Letter to the Editor,
Thank you very much Westfield News for all you have done to allow the residents of Westfield to hear directly from the candidates. The forums and news coverage have been excellent and very much appreciated by the candidates and the residents.
To the residents of Westfield:
It’s been an honor to serve as your independent, fiscally conservative, common-sense voice on the Westfield City Council.
I am willing to serve again. I am asking for your VOTE on Election Day – Tuesday, November 3rd, and your involvement in the future as we work at addressing some of the challenges faced by the City of Westfield. I’ve answered a few common questions below, and have offered a few opinions on various topics that you have told me are important.
Why am I running for office again?
I believe Westfield is a wonderful place to live, work, and play. However, we can certainly be better. Status-quo isn’t good enough. I believe that in order to get better we have to honestly assess where we are, where we are going, and the opportunities and obstacles that we face. We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them. I am quite concerned about the long-term financial projections for Westfield. We can’t keep deferring hard decisions, nor keep pushing our debts and snowballing obligations onto future taxpayers. I believe we need a truly balanced realistic sustainable budget with appropriate spending priorities. I’m willing to share information publically, avoid the business as usual behavior, be outspoken, and take some heat in order to improve the long-term outlook for our hometown. I believe that I have the skills to understand and explain these problems, and that by working with other councilors and hard- working taxpayers, we can start to solve these problems in the coming years.
Who am I?
I’m married with two active boys. Like many of you, I’d like to make sure we leave our world and community in better condition than we found it. I’ve been self-employed and have owned small businesses for 20 years. I’ve been quite successful, but I have also faced many challenges and have learned some things the hard way. I have a positive realistic outlook, and try to do what I can every day to make a difference.
I’ve earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering & Computer Science from Northeastern University and an MBA from Western New England College. I’m a life-long learner and spend time every year enhancing my knowledge and skills. I’m active in Chambers of Commerce, the UMASS Family Business Center, and other business organizations.
I have extensive experience dealing with government agencies from small cities and towns to giant state-level organizations. My company and I have developed computer systems and websites that have improved government services and/or reduced operating costs.
I’m politically independent, but fiscally conservative when it comes to spending or committing taxpayer dollars. I’m liberal on several social issues. I volunteer hundreds of hours every year for non-profits, youth programs, and community service projects. Historically, I’ve donated more than 1?2 of my gross City Council salary every year to worthy causes such as: Westfield Public Schools, Junior Achievement, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Boy & Girls Club, Noble VNA, Park Square Beautification Fund, and many other programs.
Game-changer
The other night someone came up to me and called me a “game changer”. This was right after the vote about sex offenders living near schools. I hadn’t thought much about that in the past, but I think that description fits me. I’ve made a big difference in many areas in Westfield. I’ve done a lot of work and taken a lots of stands that have changed the way the City Council has approached some things, and certainly the way City Hall interfaces with the City Council. Not everyone likes 100 percent of what I do, but in looking back, I’ve accomplished a lot, and I hope that even if you don’t agree with 100 percent of what I’ve done, you recognize the benefit of having a game changer on your team instead of a rubber-stamper.
Discussion of key topics
Taxes
You have made it clear that you are not happy with never-ending tax increases and especially with the city’s choice of
how some of the tax money is spent. You have told me that you’d like to see different priorities and a more prudent use of funds.
Unfortunately, and honestly, the level of recurring increases in costs (mostly labor contract related), and the level of debt and obligations has made it almost impossible to cut taxes without receiving major increases in “new development” or state and federal aid (NOTE: the budgets referred to in this document already assume the MAXIMUM allowable Prop 2 1/2 tax increase, healthy new development, and realistic increases in state aid – and we’re still tens of millions of dollars short each year meeting our obligations).
The mayor was predicting a large tax increase (maximum allowed by law) when preparing the 2016 fiscal budget. It called for a 3.75 percent increase in property taxes, $300,000 in new hotel and meal taxes, and an over $1.8 million draw from the city’s savings accounts. The council made a few budget cuts, and temporarily reduced the appropriation for the city employee’s health insurance, but even with that, and with a MAXIMUM tax increase, the budget is still short by over $1.6 million. And worse, the budget did not include several known regular operating expenses that we know we are going to be asked to fund later in the year. We need to stop this, and we need to live within our means.
Roads
You want the roads fixed and properly maintained on a regular basis. You have told me that you’d like to see more money allocated to this on an annual recurring basis. I’ve been trying. State funds have not been keeping pace with inflation, and the mayor and his administration have chosen other priorities when preparing the annual budgets. Some of the revenue from Chapter 90 and supplemental state aid was used on the rail trail. Excise tax revenue has been used for non-road city operating expenses. We need to develop a realistic medium and long-term plan to address this critical issue.
Schools
You have told me that you’d like to see our schools improve in measurable ways. The school budget is growing faster than our ability to raise funds. The school department depends on state aid for about 60 percent of its operating funds – only 40 percent comes from the city. State aid has been flat for several years (last year it only went up by $111,000). The city cannot make up for the lack of proportional increases in state aid without cutting other departments or reducing staff or programs. We all want great schools, but we have to find ways to operate within our budget constraints (60 percent state aid, 40 percent city, and Prop 2 1/2).
Deficits
The current mayor has regularly operated with deficit budgets. This burdens you and future generations. We have to learn to live within the budgets, and we need councilors who will force the mayor and city government to do this.
Unfunded benefits
The city currently owes workers over $250 million in benefits (net present value). If we pay this over time, the cost will approach $1 billion. This will severely burden, and maybe even bankrupt, the city (as seen in other parts of the country). We have to address this problem ASAP. We can’t keep deferring the hard choices.
Lack of maintenance
The city has deferred regular necessary maintenance of properties and buildings. Mayor Knapik and the City Council have taken steps to restore many of these facilities using new debt. This is costing us tens of millions of dollars. We should now make sure that our annual maintenance budgets are sufficient to protect and maintain these facilities.
Unrealistic assumptions
The mayor’s budget forecasts assume never-ending growth in the tax base. This is impossible. Eventually we’ll run out of land, and/or tax residents and businesses so much that they’ll abandon Westfield.
Claims about cutting waste
Many of you, and many candidates, and certainly I and the rest of the councilors would like to see waste reduced and efficiencies improved. There certainly are areas that can be improved. But, honestly, over the years, many budgets have been trimmed significantly. We are trapped by multi-year contracts, state and federal mandates, and two-year terms that make it very hard to make substantive changes. There is still room for improvement, but the amount of money that can be saved is nowhere near enough to cover our needs. Major efforts in other areas are needed in order to achieve a sustainable realistic budget.
Pension funding
The city is using unrealistic compounded returns on investment when calculating the amount of money the city and workers need to contribute to the pension fund. You, the taxpayers, are stuck paying for the shortcomings in the long-run.
Turning fields into factories or warehouses I’m a big fan of open space and feel that our farms and greenspaces are great assets for our city. They are an important part of the character of our town. Residents of the North Side of town do not want more large buildings and higher traffic volumes near their homes and on streets that were never designed for that. I know a lot of people think we have huge opportunities for development near the Airport and in Wyben, but there are many negative consequences to development and I hope we take all of those into account before we pursue projects that negatively affect the quality of life for residents.
Separate but equal branches of government
It’s in your best interest to have two separate but equal branches of government in Westfield. A checks-and-balances system is necessary to ensure that money is spent appropriately, and the city policies and laws are fair for all. I’m thrilled to see so many new candidates running for office and serving on the many boards and commissions. During the candidate forums, a few candidates talked about “getting along” and “presenting a common opinion”. That’s not why we have a city council. Many of you have told me that you are tired of the same old thing, and tired of initiatives getting rushed through seemingly without any review or oversight. You don’t like back-room politics. City Councilors are supposed to be an independent branch of government made up of individuals – not parties, and we’re each individually supposed to do the work necessary to reach our own opinions. We don’t need rubber-stamping.
Economic development(growing our way out of our financial problems)
A few council candidates have discussed “growth” and the “vibrancy” of downtown as a solution for our financial problems. These are two different issues. Vibrancy can be accomplished by opening new restaurants and shops downtown, but those businesses pay relatively low taxes. We need several big businesses like Gulfstream’s new $20 million facility every year just to keep up with growing expenses – we need even more if we want to pay off our debts and obligations anytime soon. To suggest that a “vibrant” downtown can solve our financial issues is not accurate. There won’t be enough new tax revenue from these downtown businesses. If anyone claims otherwise, say “show me the money!”.
In closing, thank you all very much for your support and encouragement. Please make every effort to VOTE on November 3rd. Please cast one vote for me, At-Large City Councilor, Dave Flaherty. Every vote truly does matter.
Thank you,
Dave Flaherty,
Westfield City Councilor
