Category Archives: Arlington

Please Vote Dan Dunn for Town Meeting

Dear Voters,

I’m running for re-election to Town Meeting from Precinct 21. I’m asking for your vote on Saturday. If you don’t live in Precinct 21, but you know someone who does, please let them know that I’m on the ballot. (precinct map)

I moved to Arlington ten years ago. Last fall I bought a house on Alpine Street and moved across town. I’ve been in Town Meeting for 7 years and a member of the Finance Committee for four years. I’ve been a volunteer on other town committees, including the Municipal Power study group, the Information Technology Advisory Committee, and a few others.

I’m a good person to have in Town Meeting. I do my homework beforehand, visiting neighborhoods for zoning articles, reading background materials for bylaw changes, and I spend dozens of hours with the Finance Committee reviewing the budget. I speak at town meeting when I have a point relevant to the debate; I don’t speak just to hear my own voice.

After every meeting, I write up notes about what happened at town meeting and publish them on my blog. A few hundred people read these notes on the following day. I provide a level of detail and context that is not available from any other source.

I’m new to Precinct 21, but I’m not new to Arlington. Please vote for me on Saturday – and please ask your friends to vote for me as well.

Sincerely,

Dan Dunn

Finance Committee FY10 – Budget Decision Delay

Black text is mostly objective, red text is mostly subjective in nature. 

We’ve had five FinCom meetings this year so far.  I missed two (out sick).  I only put up notes on some FinCom meetings, partly because of my time constraints, party because some of the stuff is just too dry to get excited writing about.  Tonight there was enough interesting stuff to write, so here goes the first FinComm post of ’09.

I think the most important thing we talked about was to not decide the budgets yet.  Ordinarily at this point in the budget cycle we’d have a bottom line in mind and a draft set of budgets that come close to that bottom line.  We’d be meeting with departments, reviewing the budgets, and getting them on target and sync’d up with general policy.  This year, we have draft budgets that reflect an increase in spending (higher than level funding, lower than level service).  The consensus is that the current expected revenues require a 1% cut in funding – our draft budget is out of date.  Additionally, there are a whole bunch of unknowns: the state has a couple different pots of stimulus money that have a real chance of affecting the town’s revenue.  There is a new chairman of the House Ways and Means committee, which makes local aid less predictable (and likely to be late in releasing a budget).  The Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) are likely to be larger because of stimulus spending.  There is a movement to increase meals taxes and return the money to state and towns.  When you look at the timeline and likely outcomes, the budgets are likely to change a half-dozen times between now and Town Meeting.

So, our plan right now is to wait.  We’ll meet with departments but not try to finalize any budgets.  Town Meeting will open.  Town Meeting will dispose of zoning and bylaw articles.  We’ll then ask Town Meeting to adjourn until late May or June.  We’ll finalize budgets in May with the departments, and then have Town Meeting vote on those finalized budgets.

We’re not locked in on this plan.  We may change our minds if other town bodies/officers recommend otherwise.  I think this is the right way to go.  There are so many variables, we’ll be chasing our tails making a budget this month.  We can reasonably expect most of the variables to be resolved by May, and we can write a believeable budget then.  I believe Town Meeting members will understand the logic.  It’s an unexpected inconvenience, but it’s the right thing to do.

In other business, the committee voted to table the vote on pay-as-you-throw legislation until the Selectmen have considered it.

The committee voted to table the Recycling Committee’s budget until after the Eco-fest so as to judge demand for compost bins.

Barbara Goodman came in and spoke to her request for home rule legislation that would, in the end, permit her to buy two years of retirement for her time as a school committee member.  The committee considered the proposal and voted unanimously to recommend against it.  There were a variety of reasons discussed.  

  • The committee would rather that  retirement benefits for volunteer positions be less available, not more common, and will not vote to expand it.
  • We should stick with the standing state law on the matter.
  • This is an example of the abuse cited by the governor’s blue-ribbon commission on retirement reform.
  • As a home-rule petition, the legislature would likely make Arlington accept the liability and pay for the additional retirement benefits.
  • Town Meeting can choose to grant a salary if it chooses, and it has not.

I made the motion on this one.  My arguments are mostly in bullet points 1 and 3 above.  In my mind, that isn’t work that makes you eligible for retirement benefits.  I don’t think that selectmen or the moderator should be elibigle either.  Pensions benefits should be reserved for full time workers, not volunteers who receive a stipend.

We heard a presentation from Jay Weinberger about his 13-year-long attempt to remedy drainage issues and water damage on Mead Road.  After hearing the story, the committee tabled the issue and asked for more information from the DPW.

We hear a report from Bill Shea of the Permanent Town Building Committee centered on the firestation rebuilds.  He wants to modify the language of the FY09 vote.  I pointed out he could do that if he got on the warrant for the Special Town Meeting, which is open tomorrow.

The Human Rights Commission was heard.  They reported on their activities of the year and asked for a level-funded budget.  We recommended level funding for them and a handful of other committees.

The minutes were approved.  A few other items were discussed without decision.  We adjourned early, at about 9:40.

More Alewife Leaking

I got an email from a fellow Arlingtonian with some video of Alewife in the rain; he’d seen my post about Alewife leaking. It’s a cell phone video so the quality isn’t that great, but the subject matter is pretty clear.

Is that column supposed to be spurting water? I can just hear Dan Grabauskas now: “If you see something, say something!” Dan, I say that Alewife is a dump.

Arlington Schools Not On Fire

Our schools are not on fire or radioactive.  They are not on a bus with a bomb that will go off if the bus slows down below 50mph.  In fact, they are not even “in turmoil,” as much as the Globe would like you to think so. Our superintendent resigned.  That’s it.  School Committee member Ron Spangler sent out an email today that called the Globe on their Chicken Little reporting: “Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.”

Ron continues on: “The overwhelming majority of the people we’ve hired to educate our children are doing just fine.  Their work in preparation for the school year is proceeding smoothly. . . . Principals and teachers are sending out their annual welcome back letters, same as always. The superintendent’s resignation will have no impact on our kids, or  their classrooms.”

I still don’t even know why Nate Levenson quit.  I’ve remarked before about how I admired his skill around the budget.  I’ll miss him during budget season.  I wonder if my opinion of him will change when I find out what his “impropriety” was.

As much as I liked him, he clearly pissed a lot of people off.  There weren’t a lot of people who were undecided about him.  He was loved and hated (in near-equal measures, looking at the last school committee election).  It’s unfortunate that there was such hardening of opinion.

Ron again: “I think the only turmoil is in the places it can do the least harm. There’s turmoil among some elected officials.  (This is new?)  There’s turmoil on the Arlington List.  (Gasp!)  And there’s turmoil in the reporting of the local media, which sells papers and gets eyeballs on webpages, but doesn’t necessarily capture what is really going on.”

The silver lining of his resignation is that it gives the town a fresh start.  It gives us a chance to let go of the conflict and abandon the battlements.  Hopefully the new superintendent can be picked in a refreshed environment – no hard feelings, just good skills and a good person.

The Weather Around Here

I like extreme weather. I prefer a blizzard to a thunderstorm, but in June you take what you can get. Check out the last two days.

Less than 20 minute shower! More than the drains could handle.
See my Tabblo

The clouds were clear, as was the radar. There was a storm coming.

When it came, it came hard – lots of hail.

It took about 10 minutes before the street was overflowing into the softball field like yesterday.
See my Tabblo

Update: as noted by Universal Hub, you don’t usually see stuff like this in Cambridge.

Town Meeting Session #9 – Last Session

I take notes during Town Meeting. They are not official in any way. As I listen to people speak, I scribble notes. I’m sure that, at times, I mishear or misunderstand the speaker, but my notes represent what I hear at the time. I then publish the notes every night after the meeting. I do go back and make a few edits as errors are pointed out to me.

I do not try to reproduce my entire notepad for this online version. Sometimes I relay a quote from a specific speaker. Most of the time I only summarize the discussion. At points I give a purely personal opinion; those are clearly labeled like this: Personal note.

The Finance Committee meeting ran late, and I didn’t get down to the Town Meeting floor until 8:22. I know they sang the anthem, because I could hear that! Any other announcements were lost. I got there in time to hear the start of Article 2.

Article 2 – Reports, continued.

  • Clarissa Rowe gave the report of the cemetery space study committee.
  • Mary Fallon gave the report of the Committee on Disability. She read the whole written report, which drives me crazy. She even said she was going to “read it into the minutes.” It just doesn’t have to work that way! The written report is there for us to read. The presentation can just give highlights. It’s much faster that way.

Article 16 – Subdivision Control. [8:33] Board of Selectmen Chair Clarissa Rowe explained that this wasn’t full subdivision control – it was a narrower set of rules. It only applies to subdivisions of 2-5 units when there isn’t enough road frontage to divide “by right.” She said it was for protecting neighbors from flooding and other problems resulting from development that used to be thought impossible, like on ledge. She said it was approved unanimously by the Board of Selectmen and by 3-1 by the Redevelopment Board. Attorney Wickersham spoke to the rules briefly. There were several questions about the workload for the redevelopment board, the waivers that might be granted, and how long the board should have to act. Clarissa Rowe tried to respond to many of these questions, and many statements that weren’t questions at all. She was just jumping up to the microphone and talking when she had something to say. The moderator wasn’t asking her to answer a question; she was just weighing in. It was inappropriate. She should wait her turn to talk, just like everyone else. Jim Doherty proposed an amendment to give Town Meeting jurisdiction over the underlying regulations. The Historic District Commission was OK with the plan. Selectman Annie LaCourt described several situations where the Board of Selectmen had been powerless to act under the current rules. [9:00] ARB Member Chris Loretti said that he liked the concept, but had voted against the text because it was flawed. He proposed three amendments. The first would extend the deadline for the ARB to act from 60 to 90 days. The second would be to limit the “grandfather” rights of developers who propose plans, then have the rules change. The third was to change the effective date of the legislation. Diane Mahon spoke in favor. She was nervous about handing the power to the ARB, and said that the Selectmen could take it back in the future if that seemed wise. Speakers against said that it was too complex, not well thought out, and thought there should be a committee study. Tommy Caccavaro suggested it was “crafty” that the DPW Director and Building Inspector weren’t present. His suggestion of inappropriate action on the selectmen’s part were unwelcome to me. I don’t understand why he feels the need to accuse people of malicious activity. Speakers in favor said it was a well-scoped plan that addressed a real problem. The question was moved [10:01]. All four amendments failed by voice vote, and the selectmen’s motion carried 132-14.

Article 47 – Pension Obligation Bonds. Treasurer Stephen Gilligan moved the language Finance Committee had just approved. Alan Jones provided the FinCom perspective. There were a couple speakers who think the whole PoB idea is a bad, risky idea and said to vote no. A couple speakers were in favor, focusing on the fact that this is only to permit special legislation, and deferring an actual decision on PoBs to the future. A motion to terminate debate failed. Adam Auster asked if this was a bylaw. After some confusion, it was determined that the conditions attached to the vote were not binding unless it was a bylaw.

Allan Tosti moved to table Article 47 [10:38]. This move saved the day, as far as finishing the meeting went. We moved on to the remaining articles while the bylaw was sorted out.

Article 30 – Margaret Spengler. Selectman Rowe gave a resolution to create a committee. Passed.

Article 46 – OPEB consultant. Allan Tosti explained this is to study ways to manage this obligation. Passed.

Article 50 – Collective Bargaining. Allan Tosti presented the new appropriations with the recent negotiations. Passed unanimously.

Article 51 – Future Collective Bargaining. Passed unanimously.

Article 67 – Local Option Taxes. No action.

Article 47, again. Stephen Gilligan made an amendment to make the restrictions into a bylaw. There was discussion of the safeguards included in the proposal. The amendments all passed. The treasurer’s text was approved, 113-14.

Allan Tosti announced vacancies on the Finance Committee in precincts 6, 17, 19, and 21. Town Counsel John Maher got a standing ovation on his retirement. Moderator John Leone got an ovation for his first year’s performance.

Town Meeting was dissolved.

Finance Committee Before Meeting #9

We met at 7:30 before Town Meeting, as usual. We had business tonight. First up was the Deputy Town Manager Nancy Galkowski, who provided updated recommendations for collective bargaining. The town had reached agreements with all but the police unions. Approved unanimously.

Dick Fanning took over to chair the meeting. The minutes of 5/12, 5/19, and 5/21 were approved. The Treasurer presented his preferred version of the the PoBs (pension obligation bonds) legislation. The FinCom version required PoBs to be approved by 2/3 at Town Meeting, the treasurer, the Board of Selectman, and FinCom. It also limited the amount to 20% of the total fund. The treasurer wanted to remove the 20% restriction and the FinCom approval. After discussion the treasurer agreed to re-insert the FinCom approval. The 20% cap is likely moot because by 2009, in current market conditions, the remaining liability will not be much larger than 20%.

There was discussion about the risks of PoBs and the effects of the legislation. It was noted that the proposed vote is only to create enabling legislation. There is no money spent, no commitment made, no risk taken on. It’s just to keep options open. The treasurer’s language was approved.

Fish Brigade

The dam between the Upper and Lower Mystic lakes keeps herring from making their run up to their spawning grounds.  Today was the second day of the “assist” of getting the alewives to the upper lake. … See the fish

Town Meeting Session #8

I take notes during Town Meeting. They are not official in any way. As I listen to people speak, I scribble notes. I’m sure that, at times, I mishear or misunderstand the speaker, but my notes represent what I hear at the time. I then publish the notes every night after the meeting. I do go back and make a few edits as errors are pointed out to me.

I do not try to reproduce my entire notepad for this online version. Sometimes I relay a quote from a specific speaker. Most of the time I only summarize the discussion. At points I give a purely personal opinion; those are clearly labeled like this: Personal note.

The meeting started at 8:03. Jane Howard played the national anthem. The invocation was given by Rabbi Brown of Temple Isaiah. The next meeting was set for Wednesday the 28th (Monday is Memorial Day). There was an announcement unrelated to Town Meeting. The Explorer Post 911, which runs the microphones for Town Meeting, announced that people presenting a ticket to the Chateau restaurant in Waltham would have 25% of their bill donated to the Explorers. Selectman Clarissa Rowe came and left during the opening, while the rest of the selectmen were absent. They were still meeting, discussing Article 16 (subdivision control). They didn’t appear until roughly 9PM. They then announced that the proposed text for Article 16 will be on the town website tomorrow.

Article 2 – Reports, continued. [8:12] James McGough gave the report on the Cyrus Dallin museum. Moderator Leone encouraged him to give highlights, and not read the report. McGough reported on restoration and building needs on the 10th anniversary of the museum. I applaud Leone for moving the meeting along like this. Last year’s Dallin report was one of the factors that really set me off about meeting start times.

Article 53 – Budgets, continued. Vice Chair of the School Committee Joe Curran introduced the committee, gave brief remarks, and then invited Superintendent Levenson to speak on the budget. Levenson described the budget as “not completely terrible.” He reviewed the gains of the previous few years and the steps that were taken this year to hold on to those gains. The steps included the use of one-time money, raising fees, and a few position reductions. [8:32] There was a question about the state’s health insurance pool, the GIC, and if the town was looking to enter it (the answer was yes). There was a question about solar panels. There were questions and discussions of “town v. school” funding priorities. There were questions about maintenance, federal grants, kindergarten budgeting, and Pierce Field rental. There was more than one comment about legal fees. There were comments and questions about educational quality. Debate on the education budget was terminated [9:09].

Next up was the insurance budget. FinCom Chair Allan Tosti provided an amendment to the insurance budget that resolved the legal question raised in Monday’s discussion of Article 44. Maher and Tosti both backed off some of the things said on Monday. There were questions about the GIC and workplace safety. Gordon Jamieson moved an amendment that would redirect the Medicare Part D funds and use a different calculation for the amount of money paid by the Water and Sewer enterprise fund. Several speakers spoke against the amendment. Manager Brian Sullivan agreed that it was time to have an auditor review the Water and Sewer offset. Ryan Ferrara pointed out the large increase in the Water and Sewer number in 2007 when the number of water and sewer employees was revised. Debate was terminated [10:02]. Jamieson said something interesting that comes to the core of the argument for me. To paraphrase, he said “we should work the five-year plan as hard as possible.” The implication of this statement is that we should explore every possibility to spend the maximum amount of money possible under the five-year plan. I disagree with this approach. The five-year plan is a budgeting tool. It wasn’t written as an airtight law. It wasn’t written with anticipation of gamesmanship or attempts to stretch it to the limit. It’s a set of guidelines, and nothing more. Everytime we stretch the spending in the 5-year plan, we make the 6th and 7th year that much harder. I don’t look at these budgets and try to wring out the maximum amount of spending. I look at them and make the most reasonable choice that I can, within the spirit of the 5-year plan and the underlying budgetary needs. Every time I’m tempted to increase a budget, I look at the budget projection for FY2011. It puts things in perspective.

Allan Tosti moved to bring up the Minuteman budget, and it was approved.

Article 60 – Minuteman High. Allan Tosti introduced Laura Morrisette, the Arlington representative to the Minuteman School Committee. She talked about the good things that Minuteman does, and invited people to get to know it better. She introduced the new superintendent, Dr. Ed Bouquillion. He spoke for a few minutes, talking about being a partner in innovation, not just education. He talked about his intent to reduce the cost of Minuteman. Several speakers praised the new direction of the school. The budget was approved. I continue to appreciate the straight talk delivered by the new superintendent.

Article 53 – Budgets, continued. There were questions about water and sewer and the rink and recreation. Jamieson’s amendment failed. The budgets were approved.

Article 44 – OPEB, continued. Stephen Gilligan moved to reconsider, and it was approved. Allan Tosti re-presented the same text from Monday. It was approved.

Article 55 – Thompson School. Voted no action.

Article 56 – Outdoor Pool Committee creation. Allan Tosti noted that the expectation was that this committee should create a zero-cost proposal, presumably an enterprise fund. After a few comments, it was approved.

Article 57 – Sewer Facility. Voted unanimously.

Article 58 – Water facility. After some discussion, voted unanimously.

Article 59 – Rescind Authority to Borrow. Treasurer Stephen Gilligan explained that this improved the town’s credit worthiness by taking this unneeded borrowing authority off the books. Voted unanimously.

Article 61 – Celebrations. After a question about flags, approved unanimously.

Article 62 – Commissions. After a comment on the Commission on Disability, approved. As has been said before, the first step to getting money is to propose a budget . . .

Article 63 – Transportation Advisory Committee. Voted no action.

Article 64 – Miscellaneous Appropriations. Approved unanimously.

Article 65 – Town Water Bodies. Selectman Rowe explained that this is still going through the legislature, and this vote is just in case it fails. Voted 110-0.

Article 66 – Harry Barber Program. Approved.

Article 67 – Local Option Taxes. Tabled.

Article 68 – Tip Fee Stabilization Fee. Approved unanimously.

Article 69 – Tip Fund. Voted no action.

Article 70 – Cometary Fund Transfer. Voted unanimously.

Article 71 – Overlay Reserve Fund. After a question on the remaining value, voted unanimously.

Article 72 – Stabilization Fund. Voted unanimously.

There was a motion to adjourn that failed. [10:56]

Article 73 – Unencumbered Funds. Approved.

Article 74 – Medicare Part D. Voted no action.

Article 75 – Pension Reporting. Tosti explained that with the recent decision by the Retirement Board, that FinComm had voted no action. After a comment, voted no action.

Article 76 – Cost of Non-Profits. The Selectmen recommended no action. After a comment, voted no action.

Article 77 – Budgeting. Voted no action.

Finance Committee Before Meeting #8

We met at 7:30 before Town Meeting, as usual.  We had business tonight.  We discussed Article 44.  The article itself is OK, but there is a modification to the insurance budget.  The change causes money for health expenses for retirees to be first appropriated into the OPEB trust fund, and then spent from OPEB to cover the expenses. It was noted that Wellesley has similar legislative language to us, and they don’t bother with this detail.  The amended insurance budget was voted unanimously.