Local Options: To Tax or Not To Tax?

= = = = = U P D A T E D = = = = =

Mayor Bonfanti says while he sees "both sides of the issue" the City could really use the added tax money.

The Lynn Item: Peabody in pickle on local tax hike

What I don't find very convincing is Mayor Bonfanti's justification for raising the taxes: that the Legislature will be mad at the cities and towns for NOT enacting the taxes while still looking for State relief. To me this sounds like grasping at straws for a reason BESIDES the fact that the City needs more funds... and it seems rather week to me.

The other assertion, that it would be easier if everyone were to enact the increase (Danvers has voted no while Saugus has voted yes) and has the Mayor wishing Salem would pass it to make it easier for Peabody to do the same... is NOT LEADERSHIP! It is being a follower. Stop it and just do the right thing because it is THE RIGHT THING... even if it hurts you in the polls.

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The Massachusetts State Legislature has give Cities and Towns the local option to add a local tax onto hotel rooms and/or meals. This would add up to 2% to the cost of a hotel or motel room and up to 0.75% to the cost of a meal in a restaurant.

The Peabody Weekly News: Decision on local luxury tax hikes stalled until fall

Note: The PWN only has stories up for one week

The Salem News Editorial: Nelson Benton: Nothing tasty about meals tax
The Salem News: Megavoke OK'd, Meals tax denied in Danvers
The Salem News: Local Taxes may rise in tough times
The Salem News: Senate OKs hike in sales, alcohol tax
The Boston Globe: Tax options raise interest, with caution
The Boston Globe: Towns consider tax hike

The problem: State aid to Cities and Towns has plummeted in recent years.
The (one small?) solution: Give local communities the ability to gather their own local taxes with an increase in hotel and meals taxes.

This is not a perfect solution, but it is one way to allow Cities and Towns to gather additional income in very difficult financial times.

The reality of the hotel/motel situation is that adding 2% to the hotel room charges would equal around an additional $2.00 a day to the average hotel/motel room in Peabody. And since the vast majority of the people staying these hotels are from out of town... this seems a perfect way to recoup some of the losses in State funding.

The meals tax is a little more personal as it will mostly affect the locals who frequent Peabody restaurants. However, this additional tax is EXTREMELY SMALL... 0.75% in fact, so small that it simply can not be held up as a DETERRENT to folks seeking to have a meal in a local eatery.

The cost of eating out will change very little... in fact, here are some prime examples...

Breakfast at Dunkin Donuts:
Large coffee and a bagel with cream cheese:
$4.38 --------- + 3 cents tax! = $4.41

Lunch at Sonic (just opened on Rt. 1):
A Number 2 (SuperSONIC Cheeseburger Combo w/ medium fries + drink)
$5.99 --------- + 5 cents tax! = $6.04

Dinner at Sugarcane (for two):
Hot & Sour soup (2), Crab Rangoon, Orange Duck, General Gau's Chicken, and 2 (!) Scorpion Bowls
$64.00 --------- + 48 cents tax! = $64.48

Special Romantic Evening Out for 2 at Legal Seafoods
2 signature cocktails, oysters and coconut shrimp appetizers, shared large Caesar salad, surf & turf (shrimp & scallops), grilled wild salmon, bottle of wine ($45), 2 signature desserts and cappuccinos
$190.00 --------- + $1.43 tax! = $191.43

This should pretty much prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that this additional amount of tax would do NO ONE any harm and indeed would NOT change anyone's plans to stop in for a quick bite... or an evening of fine dining.

Now on to the man who cost Peabody $300,000...
Thanks to Councilor Rico Mello - who seems perpetually stuck in some other reality - the City Council will not take up the discussion on these local taxes - NOT EVEN DISCUSS IT!?! - until the Fall... thus losing out on approximately $300,000 in additional City revenues that Mayor Bonfanti proposed applying towards desperately needed road and sidewalk repairs.

Now I am NOT saying I think we should allocate these moneys to ANY ONE project... and if we DO pick only one... roads and sidewalks are NOT the number one need in this City.

But for Councilor Mello to yet again show himself as the OPPONENT OF ANY CHANGE in this City is yet another reason to elect a better representative in the coming elections.

Bonfanti budget a slap in the face to the future

Much can be said about this deep financial crisis that the world is facing... we are facing it here in Peabody as well. It is up to the wise people who we citizens have elected to make the difficult decisions that will impact each and every one of us.

What is terribly troubling to me is the very people we have entrusted to make these important choices: Will we fund THIS or THAT? Can this road go another season without repair or will we need to replace it completely later? Should we cancel 20 English classes or serve 27 students who wish to learn Greek? Do we buy a new fire truck or repair/rehab the 25 year old one? Should we dip into our savings safety net to pay for ongoing expenses or maintain our high bond rating which saves us money in the long term?

These are all difficult choices and we rely on these people we elect, and a bevy of professional experts to guide them, to come to the best possible answers for all the citizens of this City of Peabody.

So why does it feel like we just screwed all the children of Peabody in an effort to maintain the bragging rights of having the lowest taxes around?

We have decided to step-by-step dismantle the school system because it is the easiest target in the budget crunch game. And from where I have been sitting and watching it most certainly is a game.

The Mayor blames the economy. Patricia Schafer blames the State. The School Committee blames the Mayor. The City Council blames the School Committee. The Mayor threatens everyone. They all (with great regret and heavy hearts) vote to allow the Peabody Public Schools to become the Peabody Public Dump.

Now, like any good game there will be winners and losers.

The Winners:

The Mayor gets praised by everyone who doesn't have children in the school systems and who see lowest taxes as better than educated children. The Mayor wins re-election all the while claiming in his reelection speech that "...another of [his] priorities is education. He said that while new schools were built and MCAS scores are improving, the overall level of education can be lifted higher and the district needs to retool and deal with declining student enrollment." From: Peabody Lynnfield Weekly News

The City Council wins both ways...
~ If you voted FOR the budget you are seen as a proactive, fiscally prudent protector of the elderly and the middle class, blue collar folks here in Peabody... just like the Mayor (see above)
~ If you voted AGAINST the budget (either time) you are seen as a defender of the parents and children of the City of Peabody! Except... you really didn't do ANYTHING except grandstand about something you can't change in the first place. This was pandering and sticking it to the Mayor (or in some cases the School Committee) in order to look Pro Parent and Pro Student when you have done little if anything to help the situation.

Bottom line: Almost all City Councilors will be reelected no matter which way they voted on this matter because there aren't enough parents to change the voting numbers... and the children simply can't vote.

The School Committee wins as well.
Frankly, it doesn't matter if they all voted for the budget or not... the budget was given to them and they had no choice but to make cuts somewhere to meet the numbers. However they all approved the union wages which it turns out is the main reason that the school department was singled out as the only department that needed to make ANY LAYOFFS... everyone else who works for the City is INDISPENSABLE while 73 people in the school department (don't worry, they say it will be less) ARE COMPLETELY UNNEEDED AND UNNECESSARY.

But the School Committee did get to LOOK GOOD as they were destroying the schools... they saved THIS program and THAT position... usually to the cheers of some very vocal group of parents, teachers, admins, etc. So they too will look like the valiant fighters who went into a losing battle and were able to snatch a few key nuggets of education for our youths. They all get reelected.

Hmmm. Yeah if all these folks win... somebody has to lose, right? Sadly you all know who…

Our children are the losers.
And when they lose, we all lose.

Peabody, your taxes are too low and your priorities are misplaced. And sadly, your leaders are failing you while they leave the next generation of Peabody citizens to fend for themselves.

Peabody Schools: All News is Bad News?

Peabody Schools in Free Fall? What is it about Peabody and its attitude towards education?

= = = = = U P D A T E D = = = = =

In a series of news stories this week the school system and particularly the ADULT PROFESSIONALS who claim to be running it, have shown themselves to be concerned much more about personal agendas and THE BOTTOM LINE rather than how to provide each and every child in the City of Peabody a first class education. I am not speaking of the teachers here... but rather the School Administration, the School Committee and City Hall.

Peabody and Lynnfield Weekly News:....Note: PLWN links expire in 7 days
Greek language course dominates board’s decision on high school cuts
and
Salem News: Principal, superintendent spar over Greek

How stupid is this? We are cutting basic services left and right because "the budget demands it" and yet we have special cases where 27 (yes that is correct, 27 out of 1900 students at the High School) students have enrolled in Greek Language (and culture) classes at PVMHS - and Superintendent Burnett... and a majority of the school committee, including the tie-breaker, Mayor Bonfanti, were willing to keep that program in place and cut teachers in other core curriculum areas.

This is laughable and reeks of special consideration. Yet another black day in Peabody Education.

===

Of course... no one was willing to have a three hour verbal fight over the fate of the people most responsible for your children's educational success after their teachers...

Salem News: School Committee mulls plan to cut aides' hours
Lynn Item: Peabody school board continues to search for ways to trim budget

These are just more expendable fodder for the LOWEST TAXES IN THE REGION war that seems to be Peabody's only concern.

===

And then this gem of an idea!

Salem News: Peabody schools give parents free passes to games

So we are going to make the parents pay extra money so that their children can participate in all extra curricular activities. We are doing this because the schools do not have enough money. One way they currently raise some money for these activities is by charging admission to these events.

Ready for the brilliance of our elected School Committee!??!

Since the parents are going to be paying a fee for their children to play... they no longer need to pay admission fees! The problem is... they were going to pay this already! Hello!? And then the geniuses figured that since the parents will be getting in for free now... they will bring (drag?) along OTHER PAYING PEOPLE to come and fund the events.

Clue: Most people who attend the majority of these events ARE PARENTS.

===

Here is bad news masquerading as good:

Salem News: Grant will help students, teachers

It seems some industrious Higgins teachers found, wrote and won a $10,000 grant from Verizon to purchase a laptop computer and projector and to get 10 teachers trained to better prepare students for MCAS success. But this grant was undertaken because the very successful after-school MCAS Camp program was eliminated.

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= = = = = U P D A T E D = = = = =

Maybe you are tired of seeing your Peabody schools being run in ways you would rather not see? Well why not become involved and be a part of the official screening committee for a new Higgins Principal.

TOO LATE! It seems that while Superintendent Burnett invited people to join this group on May xx, 2009... it was really already selected... Just one more public mistake in the land of Peabody Public School Administration? I would like to think so but I wonder if this means the entire screening committee will return a predetermined outcome as well?

Salem News: 32 apply for Higgins School principal position
Salem News: Superintendent invites staff and public to focus groups

....Those interested in serving on the screening committee must send a letter to the attention of:
Human Resources Director Louise Genualdo
Kiley Administration Building
21 Johnson St.
Peabody, MA 01960

Budget Woes... but not 'til next year ???

I will admit it. I am as perplexed as everyone else about what to do with our City budget problems.

At first, I thought IF the cut in State aid was going to be a one time thing, then we could enact a small one-time payment from each household (<$50) and keep all the City services going as they are now. But now we find out that this is NOT very likely... and that an even larger cut in State aid is expected next year.

And I am upset because Mayor Bonfanti has decided to hunker down (my words) and not be proactive about the problems that are looming on the horizon. IF cuts are coming and there will need to be changes in the near future I say the time to prepare, plan and then even enact these changes is sooner rather than later.

The Salem News: City could see layoffs in next fiscal year

The solution is not to just leave unfilled positions vacant and to expect departments to continue doing their jobs without adequate supplies and other items or services needed to operate the City.

The solution is to take stock right now and see where cuts need to be made... see where positions need to be filled... and where they need to be lost. To give the departments back the money they need to actually serve the public well and not nickel and dime the City into inaction. The time for these action plans was YESTERDAY... but we still have time to make them right now.

Then the politically difficult (and personally distressing) task of actually making these changes needs to happen... and the sooner the better. If we are going to be losing people next year (for the sake of discussion let's say we will need to cut 40 jobs) then I say DO IT NOW and SAVE THE MONEY in salary and benefits TODAY because the news from the State next year might be even worse than we are all hoping or expecting.

I would rather not see anyone lose their jobs, but unfortunately that will not be the reality here in Peabody or many other places in this country. I have learned the hard way that delaying the inevitable only makes things worse for everyone involved... including the people who will end up being laid off.

UPDATED: City to lose almost $900K in latest State aid cut

UPDATED COMMENTARY

I must say that I have rethought my original idea presented below. I had proposed a ONE-TIME small tax payment on Peabody households and business to make up for the ONE-TIME state funding cut.

I no longer believe this is a good idea for the simple reason that these cuts are now NOT BEING SEEN as a one-time event. This became evident when the Mayor said that we need to prepare for additional cuts in State aid in the near future.

IF indeed this is the case, then a simple band aid of money (even small amounts) will simply allow the current business-as-usual mentality to persist despite further cuts coming down the road. Since this is what is now expected, then there is NO SENSE in postponing the inevitable... make the hard cuts that the current situation demands NOW which will allow the City as a whole to operate under a better (read cheaper) financial picture and then re-access when future cuts come along.

My reasoning is the same as I put forth regarding Salem's School budget loss (thanks to the crook they had in office) where it was not a simple one-time infusion of money that would help the City, but it was an on-going need for too much money. Thus, a one-time tax would become permanent... I am NOT advocating that.

More links on this story. The Peabody/Lynnfield Weekly:

==============================================================

The Salem News: Less state aid means $871,000 cut in Peabody budget
Lynn Item: Peabody bracing for 'real crisis' in budget cuts

Well... you can't say we didn't see it coming. It actually turned out a bit better than the Peabody Patriot has been predicting ($1.2M cut).

So now what do we do. We have the lowest taxes around and the services and educational system to prove it. Where do we begin to cut the $900,000.00 Even if all the cars went away and we enacted all the moves discussed in previous posts it doesn't come to that figure without BIGGER items... like a school closure and sale (because you won't reap much $$$ immediately without a sale).

Or what about this? A poster at the Salem News said every resident should pay around $17.50 each.... and the budget is back to normal.

But that would be unfair to larger families in my opinion. Here is one other idea...

Have a special assessment. In 2006 there were approximately 1,160 businesses in Peabody. In 2000 there were exactly 18,581 households in the City.

If each household paid a one time charge of $35 and each business paid a one time charge of $215 ~~~P~O~O~F~~~ Budget problem reversed and solved.

I personally do not have money to throw around these days (well almost any days to be honest) but I would be willing to pony over $35 per household to keep the City in the black and prevent cuts in services.

What do you think?

Special School Committee Group -- Looks to the West School as possible closure target

The Salem News: Panel evaluating each school: West's turn tonight

School Committee member Michael Moutsoulas's panel will be looking at the demographics, building and grounds for each school building in Peabody in an investigation into cost savings and educational consolidation.

I am in favor of such a review of our school needs. However I am not simply in favor of closing a school.

Here is the criteria I feel needs to be addressed before any school closing takes place:

1. Show through a proper demographic study that the population patterns and projections are being taken into consideration in any such plan
   
2. Show REAL and SUBSTANTIAL cost savings (both now and over time).
   A small savings that manifests itself in 10 years is NO REASON to disrupt hundreds of Peabody families.
   
3. Show that an EDUCATIONAL ADVANTAGE will happen for the students in Peabody... not just cutting teachers or administrators, but improving the quality and quantity of educational opportunities for our students.

All three of these criteria are needed if we are going to disrupt the lives of so many people.

Taxes are up, but Peabody still the lowest

The Salem News: As property values drop, some see leaps in tax bills

In the above article the Salem News looks at how the current financial crisis is playing out in municipal funding = Property Taxes. The majority of people they have talked to seem to be unaware of how local property taxes are assessed and how the final figures are decided upon.

The answer is quite simple, despite the spin that anti-tax messiah Barbara Anderson puts on it. But before I explain it... here is a peek at what we here in Peabody face... especially compared to our fellow North Shore communities. Note: We have both the lowest taxes and the lowest increase of anyone!

Taxes on the North Shore
[taken from the article]

Community...Average....Increase

Beverly....$4,852.43....$101.21

Boxford....$7,611.60....$188.32

Danvers....$4,390.96....$160.24

Hamilton...$7,856.24....$640.37

Ipswich....$5,178.17....$523.48

Manchester.$8,754.02....$849.14

Marblehead.$6,275.02....$170.14

Middleton..$5,633.18....$275.84

Peabody....$3,123.87....$ 73.76

Salem......$4,193.68....$139.22

Swampscott.$7,534.49....$241.94

Topsfield..$7,206.40....$198.40

Wenham.....$8,892.44....$632.25

Basically... the City looks at how much money it needs to operate and decides on a number = the total budget. Some of this money comes from fixed sources (the State, excise taxes, etc.) The remainder is what needs to be paid for out of local property taxes. Let's call this amount the Property Tax Budget (or PTB.)

Then the City looks at the total value of ALL property in the City (based on the most current valuations.)

(I will look at the situation where there is a single tax rate for both business and residential because it is easier to explain, but the method is similar - you just have two variables to deal with instead of one.)

Then you take the PTB and divide it by the total valuations and come up with a percentage...

Say the City needs $8 million in property tax revenue, and all the property in the City is appraised at $500 million...

Property Tax Total............................ $8,000,000 = 0.016 %
Total Valuations (all property).........$500,000,000

This is the TAX RATE. This is the rate you will multiply your property's appraised value by to get your total tax bill.

So if your house (in this example) is worth $375,000 your bill would be...

$375,000 x 0.016 = $6,000

Now it is a bit more complicated when you have two different sets of properties (residential and business) and you will need to do a few IF-THEN calculations until you find a formula that meets your needs.

=============== A D D E N D A ===============

This was also in the Salem News today: Property values drop $1.3 billion on North Shore

Here is the listing of total property valuations (and the drop in value) for the last year.

Housing values

............Value..........Changes

Beverly.....$5.02B.....-$107M (-2.1%)

Boxford.....$1.764B....-$ 76M (-4.1%)

Danvers.....$3.205B....-$ 96M (-2.9%)

Hamilton....$1.364B....-$ 45M (-3.2%)

Ipswich.....$2.358B....-$ 62M (-2.5%)

Manchester..$2.06B.....+$ 29M (+1.4%)

Marblehead..$5.088B....-$262M (-4.9%)

Middleton...$1.372B....-$ 94M (-6.4%)

Peabody.....$5.352B....-$231M (-4.1%)

Salem.......$3.754B....-$255M (-6.4%)

Swampscott..$2.362B....-$ 45M (-1.9%)

Topsfield...$1.151B....-$ 46M (-3.8%)

Wenham......$0.819B....+$ 18M (+2.3%)

Area......$35.669B...-$1.271B (-3.4%)

How will State Aid cuts affect Peabody?

The Lynn Item: State aid cuts affect some local communities more than others

The article above outlines a few City and Town leaders discussing how they plan on addressing the expected cuts in local aid. Here is the portion that pertains to Peabody:

...Peabody which picks up 20 percent of its budget from state aid.

Peabody Mayor Michael Bonfanti and his staff has been preparing for these cuts since they were first announced months ago. He asked all departments to trim 5 percent from their current budget and ordered that all potential hires come across his desk first. But, it's all in preparation - Bonfanti said there's no telling just how much Peabody will be affected.

"It'll have a devastating impact on us all," he said. "Until (Patrick) gets the 9C authority and makes those cuts official, we're just not sure."

Bonfanti said it's not only how much, but when the cuts would have to be made.

"When you have 9C cuts in the middle of a budget cycle, it really causes some disruption," he said. "If (Patrick) says to hold off until the next fiscal cycle, that'd be helpful."

A proposed 10 percent cut in local aid would equal at least $3.2 million for the city of Peabody, said Bonfanti. And with those cuts, could come the loss of several programs, including those for after-school children and adults with mental health disabilities.

"Some things don't impact you directly," he said. "They do so indirectly."

I don't have much to say about this right now. This is a huge amount of money to need to be cut from already tight budgets... and in the middle of the year, so many departments would have been spending based on previous figures, not these further reduced ones.

Someone recently commented that I am all doom and gloom (and worse!) The sad thing, in my opinion, is those folks who can't ever see what the reality of a situation is, and instead keep acting like it is just what they WISH or WANT it to be like.

These are the realities. Our already limited amount of public services and government access (thanks to our super low tax rate) is going to be cut even further. The incredibly prudent (even stingy) City financial accounting of the past two Mayors have left us with a dual legacy...

• Some money in reserve and a tax levy surplus (meaning they can choose to tax more without permission - an override)

• Very limited public services including uncared for property, lowest salaries in the area and second rate services (think snow plowing, sidewalk repair, etc.)

It would seem to me that the Cities and Towns which traditionally have higher budgets and more services will be better able to weather this current financial storm because they have somewhere to CUT that isn't already to the bone. But that is the political reality of the City of Peabody.

I fully expect to hear more people calling for tax CUTS because of the hard times not even recognizing that the City is in the same boat as well.

Full text of Mayor Bonfanti's 2009 mid-term Address

The Peabody & Lynnfield Weekly News: Transcript of Mayor Michael Bonfanti's 2009 mid-term address

(note: These links to the PLWN are only available for around 1 week!)

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.

Close one of the Peabody Elementary Schools?

The Mayor in his mid-term address brought up the real possibility of drastic cuts in the City budget. One of those, as I quote from the Salem News is below:

He also challenged the School Committee to make some "tough financial decisions" about shedding staff, consolidating facilities and redistricting.

This brings up the contentious issue of possibly closing one of Peabody's eight Elementary Schools.

Let me be frank here. Nobody ever WANTS to close a school. I am very much a supporter of our public education system and believe we should fully support our schools. But I also understand that budgetary realities might mean that consolidation of the City Schools may bring both cost savings AND better educational opportunities.

A reader (OG) asked if I had any hard data about cost savings associated with the closing of one of the elementary schools. I do not. However, it doesn't take a degree in finance to figure out that by consolidating the Cities elementary school services into one or two fewer buildings, we would save all the costs of maintenance (heating, lighting, cooling, repair, cleaning, security, etc.) as well as reducing the need for redundant positions while still maintaining educationally appropriate class sizes.

Now those things would seem to be helpful in reducing the budget for education. But I can also see some additional costs in such a plan. Bussing students would, in all likelyhood become more expensive. We would be moving students from farther away than we do now (many students would need to travel farther to school) and fewer students in each school would fall within the 'walker' distances. Of course this might also reduce the costs of bussing as there would be fewer 'destinations' needed, simply longer bus routes.

I can also imagine that there will be structural changes/additions needed to accomidate additional students in the schools that will remain open. These might be a simple as the need for more lockers or as costly as the need to creater additional bathrooms or classroom spaces. Again, these are not simple claculations and would require some very serious and speciallized study to achieve the best possible results.

But all those factors simply are looking at the reductions that could be made in the budget. I also see some opportunities to better the overall educational experience for Peabody students. If you can begin to stop thinking about individual schools, and start thinking about system-wide resources... maybe we can have some of the art, music, sports, etc. teachers, who are now dedicated to one school, become a 'team' that travels to a different school each day or week.

For example: Suppose we have 8 music teachers in the 8 schools. what if we make 2 teams of 3 music teachers and have them spend Mondays in one school, Tuesdays in the next, etc. (or they spend a full week in each, rotating around.) This way students would get the benefits of these very important programs while at the same time getting a savings from 1) fewer teachers and 2) fewer unused spaces (all the programs could share the same spaces if possible).

I do not for a second think that I have all the answers here. I simply have some ideas and a feeling that with 400 fewer students in our system than in years past... we could easily meet the educational needs of our students even if we need tp close some of the facilities due to this budgetary crisis.

What do you think?

What would you cut right now?

Several people seem to think the City budget is rampant with waste and fat just begging to be CUT! Here is your place to tell us all what YOU Are ready to CUT TODAY!

The State of the City - January 2009

Lynn Item: Bonfanti gives mid-term address
Salem News: Difficult cash decisions will be in cards for Peabody

I was unable to attend Mayor Bonfanti's mid-term address and the seating of the new City Council last evening. And the text of the speech is NOT (yet?) available on the Mayor's page at the City website. So these comments are based on the newspaper reports and other comments made at those sites and on the Peabody Patriot blog.

First, I think that the overall tone of the message - one of difficult times ahead - is nothing but accurate and a clear thinking assessment of what is to come. I disagree with those people who say he should be emphasizing the positive and downplaying the difficult realities we will all be facing. While "perception equals reality" can be true at times, in these circumstances I would prefer straight talk and not hearts & flowers.

I do not look forward to this coming year (and to be more honest... let's say YEARS because this recession is looking like nothing we have seen in most of our lifetimes). The best estimates for the length of the world-wide financial crisis I have read point to a 18 month (minimum) to 42 month (maximum) time frame... so I am betting on 2-1/2 years of difficult choices and unhappy citizens.

While I would not like to see the schools take the brunt of these cuts (especially not FIRST) I see the reality of the lower enrollments finally coming to a head. We simply have fewer children to educate at this moment, and while I STRONGLY SUPPORT a comprehensive analysis of future demographic trends for Peabody, I believe we are going to see fewer students for the foreseeable future.

Thus the closing of one (or more) schools is both a political reality and a good move for the vast majority of Peabody folks. Of course this will be very hard on some families who might have chosen their home based on proximity to a certain school... and I actually am a huge supporter of neighborhood schools, the times dictate a more cost effective distribution of our limited educational funds. Fewer schools will yield more educational value per pupil and per education dollar.

I strongly agree with the Mayor on the issue of Downtown improvements and the need to repopulate Downtown with businesses... but I believe the most intelligent method for achieving this goal is through the REZONING of Downtown (and the rest of the City) to promote a mixed-use of public, residential and commercial/business in the greater Downtown area.

What are your thoughts?

New Children's Hospital Expansion in Centennial Park

Children's Hospital Boston has announced that they are building a new children's health center in Centennial Park. The facility (part renovation, part addition) will be 120,000 sq.ft and greatly expand the services that are currently offered by Children's Hospital's services currently offered inside the Lahey Clinic Peabody.

Here is the link to the Salem News story.

Overall, this is a wonderful thing for Peabody and the North Shore as a whole. I have heard some people lament that we are losing more prime City property to yet another TAX EXEMPT entity.

Well, that is true. And I think the City should be rather aggressive in establishing a hefty PILOT (Payment In Lieu Of Taxes) agreement with this well endowed hospital.

The City of Boston received a PILOT Fee of $602,656 last year from Children's Hospital. See this article and PILOT listing from the Jamaica Plain Gazette.

But even if we don't see a large PILOT payment, I still welcome this great addition to the booming medical services arena that Peabody-Salem-Danvers has become.