Dear Friends and Neighbors,
It’s been an honor serving as your fiscally responsible common-sense voice on the Westfield City Council for the last eight years. I’ve been working hard to make sure our tax dollars are spent appropriately and on the priorities that you and your neighbors have expressed to me: roads, education, public safety, infrastructure, and a more open government.
I hope you value my service, and that you will support me in the November 7th election.
I communicate with you and other taxpayers frequently by writing articles for the Westfield News and on various Internet forums and websites. I’ve also communicated with hundreds on our friends and neighbors via email, phone, and web chats. I’ve repeatedly tried to highlight the City’s true financial position and the precarious position the City is in. I’ve highlighted: spending more than we collect in current year revenues, long-term debts, snowballing obligations related to employee benefits, and the potential of the City hitting the Tax Levy Ceiling (meaning the City may not be able to increase property tax collections in the coming years as it has become used to).
I’ve taken hundreds of positions and votes with your family’s best long-term interest in mind. The financial challenges mentioned above are sometimes hard to explain, and they are also not easy to correct. I’ve spent an extraordinary number of hours each year to understand the issues and to thoroughly explore options and strategies. Those who follow me know that I’m always pressing for full disclosure of costs and sources of revenue — before we vote on contracts and other major expenses or investments.
I, and other fiscally responsible councilors, have been trying to address some of these issues for years. However, in many cases, we lack the seven votes needed on the City Council to get things done. For example, just this past June, the City Council passed a budget by ONE VOTE that calls for a 6% increase in property taxes. That’s not a typo, nor an inflated number. To balance the budget – after the miniscule budget cuts approved by the majority of the City Council – the budget relies on 6% more property taxes than last year (plus new growth). That’s unacceptable to me, and based on the feedback I’ve received from friends and neighbors, it’s unacceptable to many taxpayers in Westfield. There is a chance that the Mayor and the City Council could vote to approve a withdrawal from savings to reduce the tax increase – even though that wasn’t proposed during the budget approval cycle. I am not in favor of this given all the other issues we have. As we approach that Levy Ceiling, we’ll need to have reserved savings to give us some wiggle room to keep providing critical services. If we are not prepared, we could end up with no choice but to reduce services – like we see happening in Holyoke.
A few months before the budget vote, the City Council, again by ONE VOTE, voted to increase the tax on meals under the guise of dedicating that money to road improvements. As you may know by now, those additional funds were not used for roads – they were used for general fund operating expenses.
The City can’t continue to operate this way. We need to address the spending increases. These increases in taxes are really affecting everyone. They are particularly hard on seniors and others on fixed incomes. It’s also unfair to pass on our debts and obligations to our coming generations of children and grandchildren.
I’d be happy to discuss any of these challenges and positions with you. Please feel free to reach out to me via email at [email protected] or via phone at 413-206-9661.
If you’d like to meet in person, or learn more about me and my positions, please attend, listen, or watch the following events:
Tonight, Thursday the 19th, from 4PM to 6:30PM, I’ll be joining City Council Candidate Nick Morganelli and City Councilor Dan Allie in hosting a barbecue at Elm Street Butcher Block. Please stop by. This is a family friendly event. I’ll be leaving the barbeque around 6:00PM in order to stop by City Council Candidate Chagnon’s event at Stella’s Taproom and Grille on Elm Street.
On Saturday, October 21st, from 8AM to 12PM, I’ll be hosting “Donuts and Coffee with Dave” in the Gazebo on the Green. Again, this is a family friendly event. Several candidates will be in and out throughout the morning. I’ll have coloring and puzzle sheets for kids, donuts, munchkins, coffee, water, and juice pouches. I’ll have my giant budget board with fake money for anyone who wants to learn a bit about the city’s budget. We’ll explore where the City gets its money from, and how it gets spent (I’ve done this in the past with kids and they have a blast). I’ll also have a white board and will explain Prop 2 ½ limits and how & why your taxes can go up by more than 2.5%. We’ll start the budget discussions on the hour, and the Prop 2 ½ discussions 40 minutes after the hour. Please stop by and feel free to bring the kids. If your child is a math whiz, I’ll gladly give him or her control of the board.
On Monday, October 30th, I’ll be participating in the At-Large City Councilor Forum hosted by The Westfield News and the Westfield Chamber of Commerce. This year it will be held at the Westfield Senior Center on Noble Street from 6:00PM to 8:30PM. There is plenty of free parking. This event will be broadcast on Local Access TV and will be available for replays online.
On Tuesday, October 31st, I’ll be on WSKB 89.5FM with Ken Stomski from 8:15-8:45AM. Please tune in or watch the replay online at https://vimeo.com/channels/wskb
On Saturday, November 4th, I’ll be holding another budget board presentation and a family friendly meet & greet in a convenient location that will be announced shortly.
If you can’t make any of these events,please feel free to reach out to me via email at [email protected] or via phone at 413-206-9661. You can also Like and Follow me on Facebook at facebook.com/ElectDaveFlaherty.
These local elections are just as important, if not more important, than the Presidential Election. Everything we do locally affects you and your family directly in one way or another. Every vote counts. As mentioned above, on the City Council ONE VOTE has decided several important issues. Last election, three votes decided who made it on to the City Council At-Large. In the recent Ward Four Preliminary Election, ONE VOTE determined who came in first, and who came in second. Please VOTE on November 7th.
Dave Flaherty
Westfield City Councilor At-Large
