In the twelve years that I have served my constituents the members of the Westfield City Council have rarely had the courage to make the budget cuts necessary to protect us against increases in taxes. Each year I hear Councilors brag that they won’t cut schools, public safety, infrastructure, etc. Those words are political campaigning BUT the reality is that right now, we needed to cut $4 million dollars from the budget as presented by the Mayor. I assume that the Mayor did the best he could putting this FY2018 budget together and I understand the difficulty in cutting departments, staff, and other expenses BUT because we did not make significant cuts our taxes next year will rise significantly. I hope voters remember at election time the Councilors who refused to make the hard cuts needed.
For the first time ever I did not vote to pass the budget. I was torn because I do appreciate the $400,000 plus in cuts we approved BUT this was simply not enough. Obviously, it is difficult to make cuts to a budget that will affect so many facets of our city including infrastructure upgrades, schools, and personnel staffing. I was a no vote because, at the end of the day, I could not in good conscience approve a budget that would result in an almost 6% tax increase to residents.
There has been some confusion on the use of Chapter 90 funds (money the State provides to the City of Westfield for road upgrades and repair) for the Rail Trail. The City of Westfield did use over $5 million of Chapter 90 money to fund part of the rail trail construction. This money could have beenused for road improvements but was used to fund the trail. Those are the facts.
On a lighter note, the Grandmothers’ Garden Tour will be held this weekend. Tickets for the Tour of six area Gardens plus Grandmothers’ Garden are $20.00 each. The event will be held rain or shine. All proceeds from the Tour benefit the preservation, maintenance, and continued improvements of the historic Grandmothers Garden and Chauncey Allen Park. For tickets, you may go to the Garden on Smith Avenue on Saturday or Sunday morning.
City Council will hold one more meeting (July 6) prior to our six-week summer break. As always, please feel free to reach out to all of us with issues and concerns.
Best wishes for a wonderful and safe weekend to all.
Mary O’Connell
Ward Four City Council
