Courts also feeling the bite of cuts

Amber Paw over at Blue Mass Group has a post here about how the budget crunch is changing the court system. I think this is a problem but I don't have a suggestion as to how to fix it. What do you think can be done?

Jeffrey Manning wrote an article here about why it is so important to allow everyone to be represented by an attorney. He says,

This is the miracle of the Bill of Rights: To protect the individual from the potential oppressiveness of government. If we as a society are to be measured by how we treat the poorest among us, clearly, providing those accused with a lawyer to protect their basic rights as citizens is axiomatic.

I think most would agree Click here to read on!

Mid year cuts spare local aid and Chapter 70 aid

The Governor's mid year budget cuts have spared local aid to municipalities and Chapter 70 school aid. The cuts fell particularly hard upon state employees with some 2000 slated to be laid off. Other cuts fell upon school transportation, special education, early learning and charter schools, as well as social services, such as aid to families, elderly, disabled citizens, the mentally ill, and foster care.
I think that another round of cuts may be needed later in the year, but perhaps the economy will rebound enough. It has to happen quickly to make a difference since tax receipts will lag the upturn.
These reductions in school related spending is an example of the Commonwealth not being able to meet the commitments previously made to localities. These cuts will have to be made up for in local revenue but the municipalities have limited ability to raise it. That is what I was trying to point out in this post.
The cuts to social services fall upon those citizens who are least able to care for themselves, the ill, the disabled, the elderly and children. That's why I think ...

... that the legislature needs to look at increasing state revenues, even though it is not a good time to do so economically. I don't want to pay taxes any more than the next guy but these cuts result in people who have no ability to help themselves not getting help.
Click here to read on!

Police Chief retiring

Police Chief Mark Pacheco will be retiring on January 11, 2010. The Chief is an exemplary public servant and a very effective administrator. I have great respect and admiration for the job he does. Thank you for your many years of service to the department and the town.
The Select Board had been searching for a Deputy Police Chief with the expectation that the Deputy could work alongside the Chief for a year or so before being called upon to assume the Chief's job. The Chief's retirement in January changes things from my perspective and I would advocate that we start a new search for the Chief's position rather than a Deputy Chief.

As with the Deputy Police Chief, I think the search should include those within and outside the department.
Click here to read on!

Repossession blues - Dylan Friday

Some things never change
Click here to read on!

US House bill on health care reform

From the Committee on Education and Labor website, this link has the details of the house version. This page has links to the full bill as well as summaries of the bill.

We are closing in on the goal, affordable universal health care insurance.
Click here to read on!

This years 9C cuts from the Governor

Mass.gov has the information on the mid year cuts and a video presentation from Governor Patrick at this link
An itemized list of the cuts can be found here
I'll post more on the impact of these cuts as I am able to analyze the data. This chart shows the reductions in educational funding.

This is not a good year and next year will be worse, I think.
Click here to read on!

Governor to announce 9C cuts today

This post at Blue Mass Group says the 9C cuts are due to be announced today and looks at the Tax Expenditure Budget. This oddly named budget details the items which are exempt from taxes in our Commonwealth. The Commonwealth website gives this description,

most state tax codes incorporate a number of exemptions, deductions, credits, and deferrals designed to encourage certain taxpayer activities or to limit the tax burden on certain types of individuals or endeavors. Known as "tax expenditures", these provisions can have a significant impact on state tax revenues.

The amount of potential revenue in the Tax Expenditure Budget ...

... is about $18 billion. A close look at the purpose and need for each item is certainly warranted in this fiscal environment.
Click here to read on!

Joint Committee on Revenue meeting report

The legislature's Joint Committee in Revenue was in Fall River on a listening tour last night. I attended the meeting at the UMass Dartmouth Advanced Technology Center along with about 25 others. Representative Rodrigues of Westport hosted the meeting. Representative Kaufman, Senator Downing, and Representative Barrows of the Joint Committee were there as well as Representative D'Amico.
The topic of the evening was property taxes but the Joint Committee allowed comments about any aspect of taxation.
Daphne Kenyon of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy gave a presentation and took questions on property tax in Massachusetts in comparison to other states. Her data showed that Massachusetts property taxes are above the national average as a percentage of income but were the lowest in New England. She pointed out that all New England states have, so called, property tax circuit breaker laws that allow reductions for those whose payments exceed a certain percentage of their total household income. Only Massachusetts limits this tax break to those over 65 years old. Ms. Kenyon noted that the system in other states was more equitable as the age of the taxpayer is not considered. The representatives in attendance estimated that the current Massachusetts property tax circuit breaker costs about $30 million and that opening it up to all property tax payers would cost an additional $30 million. Ms. Kenyon noted that only about half those who are eligible typically apply for the relief.
Senator Downing then gave a presentation on the major sources of revenue and the major expenditures of the state and on the goals for tax policy. The Committee called upon and listened to comments from everyone in attendance if they chose to speak.
A majority of those in attendance were from the Coalition for Social Justice and spoke in favor of returning the income tax to 5.9% in order to bolster state revenue. The arguments were that the income tax was the most equitable, somewhat more stable than sales, excise or capital gains taxes, and that the state was failing to meet the needs of the citizens. Another suggestion was to increase the personal exemption to shift the tax burden away from low wage earners. The consensus of the legislators was that about $1 billion could be raised by a return to 5.9% rate.
When I spoke to the committee, I asked the Committee to consider different tax rates for commercial and industrial properties within the tax classification system. Currently, different rates are allowed between residential and commercial properties but not between different types of commercial properties. For instance, Walmart and CV Variety pay the same commercial property tax rate. I asked if the law could be changed to accommodate different rates within the commercial category although I haven't come up with a mechanism for differentiating the categories.
I also advocated for state tax increases (I prefer the income tax) so that towns are not burdened with increased costs and/or decreased revenues passed down from the Commonwealth. For example, the Commonwealth has discontinued payment for Quinn bill incentives to police officers. The town is left to pick up the state share. The Commonwealth has cut ...

... Chapter 70 school aid and other local aid. The municipalities have no means to increase their revenues in order to meet the added financial burdens even while the Commonwealth mandates our spending for schools, veterans and other expenses. Some small relief was provided by the meals and hotel local option taxes this year, but the property tax levy remains the main source of municipal revenue. Proposition 2-1/2 limits the ability of towns to increase the property tax, so in many cases the only alternative for towns is to cut services.
Mr. Roland Hebert of Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District (SRPEDD) advocated for new fees for regional rail projects in the state, including the commuter rail line from Fall River and New Bedford to Boston. He proposed a greenhouse gas emission tax on motor vehicles to provide the necessary funds. Motor vehicles would be assessed a fee, based on their size and class, when they register with the RMV. The fee revenue could be used to build and maintain public transportation alternatives throughout the Commonwealth according to the information provided by Mr Hebert.
Mr. Yawu Miller of One Massachusetts added his voice to those calling for increased revenue via a return to the 5.9% rate and endorsed a higher personal exemption on the income tax.
Fall River city councilor and mayoral candidate, Ms. Cathy Ann Viveiros asked the legislators to provide tax incentives for market rate housing in urban areas. She noted that Fall River valuations are stagnant or falling and the city's valuations are among the lowest in the Commonwealth.
Click here to read on!

Wind Turbines approved for Clean Renewable Energy Bonds

This news from Dr. DiPippo of the Alternative Energy Committee.

Hi all,
I just heard from Simon Thomas that our application to the IRS for $2 million of CREBs has been APPROVED!
The cut-off sum was $2.5 million. We are not alone in Mass as 4 other projects were also approved.
This is huge for us in terms of financing the project. Everything just got even better than Pete calculated. This means that we will be able to float bonds at about 1% to cover about 20% of the anticipated total cost, thus saving us roughly $50 thousand per year over the financing period. Now all we need to do is get a bank to take the bonds. BofA has the main bank in this market. Ed: Cover yourself with glory before you leave us!
All the more important for us to get that NSTAR interconnect study commissioned since there will now be a flood of towns seeking net metering with NSTAR and the other Discos.
Best regards,
Ron DiPippo, Ph.D.

Information on Clean Renewable Energy Bonds (CREBs) at this link.
The town is planning a public forum ...

... on the Dartmouth wind turbine project in order to inform the public. Tentatively date is the first week of December. I will publish the time, date and location when it is finalized.
Discos above is short for electric power distribution company, not nightclubs that play Bee Gees music.
Cue negative comment from Frank1 ........ Now!
Click here to read on!

Joint Committee on Revenue meeting tomorrow in Fall River

The General Court’s Joint Committee on Revenue, on its listening tour, hosts a session on taxes and municipal budgets at the UMass Dartmouth Advanced Technology Center in Fall River tomorrow from 6 to 8PM. A blog post from One Massachusetts about the Worcester event can be found here. At that meeting Massachusetts Municipal Association Director Mr. Beckwith ...

... noted that many towns are struggling with unfunded mandates — like the Quinn Bill, SPED and charter schools — that he says have become the equivalent of earmarks on communities property taxes.

This meeting is your chance to have the ear of those on Beacon Hill regarding taxation in the state.
As I posted here last month, Massachusetts is ranked 38th in total taxation among the 50 states. The Commonwealth does not have adequate resources ...

... to maintain many of its traditional and some of its mandatory functions. The question is what to do. I would like to see an increase in income tax and a higher personal deduction for taxpayers. What are your thoughts? Will you attend the meeting and what will you say?
Want to reform Beacon Hill? Find out how here!
Click here to read on!

Federal stimulus facts from Mass Budget

The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center has some more information on federal stimuluis spending in Massachusetts.
Access the information via their website

six new fact sheets on federal stimulus in Massachusetts, published Oct. 26, are available here: Total funding for Massachusetts; what has been spent in Massachusetts so far?; state fiscal relief; health care; education; and tax reductions and other direct benefits.

$17.7 billion dollars all told
Click here to read on!

Public option serenade for insurance companies

Blue Mass Group has this post and video of a very well mannered, creative, and melodious protest at an insurance company forum.
Is this the start of a singing revolution?

more on singing revolutions after the jump

The Singing Revolutions in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are a little known event in the West but are one of the most extraordinary stories in human history.
I am not suggesting the health care debate rises to the same level.
Click here to read on!

US Senate passes out public option reform bill

TPM Media has a post here about the Senate bill and Senate Majority Leader Reid's remarks.
Senate Shumer called it the best compromise in this TPM post
I am happy to see the Democrats get behind a public option. The House will definitely pass a public option and now with one in the Senate it should get to the President's desk.
As always, the devil is ...

... in the details. I wrote about the public option here and here.
In this post, I pointed out that the current system is bankrupting the country
Click here to read on!

Finance Committee chair to step down

Dr. Peter Friedman will step down as chairman of the Finance Committee on October 29th and from the Committee when his term is up at the end of June 2010.
Here is the email, Dr. Friedman sent,

Hi All,
As of Monday, 19 October I have been appointed to the position of Chair of the Mechanical Engineering Department at UMass Dartmouth. With the burden that this will place on my time, I am stepping down as the Chair of the Finance Committee as of Thursday 29 October. It is my intention to remain on the committee until the end of my term in June. The Finance Committee will be meeting on the 29th for the purpose of reorganizing.
Pete

Congratulations on your new duties at UMass. My brother, who teaches at a university, has said that faculty wars are so bitter because so little is at stake. Dr. Friedman has considerable skill bringing people together and runs a great meeting. I'm sure he'll be a great department head. He was a great asset to the town.
Thanks for your service and leaership on the Finance Committee, Dr. Friedman.

I blame Bob Carney!
I'm joking! But those who watch the fall town meeting may know what I'm talking about
Click here to read on!

Town Meeting passes all articles

At Town Meeting last night, all twelve articles before the body were approved. The warrant can be found here. The Town Meeting voted to put $1,955,000 into the Stabilization Fund. Included in that amount is $225,000 for a down payment on full day kindergarten operating costs and $630,000 for state budget cuts. This is an important hedge against the near certainty of state aid cuts for this fiscal year, FY2010.
Other items approved include $225,000 for improvements to Quinn and Cushman schools in order to implement full day kindergarten. The school department received $1.1 million dollars for capital improvements. Included in the list are ...

... video monitoring for the school buildings, improvements at the Middle school, and funds for computers and technology. Additionally, the Town Meeting provided $148,000 for school fee reduction, eliminating bus fees and cutting activity fees in half.
Other town capital improvement expenditures were approved including improvements to our streets, Town Hall, Southworth library, and the old Town Hall building next to the police station. The old Town Hall will house the DCTV Channel 18 operation soon. Funds were approved for police vehicles, public works trucks, and other town rolling stock. A request for a warehouse building to house town equipment was approved. The Sprung building will be sited behind the police station.
Community Preservation funds were appropriated for the Audubon stone barn property and for improvements of Rogers Street boat access.
Two streets, Blossom Court and Masthead Lane, and an article requiring only US made flags be purchased by the town were accepted by Town Meeting.
Click here to read on!

Operation Yellow Blitz

Dartmouth police and the Registry of Motor Vehicles are targeting drivers who pass school busses with their red lights flashing. Curt Brown's blog post about the project can be found here.

For the kid's sake, don't pass a bus with the lights flashing.
Click here to read on!

Town Meeting tonight at 7PM at High School

The Fall Town Meeting will be tonight at 7PM at the High School on Bakerville Road.
The warrant can be found at this post.
Town Meeting members please try to attend so that we can get a quorum.

I got nothing else
Click here to read on!

Globe and Standard Times columnists on our local reps

Yvonne Abraham of the Boston Globe had a column about the few Democratic Representatives who were courageous enough to vote against retaining former House speaker DiMasi. Turns out a couple were from this area, Mr. Quinn and Mr. Canessa. She quotes the two in her column,

“I couldn’t support another two years of the same suffocating leadership style,’’ Canessa said.
Quinn, of Dartmouth, said he felt “very strongly that members of the Legislature should be held to a much higher standard of behavior, and I did not think Speaker DiMasi was meeting that standard.’’

Jack Spillane has a blog post here ...

... about her column and some of his thoughts as well.
There is a movement afoot for a ballot initiative on a constitutional amendment to reform Beacon Hill. This is a link to my blog post about that and here is a link to the Fix Beacon Hill website. Help gather signatures if you can.
Click here to read on!

Spillane on the UMass law school

Jack Spillane of the Standard Times has a couple of posts on his blog about the proposed acquisition of Southern New England School of Law by UMass. You can find them here and here
State Treasurer Tim Cahill and the Boston dailies have come out against the merger.
I said in this post that I didn't know Senator Montigny's position ...

... on the matter. Turns out that he supports the law school coming into the UMass system.
Click here to read on!

Moderator seeks volunteer for Budget Director search

From Mr. Sharek

Hi Bill and Curt ... I just got a request from Executive Administrator David Cressman to appoint a Town Meeting member to serve on a screening committee that will seek a successor to Ed Iacaponi. Composition of the committee is outlined in the Town's General By-Laws, Committees and Commissions, Section 3, found below. Could you post something on your blog, asking interested Town Meeting members to contact me as early as possible by e-mail at
stevesharek@comcast.net
or by mail at 25 Ricketson Street, Dartmouth, MA 02747.
A brief letter of interest with a resume would be helpful.
Thanks. Steve Sharek, Town Moderator

continued after the jump

SECTION 3. SEARCH AND SCREENING COMMITTEE FOR DIRECTOR OF BUDGET AND FINANCE/TREASURER.
A screening committee composed of five members shall be appointed, one by each of the following committees: Finance Committee, Personnel Board, Board of Assessors, a Town Meeting member appointed by the Moderator, and the Personnel Administrator.
The screening committee shall supervise a national and regional search and recruitment program. The committee shall interview the most qualified applicants recommending no more than three suitable candidates to the Board of Selectmen. The Board of Selectmen must make its appointment from the three candidates submitted by the committee.

Click here to read on!

Beach sticker revenue and reductions

The Select Board had a discussion at our September 28th meeting about providing funds from the tax levy to reduce fees in the Park Department, beach sticker fees in particular. The Select Board made some changes in the warrant for Fall Town Meeting that would provide $52,000 for the purpose of reducing fees for residents. On last Thursday, the Park Department provided some information about what the fees are and how much is collected. I have scanned that information and posted it here.
The average revenue from the sale of beach stickers over the past three years is about $112,000 at a fee of $70. Reducing the revenue needed by $52,000

(112,000-52,000=60,000)

and just figuring a straight proportion

(112,000/70=60,000/x or x=70 X 60,000/112,000=37.50)

The new sticker price should come out to $37.50
I am sure that there are other things that need to be considered in deciding the proper cost. For instance, the number of stickers sold at $37.50 is likely to be higher than the number at $70. Selling more stickers ...

... would increase the funds collected, but that would be offset somewhat by higher costs.
In any case, there had been a disconnect in communications between the Select Board and Park Board about what was being provided and whether or not it would be available in future years. The Park Board is going to discuss what can be done for beach sticker fee reduction and report back to the Select Board.
Click here to read on!

Double shot Friday -Dylan and Rod Stewart

Forever Young


Stewart version after the jump


Wonderful, hopeful lyrics. I can't hear this song without thinking of my children.
Click here to read on!

Mass Budget totals up stimulus for Massachusetts

The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center has a new report out on American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 funds that are headed for the Bay State. The total estimated is $17.7 billion dollars. Here is a link to the full report.
This total is comprised of:

* $3.6 billion to help the state address the budget gap
* $5.8 billion in tax and related benefits to residents
* $2 billion in other direct benefits to residents
* $942 million in infrastructure repairs and improvements
* $5.4 billion for workforce training, education, research, energy efficiency and other ARRA priorities

The Mass Budget report breaks down the list above as follows;

For each item, this report:

* Describes the total ARRA appropriation.
* Estimates the total funding level for Massachusetts over the course of the
program.
* Provides the funding allocation Massachusetts has received as of Sept. 30.
* Estimates the amount of the allocation that has already been spent.
* Describes what has happened over the past seven months and what is expected to
happen in the months to come.
* Assesses whether the funds address the state’s current budget crisis.
* Describes any restrictions on funds.

Some of the categories, such as education, public safety and human services, have already allocated much the funds. Others, such as infrastructure, energy, and health care, have allocated half or less.
This is an interesting read for those who are curious about where the stimulus money is going.
Click here to read on!

UMass Dartmouth tries for a law school

The Standard Times reports here on a proposal to have Southern New England School of Law (SNESL) donate their facilities to UMass Dartmouth and become the first public law school in the Commonwealth.
This would be a real feather in the cap for Dartmouth and the UMass system. Call or write to your legislator and tell them we want this! I have talked to Mr. Quinn about it ...

... in the past and he supports it. I don't know what Senator Montigny thinks of the issue. Still it doesn't hurt to let him know that his constituents would like this law school in our town.
This merger was attempted in 2005 and failed due to opposition from private law schools and the former Governor.
Click here to read on!

Your tax dollars at work

I couldn't believe what I read in this Reuters article via TPM media.
Apparently failure is cause for reward these days. If you run a company into the ground or advocated for an unnecessary and tragic war, you get bonuses and attention.

Only the taxpayers get the shaft.
I understand why the tea party crowd is angry when I see things like record bonuses for Wall Street after a financial collapse. If only Glenn Beck focused on the corporate thieves instead of working for them, we might get somewhere
Click here to read on!

HooMee noodle factory to reopen!!! Yes-s-s-s!

This is probably only of interest to myself, but my favorite chow mein noodle will soon be on the shelves.
Wooo-hooo! HooMee
Here's a link to the Herald News article about the reopening of the Oriental Chow Mein Noodle Co.

I love those noodles.
Click here to read on!

Full Day Kindergarten at Town Meeting

The Standard Times has this article by Curt Brown about full day kindergarten funding that the Fall Town Meeting will consider. This post has a link to the warrant.
The article says that the plan is to have 4 classrooms at Cushman,

Greg Jones, a member of the School Committee and the steering committee, said there are tentative plans for 13 full-day kindergarten classes — four at Cushman and nine at Quinn.

I don't know why ...

... we would modify, operate and staff a building to get 4 classrooms, It seems to me that we have that many rooms now for the 1/2 day program at Potter and DeMello. I'll bring that up tomorrow at the Select Board meeting which will include the Finance and School Committees.
I'll let you know the answer I receive.
What do you think about this? Tell us in comments.
Click here to read on!

Feds chide Commonwealth on stimulus education funding

The US Department of Education is unhappy with Massachusetts and some other states for using federal stimulus money to supplant rather than supplement education funding. The article in Education Week can be found at this link.
The DOE memo to the states said that,

“Although this reduction may be allowable under the law, it may adversely impact the achievement of the education reforms of the [fiscal-stabilization] program,”

One possible consequence may be ...

... that further stimulus grants will not be provided.

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has warned that substituting stimulus money for state education funding could endanger a state’s chances of getting a share of $4 billion in discretionary grants under the stimulus program’s Race to the Top Fund.

In fairness to the Governor and other states, the money was not prohibited from this use. The article quotes,

Andy Smarick, a visiting fellow at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a Washington think tank, said that nothing in the stimulus law, regulations, or guidance prevented states and districts from spending fiscal-stabilization money to preserve their education budgets.

Click here to read on!

Senate candidate interviews

Blue Mass Group blog has a series of posts with interviews with the Democratic candidates for the US Senate seat held formerly held by Mr. Kennedy. The primary will be in December and the election in January.

Alan Kazhei here
Congressman Capuano here and here and here and here
(more after the jump)

Martha Coakley here
I have found one for Mr. Pagliuca yet. I'll add it if he talks to them.
Who do you like for Senator? Let us know in comments.
Click here to read on!

What is wrong with our health care system?

Stitchmd over at the Daily Kos had this post about his take on what is wrong. He is a doctor in Baltimore. In my view, this is the crux of what he said about a system that provides,

incentives for physicians, and frankly other providers, to provide more services, but not necessarily better services.

He goes on to note that,

doctors, and frankly health systems, get paid more for doing to the patient than doing for the patient.

What is being debated in Congress now ...


... is health INSURANCE reform. Do we need to go further and look at how care is delivered? Can we have that debate without references to "death panels". I hope so. What do you think?
Click here to read on!

Police department employs web and cell notification system

You can receive email or cell phone notifications about community alerts and advisories from the Dartmouth Police Department by going to the Nixle website and registering as a subscriber. Just put in your information and it will automatically send you the updates as they are entered.

Another example of the innovative use of technology. Should other departments use this service too? What do you think? Is it an effective tool?
Click here to read on!

On Line service request available at Public Works

This email tells how to access the system

Dear Mr. Trimble:

It has recently come to my attention that you have expressed interest in a web-based work order tracking system for the town. The DPW has been using such a system (Gov Q/A)internally since January of 2007. We track over 40 categories of work orders ranging from insurance recovery to requests for tree/brush trimming. This system has proven to be a valuable tool for the department. Earlier this year we added over 60 frequently asked questions and answers to the system and posted them on the website. And just recently, the department opened 7 of these work order categories...

...to the public in a portal on the town's website. This portal can be found by logging on to the town's website and clicking on the heading "Bulletin" (Bulletin Board_ from there (scroll down to see it) click on "DPW Frequently Asked Questions." This will lead you to the heading "Dartmouth Help Center." Residents can ask questions (Click on Ask Question)and post comments. They can also request work orders from the listing posted.(Click on Make Request) We anticipate that this link will be easier to find for our residents once the new website is developed.

Also, we recently posted a survey for the Board of Health on the town's website using this system's survey program. I would be happy to meet with you to answer any of your questions regarding Gov Q/A.

Sincerely,
Michelle DeFranco

Thanks for the information, Ms. DeFranco
The town should be doing this for all departments and it should be easy to access

Click here to read on!

Friends of the Elderly seeking donations

Friends of the Elderly are asking for donated items for their resale stores.
The Standard Times article with contact information can be found at this link.
There are two resale stores operated at the Council on Aging on the corner of Dartmouth and Rogers Streets.

Donations are accepted from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Call Sue Pierce or Maria Connor at (508) 999-4717 for more information.
Click here to read on!

Visions of Johanna-Bob Dylan on Friday

1965 with the Hawks in NYC


Have a good weekend
Click here to read on!

Preliminary look at FY2011 budget

The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center (Mass Budget) has a preliminary look at the state FY2011 budget and the news is predictably bad. The report can be seen here. Mass Budget is estimating the shortfall to be $2.25 billion. That shortfall follows the FY2010 cuts of $5 billion. Despite those cuts and increases in sales and restaurant taxes, the Commonwealth is deep in red ink.
Federal stimulus funds will help fill in some of the gaps ...

... as they did this year. It is not enough.
What do you think should be done? Tell us in comments.
Click here to read on!

Full day kindergarten and our foundation budget

As plans are being formulated to implement full day kindergarten for the Dartmouth schools, I was concerned that the town would not be able to afford the increased amount of local contribution due to an increase in the foundation budget. Adding 260 students will increase our school department foundation enrollment and therefore the school department budget by over $1 million.
The town is not in a position to add that kind of expenditure without requiring cuts in other areas.
As it turns out, we would not have that big an increase in required school spending. Here is why. The state has decided that Dartmouth has a target state Chapter 70 aid percentage of 17-1/2 percent. But we were already way above that percentage, so the state has been phasing in the reduction in state aid. If you are not interested in the mechanics of this reduction, skip to the next paragraph.

There is a formula for the reduction of aid every year. The formula takes the prior year required spending and adds one or two percent to the total in order to reduce the state aid percentage over several years. If the difference between the target percentage and the actual percentage is more than 10%, 2% is assessed. Under 10%, 1 percent is added. Dartmouth is under 10% so 1% additional is added each year. This added amount is independent of the foundation budget which does not enter into the calculation for required local contribution. I uploaded a page from the worksheet here (MS EXCEL format) that illustrates the calculation. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) spreadsheet can be accessed here (MS EXCEL format). I did not upload the entire sheet as it is a large file and takes up too much space on my server account. If you are not interested in the mechanics of this calculation, skip to the next paragraph, but if you look at the spreadsheet page, our required local contribution is shown on line 28) in the right hand column. Line 28) is derived from adding lines 15) 22) and 27). As you can see, the increase is independent of the foundation budget, line 8). An increase in our foundation budget increases the percentage of the shortfall on line 21), but doesn't accelerate incremental spending on line 22). If you are interested on reading further about school spending, look to this post and this and this one.
What the net result of all the calculations show ...

... is that although required school spending will grow to a higher value over time (in fact, nearly $1 million more), the yearly costs will not grow more than the incremental adder that progresses Dartmouth toward that goal. In short, we will end up at higher required school spending 10 years from now, but the yearly increase won't be $1 million all at once. It is more like $280,000 each year. That is good news. The town could implement a full day kindergarten and not have a whopping big increase.
Having said that, there remains the unfortunate fact that the required school spending increases over time will take a greater and greater percentage of the town's budget and cannot be sustained. Mr. Lynam has pointed that out for some time. That is another problem for another time.
Click here to read on!

311 systems for customer service

There are technologies available that allow government to receive, track and monitor citizen inquiries and complaints. These systems know as 3-1-1 or Call Resource Management systems provide a single point of contact for calls to a government from citizens seeking information, reporting problems, or making a complaint. The system creates a record of the call that is routed to the appropriate department for resolution. The action taken is recorded in the system and allows leaders and managers to assess the efficacy and timeliness of responses. This helps identify problem areas ...

... and insures follow up on citizen requests.
I would like to see Dartmouth move to this model of service. I think it has shown that it can improve services and reduce costs.
Here are some resources that you can review about this type of program. What do you think? Is this type of program the right choice for our town?
Click here to read on!

Where do our premiums go?

WellPoint sues Maine to guarantee profits.
Watch it!

Folks, we are being looted for corporate profits.
(More after the jump)

Folks, we are being looted for corporate profits.
How else do you explain these spending numbers.
Total spending on health care, per person, 2007:
United States: $7290
Switzerland: $4417
France: $3601
United Kingdom: $2992
Average of OECD developed nations: $2964
Italy: $2686
Japan: $2581
Click here to read on!

Registry adds more services online

The Fall River Herald News reports here on the effort by the Registry of Motor Vehicles to increase the number of services available to customers on line. Our Commonwealth does a pretty good job of making information and services available via the Internet ...

... and can serve as a model of what can be accomplished.
I hope that Dartmouth can expand on that theme. There is currently an effort underway to revamp the town's website to create a Virtual Town Hall.
Click here to read on!

Governor to reveiew revenues and look at mid year budget cuts.

Governor Patrick's administration is meeting Friday to review the reviews so far this fiscal year and to discuss possible mid-year budgets cuts, called 9C cuts, as the revenues are far short of projections. Judy Meredith over at Blue Mass Group has a post on the shortfalls here. She notes that the Governor may ask for authority to cut beyond the executive branch agencies.
In past recessions, state revenues have lagged the recovery ...

... and the deepest cuts were made after the recovery was well underway. This is due to the fact that tax receipts lag the upturn as filing and payments are not due to the following quarter or year. I am not sure that we have even seen the bottom of the recession yet, so we may be in for some very lean times.
Click here to read on!

Leaf and yard waste pickup.

Leaf pickup will be on the Fridays of Oct. 23, Nov. 6 and Dec. 4 for those residents who have their solid waste pickup on Mondays or Tuesdays and on the Fridays of Oct. 30, Nov. 20 and Dec. 11 for solid waste pickup on Wednesdays or Thursdays.
Pickup begins at 7 a.m. and is for residents participating in the pay-as-you-throw program. Leaves, grass clippings and dead plants must be placed in biodegradable plastic eco bags or biodegradable paper bags or left in barrels or corrugated boxes. These containers will be emptied ...

... and left at the curb. Leaves, grass clippings, weeds and dead plants in regular plastic or paper bags or left with regular household trash will not be picked up.
Leaves can be brought to the transfer station. A transfer station sticker is required. Hours for the leaf compost area are 7:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. weekdays and 7:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. on Saturdays. This schedule is subject to change without notice. For more information, call (508) 999-0740
Click here to read on!

The Corrs- I never really loved you anyway

The Corrs from Dundalk, Andrea, Caroline, Sharon and Jim


Those are some bonnie Irish lasses.
Click here to read on!

Budget and Finance Director to retire

The Director of Budget and Finance for the town, Mr. Ed Iacaponi, has tendered his resignation effective January 4, 2010. Mr. Iacaponi has served over the past several months as Interim Executive Administrator as well. I want to thank Mr. Iacaponi for his long and capable service to the town. He will be missed.
Ed told me that his wife has been retired for several years now and he is "not going to miss the evening meetings" with various town boards. No reflection on those who serve on the boards, just the timing.
Ed tells me he is not going anywhere and can be available part time ...

...if needed to help in transitioning to a new employee. He also said, that a bond issue due to be floated in February, might be an area that he could give some guidance.
Once again, thanks Ed for your service and contribution to Dartmouth for these many years.
Click here to read on!

Yet another reason for health care reform

The Herald News has this story about retiree health care benefits. As I have said in previous posts, the health care system we have is not sustainable.
The fact is that our system is too expensive and does not cover everyone.
The only question is how to reform it, ...

... not whether it needs to be done. What do you think are the right measures?
Click here to read on!

Lawsuit filed in Dartmouth fatal shooting

The Standard Times article about the suit is at this link.
This is a tragic situation for everyone involved in my view.
The investigation into the circumstances by the District attorney is incomplete and now with this federal suit, it is not appropriate for the town or myself to comment on what happened.
I am taking the rare step of disabling comments to this post ...

... and I ask readers to refrain from commenting elsewhere. Let the facts come out and please be sensitive to all parties involved. Thanks.
Click here to read on!

Change Beacon Hill

Chris McKeown over at Blue Mass Group asks the question,
Isn't it time WE fix Beacon Hill?
His suggestion is a constitutional amendment to change the way that the legislative leaders are chosen to a secret ballot, limit the appointing powers of those leaders, and turn over committee assignments to a Committee on Committees which would also act by secret ballot. The whole idea is to give individual legislators more power at the expense of the House and Senate leaders. Will you help gather signatures to get this reform on the ballot? Go to the link in the block below and learn how to do it.

Now is the time--and the opportunity is ripe to fix Beacon Hill, once and for all. But, success will take many Massachusetts residents to be willing to download a petition kit and gather 100 signatures (just a few hours work).

Simply put, Fix Beacon Hill (FBH) is a non-partisan, grassroots organization formed for the sole purpose of restoring deliberative, representative democracy in our legislature. We can only do this through a constitutional amendment. FBH is not backed by, or affiliated with, any political party, industry association or lobbying group. Our mission is simply about re-establishing the deliberative, representative democratic process that our framers intended for the legislature; ensuring that all individual legislators have a voice in our legislature.

This sounds like a good plan to me. Let us get the signatures and get it done.
In addition to the above changes, ...

... the amendment provides that,

d) Neither chamber shall exempt itself from Massachusetts’ open meeting laws
e) Both chambers shall establish and publish detailed line item budgets for the operation of their chamber.

Further good policy in my view. We can get this done with your help. Read the amendment here
Chris also suggests these as ways to further this goal

Commit to getting 100 signatures
Commit to enlisting friends/family to do the same
Voice your support with your legislators
Volunteer to gather signatures at your fall Town Meeting or Town/County Fair
Reach out to any media contacts you have
Contact your local newspaper for a story
Donate to the cause - any amount helps
Give a presentation to local fraternal group(s)

What do you say? We all complain about Beacon Hill. Here is a concrete way to change it.
Click here to read on!

Friday, Time for more Dylan

Did I hear someone tell a lie?
Did I hear someone's distant cry?
I spoke like a child; you destroyed me with a smile
Click here to read on!

Hyperbole on Health Care Reform

Both Democrats and Republicans have engaged in a lot of hyperbole about health care reform and what it is and is not.
The latest salvo is from Democratic Congressman Grayson, who said that the Republican plan is, Don't get sick and if you do die quickly.
Of course, the Republicans have been invoking the Grim Reaper to characterize the Democratic plans all along.
The only ones happy with the stalemate are insurance companies.
E. J. Dionne, Washington Post columnist and Fall River native, points out in this column that despite widespread public support and the existence of Medicare and Veteran's Administration health care plans ...

...which go far beyond the present proposals, the debate has not focused on the issues but on ideology.
As I see it the issues are twofold, the US pays way to much for health care which threatens to bankrupt our citizens, companies and government, and secondly, we have millions who are uninsured or underinsured leading to necessary suffering and deaths.
The public option is a way to lower the costs of health care and to insure a greater percentage of citizens. That simple. These should be the terms of the debate.
Do we need to lower costs? No question. How will we do it?
Do we have a moral obligation to care for the sick and reduce suffering? I think so. How do we get that done?
Click here to read on!

Regional landfill loses commercial customer

From Mr. Lynam, who serves on the Refuse District board for Dartmouth and is a member of the Finance Committee,

The Greater New Bedford Regional Refuse District, of which we are half owner, has lost its second largest commercial hauler of waste. This has resulted in the loss of nearly $1.5 mil in yearly revenue - 28% of our commercial income.

Background:
Every two years we go our to bid for commercial tonnage to defray the costs of owning and operating the Regional Land Fill. This round of bidding was for the calendar years 2010 & 2011.

The District Committee has restricted the commercial tonnage to 48,100 tons / yr., a figure designed to extend the land fill's life to the maximum extent while holding the costs to both Dartmouth and New Bedford to reasonable levels. Our second largest largest customer, ABC, failed to bid. Apparently Bourne's land fill operation is under fiscal stress and as a result Bourne offered a rate of around $45 / ton to ABC over a two year period. This rate is in contrast to our market competitive rate of $71 / ton for 2010 and $73 / ton for 2011.

The loss of this major customer represents 21,000 tons / yr or about $1,448,400 { 28% } of our total commercial income of about $3.43 mil / yr . Income from assessments to New Bedford and Dartmouth along with income from methane production and other misc operations is expected to bring in another $1,460,800 as budgeted for FY10. { Dartmouth's assessment for FY10 stands at $109,155 }

The question:
"How do we adjust to absorb this shortfall of $1,448,400 in budgeted FY10 revenue ?"

Solution:
Fortunately the district has been exceptionally, and conservatively, well run for many years. We have the ability to reduce amounts scheduled for reserves in several areas to include Equipment, Land Purchase and Phase #2 construction reserves. This will shave $790K off the needed amount.

Another $335K will come from line item budget reductions in the areas of Security, Legal, Insurance, Recycling, Leachate / Methane maint, Overtime and deferral of the yearly scheduled payment into the GASB45 reserve. This latter reduction is of some concern to us all, and will be one of the first areas to be reinstated should we be successful in increasing tonnage from other firms.

Toward the aim of increasing tonnage, the district has made overtures to our largest customer, Frades, for additional tonnage ...

... at the slightly reduced rate of $68 / ton. They have agreed to another 2,500 tons at the reduced rate while suggesting that they may add as much as 6,000 additional tons under this rate. This will contribute a minimum of $170K. Additionally we have held the 2010 rate of $71 / ton for 2011 as well.

We also have a 'Gate Rate' which is the rate other haulers pay that are not under long term contract. This rate was $95 / ton and currently represents only about $4,500 / yr. in income. We voted to reduce that "Gate Rate " to $75 / ton in order to encourage additional tonnage. Ongoing efforts are underway with other large haulers to fill the remaining void and we are confident that it can be done. If not, we have ample reserves that can be brought to bear. Of course the use of reserves is a short term solution that can not continue into FY11.

The FY11 operating budget will be designed and balanced assuming the total loss of the ABC tonnage.

Bottom Line:
NO increase in Dartmouth's or New Bedford's assessment is anticipated for FY10. As a committee we will reassess the situation in the first quarter of 2010 as to where we are, what progress has been made in acquiring additional tonnage and just where the operating budgets stand.

Greg

Click here to read on!

Coakley at Blue Mass Group

Massachusetts Attorney General and Senate candidate, Martha Coakley, has a brief interview with Charlie on the MTA over at Blue Mass group blog. Here's the link.
One of the points made by Coakley is that women bring different issues to the table than men do. I think that is true and that as a nation we would profit from more women in the halls of power. Currently there are only 17 women in the US Senate's 100 members.

What do you think? Which candidate for Senator do you like?
Click here to read on!