The Peabody & Lynnfield Weekly News: Transcript of Mayor Michael Bonfanti's 2009 mid-term address
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I will post the entire address in the first comment to save space on the main page of the Peabody Roundtable. Please feel free to comment.
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Transcript of Mayor Michael Bonfanti's 2009 mid-term address
From The Peabody & Lynnnfield Weekly News, 01/07/2009
Good evening:
Reverend clergy, distinguished members of the city council and the school committee, public officials, family members and citizens of the city of Peabody welcome.
I also want to welcome and thank the various city department heads, city hall staff and city employees for the great job that they do every day of the year for me and for the citizens of Peabody.
The numerous accomplishments and successes we have enjoyed this past year would not be possible without the help, support and cooperation of many others. With this in mind, I want to thank my fellow elected officials, volunteer board and commission members and other public servants who worked hard, made tough decisions and made sacrifices to sustain and manage our community.
In past years I used my inaugural address to discuss my vision for our city while the mid-term address was used as a means of reporting to the public the progress made during the past year. I will follow the same format at this mid-term.
As to our vision for the next few years - given today's economic realities it is a simple one - to hunker down and survive the economic and financial uncertainty our country, our state, our community and our people are presently facing.
Our long term vision for Peabody is optimistic -to continue to build a better community than the one we inherited while striving to lay the foundation for those who come after us so they will be able to do the same. I don't have to tell you that the unsettled and uncertain economic circumstances our nation is in, have and will adversely impact our city, its finances and its operation.
We have been through financial crises before, have gotten through them and will get through this one as well. The successful strategies we used in the past to get us through the last downturn, cutbacks in staffing and programs, deferral of purchases, the imposition of user fees, etc., will be used to help us get through again. There will be some pain and the pain will be shared by all. This pain can be ameliorated if we all work together, if we all sacrifice for the common good. All of us will have to do more and expect less. No one should expect a bailout. The only bailout we receive will be through our own hard work. To solve our problems we will also need to find new and innovative solutions to these complex problems.
We will need to implement measures like reorganizing departments and consolidating services, especially duplicative services, such as the personnel and business functions that both the school department and city now provide.
We will need to partner with others, such as with other municipalities, to provide more cost effective services and delivery systems ranging from snow removal to special education services. The regionalization efforts now being spearheaded by the North Shore Coalition is a first step in doing this.
We will need to be more effective in helping those in need by establishing a new social services response/delivery structure similar to that being developed as a result of our social services summit. Helping people get the assistance they need when they need it is essential.
We must also put the public interest first and must remember that the public pays the bills and they want value for their dollars, if the public isn't happy and satisfied, we elected officials and public employees won't be happy either. Because of time limitations and the public demand to be brief i will only highlight a few of the many successes we enjoyed during the past few years. A detailed list of our accomplishments can be found in the appendix to this speech.
Although we have accomplished much over the past few years we still have much to do. The economic meltdown has impacted the city of Peabody as it has everything else. Consequently, for us to succeed and even survive we will need to work smarter, more efficiently and more effectively. Now more than ever, we must put self interest and politics aside and work cooperatively for the common good. Simply put it is time for all of us - elected officials, unions, business leaders, the media and talking heads - to stop blaming the other guy, to take responsibility and to make some sacrifices of our own for the common good. It's time to come together and work together to solve our problems.
Despite the financial freefall that has taken place Peabody ended 2008 standing fiscally strong. Our cash reserve is approximately $10 million, our levy capacity, at $3.5 million, is the largest on the north shore and our bond rating has remained stable at AA2. Don't, however, be fooled by these statistics, we too are just a paycheck away from fiscal instability. If we are to remain fiscally stable, Peabody, like all other municipalities in Massachusetts, needs help. We need additional revenue sources and state legislative help so we can better control expenses, such as ever escalating health insurance costs.
We also need relief from ever increasing unfunded or under-funded statutorily mandated expenditures. We need responsible and sustained growth. We need municipal unions that realize we are in this together and will give as well as take.
We need citizens to realize government can't do it all and certainly can't do it for free. be assured that I will continue to advocate for additional local aid and for new tools and powers so that the city does not have to rely solely on property taxes to fund operating budgets in the future.
I will also continue to press our federal and state legislative delegations to ensure that they help us find every dollar and apply for every grant that may benefit Peabody and its taxpayers. I ask all of you to advocate through your state and federal officials and hold them accountable for their actions, or lack thereof, in support of the interest of the city of Peabody. This year we were fortunate that we were able to keep the average tax increase on residential property to $61. For fy 2009 nearly 90% of residential taxpayers will see their tax bill reduced, see no increase or see an increase of less than $100.
Although our property taxes are lower than other area communities, Peabody, like many other municipalities has had to increase property taxes over the past few years to make up for cuts in state aid, (since 2004 average property taxes increased a total of 14.3% or 2.8% annually, while net state aid only increased 8.4% or 1.4%annually), to meet rising health insurance costs and rising energy prices. Property taxes now provide 56.5% of our operating revenue. Property taxes are regressive and place an unfair financial burden on our seniors who live on fixed incomes.
One of the main reasons for this minimal increase was a better than expected increase in new construction growth, primarily from the expansion of the north shore mall. Given the lack of new revenue sources for municipalities and the continuing trend of diminished state aid, Peabody must promote reasonable growth to allow us to maintain the present level of city services and to avoid future tax increases.
For this reason, we must continue our efforts to be business friendly and to rezone our community, especially our downtown, to promote higher and better land use and to encourage business growth. I am pleased to report that although we have experienced reductions in local excise taxes and net state aid, city services have been maintained and in many cases expanded in 2008.
However, given the bleak economic outlook with a proposed 10% cutback in local aid for 2009, without new powers or revenue sources we will not be able to maintain the present level of city services going forward and will need to reduce staffing levels.
In discussing the economic downturn with union representatives during negotiations they were apprised of the impact salary increases would have on future staffing levels and chose to lobby for increases even if it meant future staffing cutbacks. during 2008 we continued our efforts to address the flooding problems found throughout our city, especially in the downtown area. The results of our efforts this year has been mixed.
We have secured substantial monetary grants from several state/federal sources along with encouragement to proceed. Meanwhile, permitting requirements and the need for additional studies mandated by other state/federal agencies has delayed progress. Self interest on the part of some area property owners and ostensibly good intentions on the part of other parties (putting smelts ahead of people) have also slowed progress. Although delayed we won't be deterred in fixing this problem.
To help the city reach this goal we are in the process of hiring a project manager (funding for the position will be through grants) whose skills and experience should help us navigate the regulatory and legal quagmire and get more shovels in the ground. why do we need to focus on fixing our flooding problem?
Until we change the perception that our downtown is always underwater we will not attract the investment needed to revitalize our community. Fixing the downtown flooding problem, rezoning the area and addressing traffic and main street concerns are all linked together, part of a whole plan to renew and bring life and vitality to our downtown. The plan is to bring back this economically underutilized area and to make it a more attractive, more livable place, a place for economic growth and opportunity.
The first step in doing this is to give the public the confidence that we will alleviate flooding. I strongly believe that the city of Peabody is doing its part to solve its flooding problem and it is my hope that with financial and technical support from both the state and federal governments we will finally rectify this long term problem. Although it won't be done overnight, with your help and with patience it will get done.
We continue to hear the lament that our community is being over developed and that we are running out of open space. I am proud to say, over the past six (6) years the city has purchased approximately 85 acres of open space including the recently purchased scouting way, 11.3 acres of pristine land in ward 4 off of summit street. Last year we purchased 40 acres of land at sydney's pond. The year before we purchased 15 acres known as tillies farm in south Peabody. We have started construction on the 4.6 mile linear bike path which will run through some of Peabody's most beautiful tracts of recreational open space. Completion of the bikeway is expected by mid-year 2009.
We are presently developing plans to build a walking trail that connects sydney's pond to both the meadow golf course and spring pond.
One of the reasons i want to redevelop and clean-up the downtown area is that it is more cost effective to do so as the infrastructure is already in place. It also makes more sense to revitalize the downtown area than to develop undeveloped land which could be used for open space and recreation. In 2008 we continued our efforts to improve our school system.
Our school budget was increased by approximately 3.0%, no staff or programs were cut and the teacher to student ratio has increased. Several major capital projects were commenced or completed in 2008, including: completion of the HVAC and fire safety systems at the high school, the installation of new windows at the center school, and the replacement of the roof at the Higgins Middle School. We also continued our efforts to purchase and install new computer equipment and upgrades district-wide.
Overall in 2008 we spent over $1,364,000 on school capital projects. Also, at the high school we are continuing our work on the ADA project which we expect to finish by the end of the summer. We recently resubmitted two “statements of interest” to the Massachusetts school building authority, or msba, for the renovation and upgrading of the higgins middle school and the center school. As a result of limited funding the msba requested we prioritize which school we feel should be fixed first.
We chose to focus on the higgins middle school for several reasons including: the types and nature of the renovations needed, the fact that a large number of students would benefit from the repairs and that we felt that the msba would look more favorably upon funding repairs to the largest middle school in the state. As both schools need to be upgraded we have taken immediate steps to make repairs at the center school totaling approximately $1,000,000, which included new windows, a new chimney, masonry work and a new boiler.
Although our request for msba funding was put on hold, based on subsequent meetings we have had with the msba, we are confident that we will receive funding to renovate the higgins middle school in the near future. I am also pleased to report that our mcas scores improved overall in 2008 and that they exceed the state average in most areas; however, i am still not satisfied with our present scores.
To improve these scores we need to increase instructional time and must continue to address the fundamental teaching and learning needs of our students, particularly those student in the sub-groups identified as academic problem areas. We need to reprioritize our goals and spending and devote more resources to improve academic achievement in these areas.
A recent internal review of student enrollment numbers disclosed a steady decline in the number of students. Student enrollments have declined by over 400 students since 2003. Of concern is the fact that the number of school employees has increased by over 50 during the same period. Based on this information, and the fact that increases in state chapter 70 aid have been minimal over the past few years and is now expected to be reduced by up to 10% in fy 2010 the school committee needs to make some tough financial decisions, including reduction in staff, consolidating facilities or ….redistricting - thus freeing up additional financial resources which we can then apply toward other, more pressing priorities.
We also need to explore being more cost effective by eliminating duplication of effort and services provided by both the city and school department. Do we really need to have two human resource, two information management and two finance departments? Simply put it is no longer financially feasible to operate in this fashion.
To help answer these questions we have hired the new england school development council (nesdec) to review enrollment figures to determine if the decline in enrollments is projected to continue. We have also established a “blue ribbon” planning committee to study how we can be more cost effective and to recommend solutions to the school committee for appropriate action. I am proud of our school system and pleased with the progress made to strengthen it during my tenure as mayor.
The appendix to this speech contains the numerous achievements and improvements we have made this past year to our school system. I am confident that working together we can build on these successes and make an all ready good school system even better. Public safety is another area where we have made measurable progress in 2008.
I am proud of our public safety people and thank them for the great job they do everyday. Unlike many other municipalities we have not laid off a single firefighter or police officer. Four permanent firefighters were hired and a permanent captain and lieutenant promoted in 2008. Six reserve firefighters were also appointed.
Four permanent police officers were hired, all have graduated from the police academy and are now on regular duty. In addition, seven police reserve officers were appointed in 2008. During 2008, we started the planned reorganization/modernization of the police department and, as a first step, have hired two deputy chiefs. Although budgetary constraints may delay full implementation of this reorganization, we intend to continue to move forward. The reverse 911 system purchased in late 2007 is in full operation. This system will allow public safety personnel to communicate quickly and efficiently with our residents in the event of an emergency. Public services had a robust year in 2008.
Over $900,000 was expended on street and sidewalk repaving. Some of the streets repaved this year include: tremont street, penn road, northend street goodale street, murray street and part of lynnfield street. In addition to numerous water and sewer improvements the coolidge avenue water treatment system was upgraded as required by the DEP. DPS also responded to and completed over 2500 work requests throughout the city. Construction was started on the leatherworkers museum with completion scheduled for this summer. The health department secured a $300,000 grant from the massachusetts department of health to be used to address substance abuse problems.
We have secured $2,605,600 in home and community development block grant funds, which were used for regional programming and for housing rehabilitation for low to moderate income Peabody households who, without this assistance, would find it difficult to keep-up with needed repairs. The city secured $660,000 in CDBG and CPA funds for Peabody's low to moderate income homeowners. Through the housing rehab program, 36 homes were rehabilitated. The first time homebuyers program provided down payment assistance to 11 families enabling them to purchase their first home.
To support new business growth in Peabody, Peabody's community development authority assisted several business and property owners with subordinations, workouts and creative financing initiatives. due in large part to our positive business attitude and favorable tax rate, businesses continue to locate and grow in Peabody. Lahey clinic is presently constructing a 63,000 square foot addition to its existing building while the north shore mall is near completion of its substantial 165,000 square foot renovation.
Some of the new businesses that opened or expanded in Peabody this year include: PF Changs, North Shore Bank, BMW on Route #114 and several medical related businesses in centennial park. Rose's Bakery was among several new businesses to open in the downtown area. Some of the many future projects in the works include: completion of Latitudes, an indoor sports/recreation complex on Route #1 South, a CVS on Main Street, Nordstrom's at the Northshore Mall, an Acura dealership on Rt #114, Children's Hospital at 10 Centennial Dive and redevelopment of the Fine and Remis sites at 139 and 143 Lynnfield street. In late 2006 a regional organization called “the north shore coalition” was established.
The purpose of this coalition is for area municipalities to come together and to work together to solve complex regional issues. Some of the issues being addressed are: mutual aid, revenue sharing, health insurance, traffic issues and gang related problems. We are presently exploring the potential to collaborate in order to deliver services such as those performed by the health department, in a more cost effective or efficient manner.
The cost of health insurance for the city of Peabody and its taxpayers is astronomical at $24.2 million or 18% of the fiscal 2009 budget. Currently, the city has completed negotiations with a majority of its 14 unions. We have successfully negotiated a change in the percentage share of the cost of health premiums and the cost of co-pays.
Going forward, we will continue our efforts to reduce costs in this area. We are also seeking legislative relief to allow the city to control health insurance plan design. If we are not able to control changes in the plan contribution or benefit levels, given limited resources, the city cannot afford to fund the escalating cost of benefits into the future without materially impacting staffing levels and future salary increases.
We are all aware that 2009 is going to be a tough year fiscally for all of us individually and for the city of Peabody. We are faced with many issues which will result in cutbacks in staff and services.
Although I pledge to do my best to minimize the financial difficulties we face, I can't do it alone. I need your help, support and patience. To survive and hopefully continue to move our city forward we must do it together.
With your help, we will:
• Work hard to control the impact caused by the fiscal problems we face while striving to maintain a high level of services
• Mitigate the flooding problem in Peabody, rehabilitating effected areas and converting part of the area to a greenway
• Advocate completing the rezoning project…. Allowing for controlled growth, a mix of property use and design review.
• improve our educational system specifically in the area of academic achievement. o continue to improve and upgrade our public buildings and infrastructure; and
• Work hard to maintain our strong reserve position and bond rating.
These are but a few of the many goals we want to accomplish over the next few years. It has been an honor to serve you as your mayor for the past seven years and I am looking forward to continuing to serve you.
I renew the promise I made to the citizens of Peabody 7 years ago when I first became your mayor - the promise to build a better, stronger Peabody.
With your support and with God's blessing together we can keep this promise and make Peabody a great place to live and work.
Thank you
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