Dueling law school amendments in the State House

The Fall River Times Herald had an article about amendments offered to the budget that would deny state money to the new public law school at UMass Dartmouth and that would deny state scholarships to private law schools.
Here's that link.
http://www.heraldnews.com/newsnow/x932358984/UMass-Law-state-funding-targeted-by-Massachusetts-representative

Please let's all take a deep breath. Click here to read on!

Padanaram Bridge Construction 4/26 to 5/7

From our police department via Nixle

Community Message has been issued by the Dartmouth Police Department.
Wednesday April 21, 2010 12:42 PM EDT

Padanaram Bridge under Construction from 4/26/10 - 5/7/10

Dartmouth Police remind you that the Padanaram Bridge will be under EMERGENCY CONSTRUCTION (Bridge will be operational for Vehicle/Maritime Use) from Monday, April 26th - Friday, May 7th, 2010 from 630am-400pm.

Expect delays and consider planning an alternative route.

For full details, go to https://local.nixle.com/alert/1920547/.

Contact Information:
DARTMOUTH POLICE
508-910-1735

This is not the Apponagansett Bridge on Gulf Road.
Click here to read on!

WooHoo! House Budget and amendments on line

For those political junkies or policy wonks among us, the House Ways and Means budget and all the amendments that have been offered are on line. Judy Meredith at Blue Mass Group has the link to the budget from this link She also has some good insight into the process that will occur. The House and Senate leadership have stated that local aid and school aid are likely to be cut by 4%. More may be needed, we will see.
I posted the Massachusetts Budget and Policy analysis of the House Ways and Means Budget here.
It is going to be an ugly year for the state budget which ...

... makes for an ugly year in municipal budgets too.
Dartmouth has set aside significant amounts in the Stabilization Fund to help alleviate the pain but even so it will be a lean budget year.
Click here to read on!

Apponagansett Bridge maintenance closure

From the Department of Public Works via Mr. Cressman

This is related to a bridge inspection that took place several months ago. Due to the inspection weight limits had to be posted and the use of the bridge by District 1 fire apparatus had to be negotiated. This closure is to correct those deficiencies.

David Cressman, Executive Administrator

TOWN OF DARTMOUTH

PUBLIC NOTICE


PROJECT SUBJECT TO WEATHER PERMITTING
BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION

APPONAGANSETT BRIDGE AT GULF ROAD WILL BE CLOSED

Wednesday, April 21 - Friday, April 23, 2010
7:00 AM-5:00 PM

Local Detours Will Be Posted
WE ARE SORRY FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE THIS MAY CAUSE

PER ORDER OF: DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS

You heard it here first. HA!
Click here to read on!

Bullard Wellness Center at COA nearing completion, needs contributions

From a concerned citizen,

Bill,
I would like to let people know that the Bullard Wellness Center is nearing the finish line for completion. The Dartmouth Friends of the Elderly has done an outstanding job raising funds to get this project to this point. They are now in need of some $30+k to get the job done. If anyone out there is in the position to contribute to the effort, now would be a good time. They will be going before the Fincom tomorrow night to ask the town to help. I know one member personally who will be sympathetic to their request but they will still need a little more help than what they are asking for.

Remember when we were in total fiscal crisis mode and the Council On Aging/Friends went before the Select Board and said "we'll get by with our budget"? I certainly do. It's time for people to step up and help if they can. I will be making my anonymous donation tomorrow. Will anyone else be joining me?

I will make a contribution as well. This project has been a long time coming and will be a gem when completed.
As this person noted, the Council on Aging has been very good about getting by without asking for added funding. Here is our chance ...

... to say thanks for helping out.
The new facility will house the community nurses and provide services to many in the community. There has been a lot of private contribution and a little bit more will get us to the finish. Do what you can. Thanks
Click here to read on!

Mass Budget analysis of House Ways and Means budget

The General Court House Ways and Means committee released their budget today. As previously warned, local aid is cut 4% and Chapter 70 school aid is reduced. The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center (Mass Budget) has their analysis at this link.
I am disappointed that the bottle bill was not included and that the tax break for ...

... the movie industry is not trimmed. The Governor's budget took on both issues but the House has dropped them.
Click here to read on!

Credit where it is due

Our junior Senator was one of 4 Republican Senators who voted for cloture on a bill extending unemployment benefits to about 400,00 American workers. The vote will allow the measure to come to the floor for a vote. Thanks to Senator Brown for putting people over politics.

You have to give credit where it is due and Senator Brown has lived up to his pledge to be independent in this case.
Click here to read on!

New Library Director, Director of Develpoment hired.

At tonight's Select Board meeting, The Library Board of Trustees announced that they have hired a new Director of the Dartmouth Public Library, Jennifer Inglis. Ms. Inglis will assume her duties on April 22nd.
Also at tonight's meeting, Executive Administrator David Cressman announced the hiring of a Director Of Development, Deborah Melino-Wender. Ms. Melino-Wender will assist other departments in writing grants and was also appointed as Select Board representative to SRPEDD, the Southeast Regional Planning and Economic Development District.
In other business, the Select Board endorsed a request by Town Clerk Lynn Medeiros for purchase of new document management software. Ms.Medeiros also addressed the need for additional staffing in the Clerk's office, While expressing sympathy for the dearth of staff, the Select Board stopped short of endorsing adding staff citing the need to look at the budget overall to ensure the affordability of added staff.
The Select Board voted to place an article on the Town Meeting warrant removing term limits for members of the Waterways Commission and to place an article adding a municipal wind turbine bylaw to the zoning bylaws. The Waterways Commission bylaw limits members to two consecutive terms. The new wind turbine bylaw would allow wind turbines, which meet all the criteria set out in the commercial wind turbine bylaw, on municipal lands as an as of right use (i.e the installation would not require a Special Permit). I will post the language of the proposed bylaw in the near future. The Planning Board will be asked to weigh in with their evaluation of the new bylaw before Town Meeting.
The Select Board appointed Selectman Mike Watson and Executive Administrator David Cressman to the Charter Review Commission ...

... and will ask the Finance Committee, School Committee, Planning Board and Town Meeting Moderator for appointments to the nine member body. Selectman Joe Michaud and Mr. Cressman were appointed to the Bylaw Review Committee. The Town Meeting Moderator will appoint two Town Meeting members and Town Clerk Lynn Medeiros will serve on that committee. The Town Charter section on the Charter and Bylaw Review can be found at this link. Contact Moderator Steve Sharek if you would like to serve on either of these two reviews. His contact information can be found in this post.
This evening was newly elected Board member Shawn McDonald's first meeting on the Board. Thank you for nominating me to be chair. Thank you to the other board members for electing me as chair. I am honored and will do my best to live up to your confidence.
Click here to read on!

Dartmouth Moderator Seeks Volunteers for Charter Review Committee

Town Moderator Steven C. Sharek is looking for town residents interested in serving on a special nine-member committee that will review the town’s charter and potentially recommend changes in it. A review of the town’s charter is required once every ten years.
Under Dartmouth’s charter, the Town Moderator makes two appointments to the special charter review committee. The Select Board, Finance Committee, and School Committee make two each. The Planning Board makes one.
The special committee will be charged with reviewing the charter and making a report, with recommendations, to Town Meeting.
“I’m looking for bright, energetic people willing to work,” said Mr. Sharek... ... “This isn’t a long-term commitment, but it’s probably going to be a pretty intensive short-term one.”
On a non-binding referendum this month, Dartmouth voters were asked whether they prefer the existing Town Meeting/Select Board form of government or wanted to change to a Council/Mayor or Council/Manager form. Voters were in favor of retaining the current system by a margin of 57-43%. Voters in all ten of the town’s precincts supported the status quo.
Dartmouth residents interested in being considered for appointment should send a cover letter and resume to Mr. Sharek by e-mail at stevesharek@comcast.net or by U.S. mail to 25 Ricketson Street, Dartmouth, MA 02747.
Deadline for applications is Friday, April 30, 2010
Click here to read on!

Commonwelth has low business taxes and poor business environment

While the title of this post may seem contradictory, low business tax and a poor environment is what two recent studies found when looking at the tax structure in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center (Mass Budget) has this report on business taxes in the Commonwealth. The finding was that our state, with a rate at 4%, ranked 43rd among all states in business tax.
(more after the jump)

However, the myriad of tax breaks and exemptions in our code lead another study to conclude that the business environment is not that good, ranking 35th among all states. The Mass Budget report says,

"While business taxes in Massachusetts are low, the state’s tax system does not meet these criteria for a good tax system. The Massachusetts corporate tax system includes numerous special tax breaks for specific industries, such as mutual funds, manufacturing, and the motion picture industry."

The tax breaks given to industries is called the tax expenditure budget and amounts to some $6 billion. While many of the tax breaks would be readily accepted by residents as a good way to attract and business investment in the state, there are those that are questionable. One of those that I find a bit troubling is the movie industry subsidy. I think that most of the jobs created by that subsidy are temporary and the amount being provided is excessive.
For that reason, I support the Governor's proposal to cap the total subsidy at $50 milion. It appears that the legislature not go along with that.
This link is an opinion in support of that
And this one is in opposition to the cap.
I find Representative Steve D'Amico's arguments at this link to be sound and compelling.
Click here to read on!

Dartmouth Community Cleanup

The Department of Public Works (DPW) is sponsoring a community clean up weekend, Saturday, April 24 & Sunday, April 25. Groups can contact the DPW to get free trash bags and safety vests. The information is on the town website here.
Take an hour or two to clean up around your neighborhood and help to keep our town looking good.
Contact infromation for the program is (508) 999-0740 extension 208 or Email: mdefranco@town.dartmouth.ma.us

On an unrelated note, I have to acknowledge our town website. A short while ago, I was quite critical of the old site which had outdated information and was generally non-functional. The new website has a wealth of timely information. Great job by our IT department and Mike Courville.
Click here to read on!

Unofficial results at town website

The following is a link to the unofficial results for yesterday's election including all the Town Meeting representative races. The link is to the town website.
http://www.town.dartmouth.ma.us/Pages/DartmouthMA_News/0155B7B6-000F8513

Some Town Meeting representatives not on the ballot may have been elected by write in ...


... and those are not known yet. Any write in candidates that resulted in a tie (e.g. 1 vote) will be decided by a poll of all the elected members in that precinct.
Click here to read on!

Michaud, McDonald, Monteiro and Nunes elected!

The results of today's election are;

Select Board
Joe Michaud retains his Select Board seat, turning back Bob Miller

Shawn McDonald outpolled Frank Gracie

School Committee
Meagan Monteiro and John Nunes were top vote getters in a three way race which included Doug Roscoe.

Board of Health
In the closest race of the day, Lynn Brodeur received 12 more votes than Thomas Hardman, out of nearly 5000 votes cast.

The other races were uncontested. Scott Lake was elected as Cemetery Commissioner, ...
...John Haran was re-elected to the Planning Board, Rachael Charrier and Andrew Couto were re-elected as Library Trustees, Kevin Santos was re-elected as Assessor, Lisa Tavares was re-elected to the Park Board and Elaine Lancaster was re-elected to the Housing Authority.
The ballot question asking, if Town Meeting or some other form of town government was preferred, saw voters come down firmly on the side of retaining Town Meeting.

Congratulations to the winners and kudos to all the candidates. I can attest that it is a somewhat daunting exercise to run for elected office. We owe appreciation to everyone who has the temerity to place their name in the public realm for consideration.
Now it is time to put aside the campaign and find areas to work together to advance the interests of the taxpayers and residents of the town. We have been making steady progress for a while now and I am sure that we will continue to do so.
Click here to read on!

Three police sargeants and Deputy Chief appointed

The Select Board promoted three patrolmen to sargeant at last night's meeting. The officers who were promoted were Frank Condez, Scott Lake and Paul Medeiros. The appointments are conditional upon successful completion of sargeants school. Congratulations to these fine officers.
Chief Lee also noted that the patrol force is in need of additional reinforcement in the supervisory ranks of sargeant. The Chief will be asking for additional promotions in the near future to bolster that contingent and for an administrative sargeant to assist with developing training, writing grants and gaining state and national certification for the department.
The Select Board also appointed Captain Gary Soares to the post of Deputy Chief on the recommendation of Chief Tim Lee. The appointment is subject to successful contract negotiations. Captain Soares served as interim Police Chief while a search was underway for our current chief, Chief Lee, and filled the role admirably.
As was explained last night, the funding for three more sargeants will come from funds asked for in FY 2011 ...

... to fill the captains position and from funds for a patrolman position or two that is vacant. An override provided funds for 7 new patrolmen but I think one failed to get through the academy or dropped out after.
In any case, the funds needed are the difference between a patrolman and sargeants pay, not an additional employee. The Police Chief has identified enough money in the budget to make these promotions without needing added funding in FY 2011. Some of the funds are freed up by not needing to fill supervisor positions using overtime.
The department and Select Board will have a formal ceremony on April 26th to present the newly promoted officers with their new ranks.
Click here to read on!

Community Preservation project hearing on April 7th

From Mr. Baker Smith, Chair of the Community Preservation Committee (CPC),

I am writing to remind you that the Community Preservation Committee will be holding a public hearing April 7 at 6:30 PM to hear presentations and comments on the seven proposals that are currently under review for recommendation to Town Meeting in June.
This is an excellent opportunity to hear about these projects and ask questions of the sponsors. Please extend the CPC's invitation to attend to the Select Board and members of FinCom respectively.

Yours,
Buddy Baker-Smith
Dartmouth CPC

There are 7 projects under consideration for funding this year. The CPC receives funding through a surcharge ...

... on our property tax levy and state matching funds. They may use the funds for projects which provide community preservation, affordable housing, or recreation facilities. The CPC has an application process by which they vet the priojects and will make recommendations to the Town Meeting for project funding. The Town Meeting must appropriate the money.
The CPC webpage, here on the Town's website, has more information.
Click here to read on!

Keep track of state budget items with this tool

The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center (Mass Budget) has an interactive tool, their Budget Browser, which allows you to keep track of the various proposals and revisions of the state budget as it goes through the legislative process.
The application is described as,

The Budget Browser allows you to search for state budget information from Fiscal Year 2001 through the current fiscal year. It is also updated to include budget proposals for the next fiscal year as they are released by the Governor and the Legislature.

We are currently in Fiscal Year 2010. The Commonwealth's fiscal year, ...

... as well as those of municipalities and school districts, runs from July 1 to June 30. FY 2011 starts in July 2010.
The link includes a step-by-step guide on how to use the Budget Browser, a Resources & Glossary page, and an expanded Tax Revenue Information section.
This is a great tool to keep track of budget items that you are interested in. Try it out.
Click here to read on!

Town elections today! Vote Michaud and Gracie!

The town elections are today and I am supporting Joe Michaud over Bob Miller and Frank Gracie over Shawn McDonald. Regardless of the candidate you support, please go and vote today! This is your chance to have a voice in our town government.
The School Committee races have three candidates, Megan Monteiro, John Nunes and Doug Roscoe. The two top voter getters will be elected to the School Committee.
Be sure to vote the back side of the ballot as well.
Sample ballots by precinct are at this link on the town website
On the back of the ballot, there are town Meeting candidates and a non binding referendum question about our form of government.
If there are not thirteen town meeting representatives on your ballot, I encourage you ...

... to write in a candidate. You could elect yourself or a friend or a neighbor by writing in their name. Only a few votes are needed and if you get family and friends to vote for you, it is likely that you have enough to be elected as a town meeting representative. This is a great way to be informed and have a chance to vote on issues before the town.
Click here to read on!