a regional approach may be possible were emergency services dispatch, libraries, procurement, landfill monitoring, and health inspections.
I wonder if some entrepreneur might be able to come up with a private solution to some of these regional services. As an example, if all the towns of Bristol County were to tally up their spending for animal control, the amount might be $500K or more. Could a private company or non profit be contracted for some portion of that amount and provide 24/7 coverage to the entire county? It's really not that big an area and, with GPS technology, getting to addresses shouldn't be an issue. The contractor may even be able to provide better service at lower cost.
Other places that contractors may be a viable option is inspections, conservation or procurement.
Of course, the biggest hitter of all services is public schools. Acushnet Town Administrator Alan Coutinho quipped that since towns are told how much to spend, what they will contribute, and what must be taught, the state may as well take over the administration as well. Not that far fetched an idea if you consider it. Others pointed out that some states, New Jersey and Maine are forcing small districts to consolidate as a cost saving measure.
Tell us what you think in comments.
What do you think?
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Don't bring me down

1966 Animals- Don't Bring Me Down
You Tube embed after the jump


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Governor Patrick considers gas tax hike

From the Boston Globe website here, comes news that Governor Patrick is considering a gas tax hike along with other measures. What do you think?

Mostly benefits Boston area residents as I see it.
Click here to read on!

Watson op-ed letter

Mr. Michael Watson had a opinion letter in today's Standard Times where he advocates for transparency in government. I completely agree that our town should be run as openly as possible. Mr. Watson feels that the current Select Board has not adequately presented their ideas on a new direction for the town. He says,

"We hear rhetoric of a "new direction" without being given specific details. Without clarity, this new direction is simply a fuzzy political slogan unworthy of public trust."

I believe that I and others on the Select Board have had a lot to say about what that new direction is. This blog itself is an effort to inform and convince the public. Basically, we must reconcile our expenses and revenue and that is going to require some fundamental changes in how town services are delivered. Consolidation, contracting out, and regional services will all play a part in that solution. The majority on the Select Board feel that new leadership ...

... in the post of Executive Administrator is needed as well. That majority has acted decisively to do that and a search for candidates is now underway.
Mr. Watson while advocating for effective, responsible leadership says little about any specific program to provide that.
I am not sure what decision and actions he refers to when he says,

"Recent decisions and actions taken by our town government have lacked transparency, and residents have lost trust when they couldn't see."

If he is referring to the decision not to renew the contract of the current Executive Administrator, I would offer this timeline. The Select Board met in Executive Session on a couple of occasions to discuss whether or not to renew Mr. Gagne's contract. The board met in Executive Session with Mr. Gagne to tell him that the board had decided not to renew his contract. The board met in public session and heard from the public for two hours on the decision before taking a vote in public not to renew the contract. There is still a dispute about whether or not the contract language which requires automatic renewal of Mr. Gagne's contract, which was approved by a previous Select Board, is valid. I also refer you to this post. That dispute is currently in the courts and the board must exercise some care in public statements due to the pending matter. I have published the public filings in the case here and here. Mr. Watson may disagree with the action of the majority but says nothing about what should have been done differently with Mr. Gagne, or what other matters were not handled with transparency. It is early in the campaign season so I hope to learn more about Mr. Watson's ideas in the next few weeks.
What are your thoughts?
Click here to read on!

Stone pens op-ed letter

UPDATE AFTER THE JUMP
I found a bit of a disconnect between the headline above this letter, LETTER: Seek long-term cost savings for Dartmouth and the text that followed. I don't see where Ms. Stone advocates for long term savings in this opinion. Ms. Stone says,

"Our leadership can be better and our solutions more constructive in order to maintain the community we love. Simply balancing the budget is not enough if it diminishes our town in the process. We need a broader perspective on fiscal responsibility, one that protects our core community values while providing careful, long-term solutions to our systemic financial concerns."

I am left with more questions than answers after reading this opinion. What constructive solutions will maintain our community? As some of you may know, Ms. Stone has championed override campaigns in the past.
Are overrides the broader perspective ...

... that protect our core community values? I can't determine that from her opinion.
Ms. Stone writes about fixes that result

"in the loss of talented employees, unfunded public works projects, reduced public safety, a higher crime rate, closed businesses, decreasing property values and poor test scores."

The Select Board has acted to ensure that the Police Department funding is somewhat protected in order to maintain public safety and prevent crime. Talented employees can only be protected if we can afford to pay their salaries. The Select Board has little control over business closings, property values, or test scores.
By law, the town must balance the budget, simply or otherwise. Dartmouth cannot thrive until the rates of growth of town revenue and expenses are reconciled. As Mr Lynam points out today, our options are limited and reducing costs for the services we want is the course that we must take. Unfortunately, the town has been slow to implement the needed change. The Select Board is going to be instrumental in pushing for that change if it is to occur. I would like to hear more from Ms. Stone on what we can do to gain long term savings.
As always, give us your opinion in comments below.

UPDATE: I hadn't been to Ms. Stone's website in a few days and have found some more information on her positions on town issues there. Links are here, here and here I have to say that I agree with most of what I see at these links. The devil as they say is in the details. As I see it, Dartmouth has to bring spending in line with revenue first and build from there.
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Mr. Lynam on change

Greg Lynam's opinion letter in today's Standard Times is spot on in my opinion. Mr. Lynam says that,

"If combining departments permanently saves money, then it must be done. If sharing costs amongst neighboring communities results in permanent cost savings, then it must be done. The core costs of providing all services must be lowered permanently, preferably without any additional back-door tax increases."

He concludes that...
...

"The irony is that those who advocate "stay the course" in the hopes of protecting these departments are, in fact, guaranteeing their elimination.The trouble with staying the course is that more of the same begets more of the same."

By more of the same, Mr. Lynam means a slow whittling away of our ability to pay for our core services. The reason is that the rate of growth of our expenses exceeds the rate of growth of our revenues. As I posted here, we have little ability to change the rate of growth of our revenues. That leaves us to reduce the rate of growth of our expenses. Doing that will require new and innovative approaches to delivering services (regionalization, consolidation, and contracting out) and increased use of information technology. To that end, I and other members of the Select Board and Finance Committee will attend a conference tonight on regional solutions at Apponequet High School. The meeting is at 6 PM and open to the public.
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OMG! How bad is it going to be.

Here is a chart of job losses during the current recession.(lightiris at Blue Mass Group)

Heckuva job, Bushie!
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Response to Mr. Raposo's letter

I am posting in response to Mr. Saul Raposo’s letter of February 9th in the Standard Times. Mr. Raposo wonders why the Select Board would take time to inquire about a settled court case. That court case, Bernier and Hickox v. Town of Dartmouth, is the subject of a Public Records Act request to the town. A citizen has made a legitimate request and the records for this case have not been provided in a timely manner as required by the Public Records Act. This is one instance of several of which I am aware where the town has failed to meet its obligations under the Public Records Act. I believe that to be a legitimate area of concern for the Select Board. Additionally in this particular case, the town paid out funds to settle a case against the advice of the Town Counsel and the insurance company which is an odd circumstance at best. If the records have been kept in good order, it is a simple matter to resolve. That does not appear to be the case.
Mr. Raposo goes on to question why the Select Board did not renew Mr. Gagne’s contract. The simple answer is that a majority of the Select Board wants new leadership in the town. Under our Town Charter(MS Word format), the Special Act that created the position of the Executive Administrator, and Massachusetts General Law, that decision is a prerogative of the Select Board.
A better question is ...
...why did Mr. Miller, Mr. Carney, Ms. Dias, and others on a preceding Select Board include automatic renewal language in the contracts of a few town employees? These contracts were not up for renewal at the end of the term of an existing contract, but some were renegotiated 8 months after new contracts had been signed and 28 months before those contracts were up. The automatic renewal clause has the effect of making the contracts perpetual and prevents the Select Board from exercising their prerogative under the Town Charter, section 4-4(webpage), to appoint an Executive Administrator of their choosing.
Several attorneys have commented on the contract renewal clause and felt that it is not in the interest of the town to have that provision. In fact, the Select Board of Miller, Carney, Dias, and others were warned by the attorney who drafted the contract language that it was not a good idea. Attorney Bartulis wrote, “While I have made the requested changes, I want to point out that I am concerned about the indefinite automatic renewals.” Attorney Savastano has advised the Select Board that “It is clearly against the best interest of the Town to allow these employment contracts as currently written, with the renewal clause included, to remain effective in perpetuity.” Attorney Daniel C Perry said in a letter to the Standard Times, “I apologize to Anthony Savastano, whom I respect, for disagreeing with him publicly, but I think it is important to defend the prerogative of the selectmen to ignore contractual arrangements made by their predecessors that are unlawful”. Attorney Greenspan said, “The automatic or self renewal clause contract could be in violation of the Town Charter”. So why was this automatic renewal added to contracts that were not up for renewal? I think that answer is obvious. Mr. Carney said in a letter on December 11, 2008 in the Standard Times, "In fact, the clause was adopted, in part, to preclude an action such as the one currently underway not to renew Mr. Gagne's contract."
Focusing on the financial stability of Dartmouth, as Mr. Raposo recommends, includes making changes to the personnel and structure of the town departments. Unfortunately and to the detriment of the town, the previous board acted to make that more difficult. The irony in this circumstance is that Mr. Raposo sees none when he criticizes the current board for the difficulty created by the former one.
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Blue Mass Group post about FY10 cuts

Link to the post here Our Governor has proposed revenue from taxes that are not enacted and stimulus that may not materialize. These are really ominous developments on the state budget front.

And here is the other shoe dropping.
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Women CAN Rock!

Jefferson Airplane with Grace Slick. They rocked.


White rabbit
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Support your local farmer

Ever wonder what has been sprayed on your food or worried about produce from far off places? You can find a lot of locally produced foods that are better tasting, fresher and better for you.
UMass Dartmouth and local farms have a website for the Southeastern Massachusetts Agricultural Partnership (SEMAP) which provides information on where to find locally grown or harvested food. They also have information on community supported agriculture and many other things. Check it out here.

Mangi bene, viva bene.
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Potential for regional services

I have been thinking about which town services have the highest potential for saving by being provided on a regional basis. Right now, I think that there are opportunities for savings in animal control, police dispatch, health inspection, building inspection, Council on Aging, schools, student transportation, and conservation. I am going to a regional meeting on Tuesday at 6PM at Apponequet High School sponsored by the Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District (SRPEDD) ...

to discuss regional solutions. I hope to be able to garner cooperation and start discussions with representatives of regional towns.
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Greg Jones for School Committee

Mr. Jones has a website here laying out his positions on school issues.
Mr. Jones and I disagree on some school issues but I think he has a sincere interest in improving Dartmouth's education as does his opponent, Mr. John Nunes. Mainly our disagreements center on the whole child concept of education and his contention that Required Net School Spending (RNSS) is some sort of austerity budget.
According to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE, formerly the Department of Education) website ...

... on the foundation budget from which RNSS is calculated,

In Massachusetts, the definition of an adequate spending level for a school district is called its "foundation budget." It is a statistical measure that was developed by a group of superintendents and an economist in the early 1990's. They developed a "model school budget" which quantified "for the average school district what constitutes an adequate-but not excessive-level of funding."

I think it is important to note that the RNSS level is for an adequate level of funding. You can get an idea of how that funding is determined at this webpage and here.
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Motion for injunction

The Motion of Preliminary Injunction filed in Superior Court by Mr. Gagne can be found here. The hearing is scheduled for February 12th at 2 PM in Courtroom 1 of the Fall River Superior Court. The Answer and Counterclaim to the original suit seeking declaratory judgement ...

...is much lengthier and I am having trouble scanning the document so I will leave it at the above motion.
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Friday dose of Dylan

I really like the guitar riff on this one.


Don't hate nothin' at all except hatred.
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Executive Administrator files countersuit

Curt Brown's article on the countersuit by Executive Administrator, Michael Gagne, against the Select Board can be found here.
Basically, Mr. Gagne is seeking a preliminary injunction seeking to require the Select Board to rehire him. The basis of the argument is whether or not his contract is legal and binding. The Select Board's suit says it isn't and asks for a judgment that says so. Mr. Gagne's suit says it is and ...

...seeks to force his retention.
The Superior Court will hear arguments on the case on February 12th. Perhaps we will have an answer then.
I intend to post Mr. Gagne's complaint on this blog. I have to scan in the pages and it is somewhat lengthy. I will post a link to it when I get it done.
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DPW funding for FY10

The Director of the Department of Public Works(DPW), Mr. Hickox, gave a very good presentation last night on the effects of a 15% reduction in the overall budget of his department. Mr. Hickox pointed out that the reduction would result in the 7 fewer employees and would severely impact the capability of the highway and construction divisions. He noted that the roadways and bridges in Dartmouth represent the largest asset of the town and that failing to maintain that asset can result in higher costs in the future.
I agree with the assessment ...

... that road maintenance has to be a high priority. Maintaining what we have will prevent the need to replace road surfaces at a much higher cost. I also agree that the budget reductions in the highway and construction divisions would hurt their ability to function effectively. A 15% reduction in the DPW budget would cut over $400K from that department. Mr. Hickox needs to restore about $260K of that $400K to maintain the current staffing of the highway and construction divisions. The Select Board voted to decrease the reduction in the DPW budget by that $260K amount.
That reprieve may be short-lived depending upon the outcome of collective bargaining with the town employee unions. The FY10 budget does not include any money for wage and salary increases. If increases are negotiated, the funding for the remainder of the budget will probably result in the need for layoffs.
Curt Brown has an article in today's Standard Times on this issue.
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Select Board meets today at 5PM

The Select Board will meet today at 5PM to hear from the Department of Public Works (DPW) director, David Hickox, about the effects of a 15% reduction in the DPW functions. I feel that the DPW is a core function of the town and some of the cuts to that department should be restored. That said, increasing DPW funding means cutting from somewhere else. Mr. Hickox will report on some cost saving measures that they have implemented and we will discuss what to do about the funding.
Despite news reports and my blog post, the Select Board has not voted ...

...to appoint Mr Iacaponi as interim Executive Administrator. The board will discuss and vote on that tonight, I assume.
Mr. Gagne has responded to the town's suit seeking a judgment on the legality of his contract. I will post the filing when I get a chance later today.
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Iacaponi to serve in interim

Curt Brown posts on his Standard-Times blog that Select Board chair Joe Michaaud and member Diane Gilbert have asked Finance Director Ed Iacaponi to serve as interim town Executive Administrator until a new candidate is selected. Curt reports that Mr. Iacaponi agreed to serve.
I think that this arrangement makes a lot of sense. Mr. Iacaponi is familiar with the town operations and personnel and fills in during times when the current Executive Administrator is away.
From the Dartmouth Beat blog,

Mr. Michaud said he expects the Select Board to discuss and vote on the appointment at its meeting Thursday (2/5) at 5 p.m. in Town Hall.
Mr. Iacaponi said he is willing to take on the task.

...

"I told him (Mr. Michaud) I’ll do whatever is necessary to help the town," he said. "The town has been very good to me and I feel an obligation to do my part."

I'd like to thank Mr. Iacaponi for his willingness to take on the task.
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Drums and sax-You Tube

Different beats weave in and out. Hard not to tap your foot to this.
You Tube embed after the jump


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TIF agreements de-certified

The state Economic Assistance Coordinating Council has notified American Medical Instruments and A&R Machining that the Economic Assistance Coordinating Council recommends decertification of the Tax Incentive Financing (TIF) agreements with the companies. The de-certification would result in the revocation of the TIF. The businesses had until January 30th to appeal the decision. Click here to read on!

Town files appeal in Voke suit

The Superior Court allowed the motion to dismiss by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE, formerly the Department of Education) on the complaint filed by the town. The allowance means that the Superior Court has dismissed the case which challenged the funding formula used to determine Dartmouth's Voke assessment. The town has appealed that decision to the Court of Appeals on January 27th.
I disagreed with this decision to appeal since I am certain the state will pursue the case to the highest level. Essentially a win for Dartmouth would overturn the Education Reform Act and throw school funding into chaos. The DESE obviously will go to great length to avoid that. Even if the town did prevail, it is likely, in my opinion, that the General Court would ...

...pass legislation that restores the current funding scheme.
The most the town could hope to gain is the difference in funds between the old formula and the new one for the past few years. While that is not an insubstantial sum, perhaps several million dollars, the cost of the appeals is high as well.
What are your thoughts?
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State Education Secretary visit

State Education Secretary Paul Reville was in Fairhaven yesterday and talked with local school administrators. The Standard Times article on his visit is here. The Standard Times reports,

"Mr. Reville had given his audience of about 80 a rundown of Gov. Deval Patrick's "Readiness Agenda for the 21st Century," and spoke at some length about regionalization in response to the budget crisis."

and ...

...

Mr. Reville said that school districts should "take advantage of the crisis to make long-term, systemic changes,"

Areas where he thought savings could be realized were purchasing, cafeteria operations and other back-office functions.
The state has urged districts with under 5000 students to regionalize. This makes a lot of sense since administration costs can be shared and the state pays a large portion of the transportation costs for regional schools. The Secretary is quoted in the Standard Times,

"Massachusetts has 328 school districts, 391 on paper, for 1 million students," he said. "Maryland has 24 school districts. New York has one. I think the right number is somewhere between 1 and 391."

If Dartmouth and Westport schools entered a regional arrangement, the savings in transportation alone would probably be over $3 million. Add to that the decrease in administrative costs and there would be a lot more money for classroom instructors and curriculum. I think it is an idea worth pursuing.
Changes such as these must be driven from the School Committees. The school administrators are not going to volunteer to reduce their numbers.
Mr. Reville also advocated for charter or hybrid schools which is an idea that I support. Dartmouth has two idle school buildings which would be good venues for a charter school.
How do you feel about regional or charter schools for Dartmouth?

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Navigator-The Pogues

This Irish band is a favorite of mine.
You Tube embed after jump


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Short answers to rumors

"No."
Mr. Steve Sharek's response when asked if he would be the next Dartmouth Executive Administrator. See Curt Brown's blog post here.

What other rumors would you like to get a short answer for? Let us know in comments.
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New Bedford mayor asks for pay, benefit cuts

Mayor Lang in New Bedford has asked the city's employees to take voluntary pay and benefit cuts in order to avoid what he called "massive" and "devastating" layoffs. The mayor called upon the employees to make "collective sacrifice that is required to keep our employee team intact and provide the critical services that our fellow residents deserve and require." Link to Mayor Lang's letter here
It looks like Dartmouth may avoid these kind of cuts in this fiscal year, FY09, that the mayor must complete. Next year is another matter for Dartmouth. When I ran for Select Board, I said that some collective sacrifice would be required ...
...to right our fiscal ship. I think the taxpayers have contributed with fees and an tax increase override. This year, our town employee union contracts are all up for renewal. In order to avoid wholesale layoffs, some contract concessions are needed from the employees. At minimum, no wage increases can be provided without employee layoffs. Now, as the mayor noted in his letter, it is up to the union membership to decide what happens, wage increases or layoffs.
What are your thoughts?
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Five Man Electrical Band-Signs

Here's the Five Man Electrical Band from 1970-Signs
You Tube embed after the jump


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No Select Board meeting tonight

The Select Board will not meet tonight. We will met on Thursday

See you then
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Mosquito spraying exclusion

From the Standard Times article today.

Although it is too early for mosquito season, the Board of Health wants residents to know that those who wish to have their property excluded from the ground application pesticide spraying that Bristol County Mosquito Control Project administers can complete a Mosquito Spray Exclusion Form, available at Town Hall.

...

...
Link to full article here
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Interesting seminar on the global economy

I received an email link on a seminar by Chris Martenson called the Crash Course. You can follow this link to view it. While I don't agree with all the points brought out in the presentation. There is a lot here to consider and think about. I haven't really digested all the points ...

...and will probably have to view this a few more times.
The presentation is lengthy but is broken up into short session.
Let me know what you think!
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Football contest today

I understand that there will be a football contest this evening. Being a Western Pennsylvania native, I have a rooting interest in one of the teams. If you can't guess which one, listen to the You tube video below
You Tube embed after the jump



Here we go, Steelers! Here we go!
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