Good morning. As I sit here trying to write this article, I am marveling in our system of government and the peaceful transition of power. One President left office and another one comes into office. This is truly one of the features that separates the United States from the rest of the World. I am proud to be an American and an active part of government. Everyone who voted should be proud that they participated. It does not matter if your candidate won or lost, it is important to be able to say I VOTED!
I was disappointed with the Councils failure to pass the Complete Streets Ordinance. The city currently follows most of the ideology of Complete Streets when designing road projects. The Planning Board is very mindful of the principles of complete streets when new subdivisions are proposed. I think that too many Councilors were wary of another State run program that had strings attached to the funding. I felt that if we are doing this anyway, why not try and gain some additional revenue for our efforts. I feel that this was a lost opportunity.
On a more positive note, the Council did pass a 5 million bond for the water department. This bond will be used to maintain and replace aging water tanks. It will also allow for the construction of a filtration plant for the wells on the north side that have been taken off line. The City will be looking to the Air National Guard for some relief. We must not take our water resources lightly.
I am proud to work with At-Large Councilor Cindy Harris to investigate the possibility of tax relief for our Senior Citizens on fixed incomes. This project will take a lot of time and effort just to see what possibilities our community can offer. Taxes are a very complicated matter and I think we will eventually need the help of Representative Velis and Senator Humason. Councilor Harris and I look forward to this challenge.
I am pleased to see that we are getting an early start to the budget process. The schools have taken the lead as they know the 2018 budget will be problematic for them. The first of several School Committee Finance Sub-committee meetings was held Tuesday evening in the auditorium at the Technical academy. In spite of the weather, close to 200 citizens turned out to gather information and ask questions. Many citizens took advantage of this opportunity to give their input. This transparent approach that our new Superintendant istaking along with the School Committee is refreshing to see. As citizens we need to come together and continue to be involved so that we can reach the best solution for our students.
The budget process for the rest of the city is not going to be painless either. Revenues are flat and expenses are up. The City Council used free cash to be in the position to not raise residential taxes this year. This was the first 0% tax raise in recent memory. I am pleased that we were able to give the tax payers a break. However,this tax break will affect the 2018 budget.
I am extremely disappointed that the State Supreme Judicial Court has decided to take the Cross Street School case for their disposition. Every time a court gets involved it prolongs the process. Granted a mistake was made with the ball field, however the process had a built in procedure to correct any mistakes made. It is extremely unfortunate as we now can start to see that not only are our students are being shortchanged, this is impacting the whole city budget.
The Mosley Street School Project is continuing forward. Domus is in the process of getting the financing lined up and hopes to be in a position to begin work in the near future. Once completed this will be a huge benefit to both the neighborhood and the city.
I would like to again thank the voters of Ward 2 for the honor of being their Councilor. I have office hours on the third Thursday of the month at 11AM at the Senior Center. I can be reached by email at [email protected]. Please contact me with your concerns.
Ralph J. Figy
Ward 2 City Councilor
