Dec. 7, 2001

Selectmen consider tax freeze for next year

The Board of Selectmen will hold a special meeting with the town’s finance team next week to explore the possibility of freezing tax bills for the fiscal year that begins next July 1.

The meeting came at the request of Selectman Alan Rockwood, who said that he was very concerned that the average single-family tax bill will rise by $672 this fiscal year.

That figure is about $120 more than the $540 increase predicted by town officials before the passage of the override on Sept. 11.

"I’m very uncomfortable with this," Rockwood said at Tuesday night’s board meeting. "This is a huge, huge difference. People can’t afford it"

During a meeting with the Board of Selectmen on Nov. 20, finance director David Davison explained that taxpayers are facing the additional burden because of an unexpected decline in the share of the tax base being paid by business and industry.

The town reassesses the distribution of its tax base every three years.

Rockwood said that prior to the override town officials had presented him with figures indicating that such a jump was possible, but he chose not to pay attention to them.

He compared it to being quoted a price range of $10-15 dollars and only hearing $10.

Rockwood said that since the additional $120 increase is comparable to another year’s worth of tax increases, the board should consider mandating a 2003 budget that results in no tax increases.

"I agree wholeheartedly with Mr. Rockwood," Selectman John Hill said. Hill also promised that he would use next Tuesday’s meeting to provide some answers as where this year’s override surplus will end up.

Selectmen Chairman William Ryan had estimated earlier in the night that the town would realize $250,000 in unpaid municipal salaries at the end of the fiscal year.

(The unexpended salary amount could be higher on the school side, where more jobs were involved. At a school committee meeting Monday night, there was again no public discussion of the matter.)

Selectman Susan Maguire said Tuesday night that while some residents were surprised at the sudden tax jump, others weren’t. Maguire said that she had presented figures close to those numbers before the override took place.

"This is far from new," Maguire said. "We are literally at a place where people have to sell their homes. That’s not emotional, that’s the truth. I’ve gotten the frantic phone calls."

Maguire noted that the selectmen can only guarantee that there will be no tax increases on only a very small portion of the overall budget.

Any attempt to hold the line next year has to include the school department, she said.

"The schools have to be given a message," she said. "They have to get on board."

Selectman Judy Conroy said that she would like the board to stop referring to the schools as the problem.

"We have to stop this ‘it’s the schools,’" she said.

Conroy said that as a member of the board, she had a vested interest in the whole community.

"I can’t separate myself from the school department," she said.

Conroy added that it wasn’t right for them as selectmen to try and mandate no increase on a school budget that they don’t control.

"You don’t have to lecture me," Maguire said. "Don’t give me that. They have to come to the table."

New Town Administrator Michael Boynton said that the town’s finance team was prepared to bring forward any directive that the board asks for.

Noting that there isn’t a lot of wiggle room in the current budget, Boynton cautioned that holding the line could mean the town will have to make some reductions at the beginning of the new fiscal year.

Those reductions could include some of the items that were on the Sept. 11 override, he said.

Boynton said that the key to making the process work is to ensure that everyone is on the same team.

Rockwood then suggested that they hold a preliminary discussion on Dec. 11 to see if it is even possible.

"Can we have a discussion where we disagree with each other?" Maguire asked. "One where we can feel free to express our opinions without offending anyone? I think we all have good ideas."

Nov. 30, 2001

Residential taxes rise more than expected

By Tom Glynn
Staff writer

The average single-family tax bill will jump by $672, $120 or so more than what was predicted before passage of the Sept. 11 override.

The difference, assessors told selectmen last week, comes from an unforeseen steep decline in the share of property taxes paid by businesses and industry.

That share slid by 1.6 percent in a year, assessor Chairman Jack Fisher said.

The business and industrial share of the property tax burden is now below 13 percent, about half what it was a generation ago, Finance Director David Davison said.

While the tax impact from the override itself is the same as predicted, the overall increase is well above what voters were told before Sept. 11, Selectman Alan Rockwood noted.

He asked whether business should be taxed at a higher rate in order "to get back down to the average (residential) bill we promised the public."

The response from other selectmen and assessors is that it would not be feasible to tax businesses enough to make a sizable dent on residential tax bills.

The question at last week’s selectmen meeting was whether to adjust the surcharge imposed on commercial and industrial properties in setting the new tax rates. The decision is to keep the same surcharge as last year: Businesses will pay taxes based on 118 percent of assessed value; residential owners will pay based on 97 percent of value.

The new tax rates work out to $13.69 per thousand dollars of assessed valuation for homeowners and $16.60 for business and industry.

While the new residential rate is $2.07 lower than last year’s, assessments on single-family homes are an average 38 percent higher, reflecting three years of growth since the last revaluation.

So the owner of a home assessed at the town average of $290,800 will pay $3,981 in taxes for the 12 months through June 30, 2002, compared to $3,309 last year.

Assessors recommended against raising the surcharge on business and industry. Businesses would have to pay $15 to $16 to save homeowners $1 on their tax bills, Fisher said.

Walpole does not have a big enough commercial and industrial base to shift much more of the tax burden off homeowners, Assessor Clem Boragine said.

That’s the Catch 22, Selectman Susan Maguire said. The only way to reduce residents’ taxes is to encourage commercial growth, she said.

Finance Director Davison said that every time business growth is blocked, "you’re increasing your taxes."

Residential growth last year outpaced business and industrial 9 to 1, Davison said.

Last year, the town was allowed to raise $27 million under Proposition 2 ½. For the current fiscal year, that amount is increased by $1.1 million by the automatic 2.5 percent adjustment and new growth, $1.7 million for expenditures under previous capital overrides and $3.7 million by the September operating override. The new total is $33.5 million.

The average single-family tax bill in Walpole was $2,258 in fiscal 1991, $2,643 in 1996 and $3,041 in FY 2000.

Assessor Jim Driscoll said there’s been a steady flow of townspeople reviewing the information on which their new assessments are based. The number of objections has been "very small," he said.

Every case is different, Driscoll said, noting that the assessors will provide a hearing to anyone who takes issue with an assessment.

Oct. 19, 2001

Override opponents seek to recall four selectmen

By Brian DeCesare
Staff writer

Override opponents are putting together a campaign to recall four selectmen, after the board rejected their petition Tuesday night seeking a third override vote.

"Once more, the democratic process has been denied," override opponent Tom McCormack said following the selectmen’s meeting.

Things got heated during the meeting when a man sitting among the override opponents called Selectman John Hill a coward.

Hill, who stood up to confront the man as he was walking out, was held back by acting Town Administrator Marjarita Doherty.

Tom Driscoll, who spoke to the board on behalf of the opponents, said all it takes to start the recall process is 1,500 signatures.

Speaking to the crowd gathered in the hallway after the meeting, Driscoll claimed that the opponents already have the support of 1,274 residents who signed the petition to vote on the override again.

The anti-override group wants to recall Selectmen William Ryan, Alan Rockwood, Judith Conroy and John Hill.

Selectman Susan Maguire, who was absent Tuesday night, would be spared because she has been a vocal opponent of the override, McCormack said.

According to Town Clerk Ron Fucile, the town charter requires that the recall petition contain signatures from 10 percent of the town’s 15,144 registered voters, including at least 100 signatures from each precinct.

Fucile would then submit the petition to selectmen within seven days of receiving it.

Selectmen would have to then set a date for an election on a Saturday no sooner than three weeks or later than five weeks after receiving the petition from Fucile.

The majority vote would decide the recall.

Because the petition is set up for only one selectman’s name, Fucile said he will have to check with the state to see if four names could be included on the petition.

Tuesday night, Hill was called a coward when he made the motion not to put the override on the ballot again. When he asked who made the statement, a man stood up and said, "I did, John… I did," and walked toward the door.

At that point, Hill stood up and attempted to confront the man in the hallway. But Doherty put her hands on his shoulders.

Selectman Conroy could be heard saying, "Sit down, John, it’s not worth it."

Shortly thereafter, McCormack raised his hand and loudly asked to be recognized.

At first, Chairman Ryan told McCormack that the board had already listened to Driscoll as the group’s representative, and asked McCormack to schedule an appointment with the board.

Ryan told McCormack that the most important thing for people to do at this point is stick together and move forward as a town.

After McCormack kept shouting out, "Point of recognition, point of recognition," Ryan said he would be the only other individual to be recognized by the board.

Standing at the podium, McCormack told Ryan, "I agree it’s time for the town to move forward, but from the point of June 2" – when the $3.7 million override was voted down.

"That vote was not going to move us forward," Ryan responded.

Ryan and Selectman Rockwood promised that they would not ask for another override while they held a seat on the board.

"That’s my word and I’ll stick to it," Ryan said.

That was met with snickering and mocking laughter from the audience.

Town Meeting approves $50M municipal budget

Town Meeting members rapidly approved a new $50 million municipal budget based on a $3.7 million override on Monday night.

Approximately $3.1 million of the override was distributed back into the budgets of individual town departments, with the remaining $600,000 or so allocated to fund a series of Capital Budget Committee requests.

Aside from a few minor changes, the budget approved on Monday night mirrored the one approved by Town Meeting members last May.

That budget had to be scaled back at a special Town Meeting in June following the failure of the first override attempt.

Although the override issue has often sparked contentious debate on Town Meeting floor, the approval process saw little opposition on Monday night.

Precinct 2 representative Thomas Jalkut did hold several budget items in order to clarify a question about appropriating funds this late in the fiscal year.

Jalkut pointed out that the town has been operating on a no-override budget since the fiscal year began July 1.

Since the override was intended to fund 12 months worth of salaries and services, Jalkut wondered what the town would do with the money saved by operating short from July to mid-October.

FinCom Chairman Al DeNapoli said that any additional revenue would be returned to free cash.

The spring Town Meeting will decide where it goes from there.

Finance Director Dave Davison added that he had instructed each town department to make only the changes they had promised to do before the override was passed.

The school committee, which has autonomy in deciding what to do with their funds, will most likely use any salary savings to purchase textbooks and equipment, Davison said.

With $1.7 million in additional funding, the schools stand to benefit most from the new budget.

School officials presented Town Meeting members a handout outlining their plans for the additional funds, which includes restoring the 28 classroom teaching positions cut in June and hiring 10 additional teachers to address overcrowding and accreditation issues.

Superintendent Robert Couture has been interviewing candidates for the new positions since the override was passed in September and is now prepared to sign a number of contracts for the current school year.

New staff members will be added throughout the elementary school level by the end of next week.

The schools are also intending to restore full busing service, though that process has been delayed several times while the Connolly Bus Company searches for new drivers.

Bus route coordinator Denise Connolly is working on a plan that would restore full bus service by Nov. 5.

Other departments benefiting from the override include the fire department, which will be able to hire four firefighter/paramedics and the Walpole Public Library, which will reopen on Wednesday and Thursday nights starting Nov. 7.

Oct. 5, 2001

Board asked to hold 3rd override vote

By Brian DeCesare
Staff writer

Expressing anger and frustration, several residents Tuesday night urged selectmen to reconsider their position on the override and call for a third election.

The 45-minute open forum was contentious at times and drew a standing-room-only crowd in the main meeting room at Town Hall.

After the first speaker received a round of applause, Selectman Judy Conroy, acting as chairperson for the absent William Ryan, pounded her gavel and asked the crowd to refrain from applause.

That request was met with an outburst from the audience.

One audience member could be heard saying, "It’s my right."

Another added, "We voted for you."

Tom McCormack, who has led the charge for a repeal of the Sept. 11 override vote, told selectmen there is a petition being circulated with more than 1,200 signatures.

McCormack said the petition calls for a special election prior to Dec. 1.

"I’ve been exposed to a lot of anger, a lot of frustration out there," McCormack told the board.

John Sullivan, a 30-year resident of the town, said Sept. 11 was a day of infamy in both New York and Walpole.

He blamed selectmen for being controlling by nullifying the June 2 vote that turned down an override.

Gaspare Grillo told the board that its decision to hold a second election on Sept. 11 was "un-American."

He said those selectmen who voted in favor of that election took away the freedom of all residents.

"You know who you are, I won’t mention any names," Grillo said, glaring at the board.

"The next time there’s an election, why should we vote?" Grillo added. "It doesn’t count."

Calling the board’s sense of democracy "twisted," Jack Springer said he was very disappointed that the selectmen chose not to recognize the June 2 vote.

Tom Driscoll said the reason there is so much opposition to the override is not due to the financial hardship it imposes on taxpayers, but to a feeling there are too many overpaid administrators in town.

Driscoll also said senior citizens aren’t the only ones opposed to the override; they are the most vocal because they are the angriest.

"They believe they’ve been taxed to the wall," Driscoll said.

"I would ask you absolutely to reconsider your position," he told the board.

Playing devil’s advocate, Dave Clark noted that many of those sitting in the audience were the ones who elected the selectmen to make decisions.

Conroy agreed to hear from representatives of the override opponents at the board’s Oct. 16 meeting.

Sept. 14, 2001

Override wins in a close race

By Brian Burns
Staff writer

Walpole residents approved a $3.7 million general override bid by a margin of 284 votes on Tuesday.

It was 51 percent for and 49 percent against: 5,259 residents voted in favor of the override; 4975 voted against it.

The number of votes gathered by both sides was higher than it was during the first attempt in June, yet the overall margin of victory turned out to be even tighter.

The same question had previously been defeated by 339 votes.

The override is projected to add an additional $430 to the average tax bill.

Despite some stunning news on the national front, voter turnout remained steady all the way through the day, according to town officials.

Town Clerk Ron Fucile said that 68 percent of registered voters made their way to the polls. In addition to the override, voters were drawn by the 9^th congressional district Democratic and Republican primaries.

Fifty one percent of voters reported in June.

Walpole’s final numbers indicated that almost 3,000 more Walpole residents weighed in this time than did in June.

"It was hectic today. It never slowed down," one poll worker was overheard saying.

A decidedly somber and anxious mood was evident throughout the town on Tuesday.

Campaign workers used radios and televisions to keep up with the latest developments as they continued to solicit votes.

Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin considered shutting down elections statewide during the late morning hours.

He later abandoned the idea after both Acting Gov. Jane Swift and Attorney General Thomas Reilly spoke out against it.

Employees at the town clerk’s office reported being inundated with phone calls on Tuesday afternoon from residents wanting to find out if the polls were still open.

A solemn group gathered outside that same office shortly after the polls closed at eight in order to wait out the results.

An early ‘no’ result from Precinct 5 seemed to take a lot of wind out of the ‘yes’ faction, but spirits began to lift again as the numbers evened back out with results from Precincts 4 and 6.

With all but Precinct 7 left to report, the ‘yes’ side was up by 161
votes.

Results from that precinct, which had voted against the override in June, were slow in coming after a balloting machine jammed.

Fucile eventually went down to the Precinct 7 polls at Fisher School in order to retrieve the results by hand.

Once it was determined that the override had passed, those on the ‘yes’ side of the issue seemed to be more relieved than anything else.

"This will get us back to where we are going," Superintendent Robert Couture said.

"The town of Walpole has taken a step forward," selectmen chairman William Ryan said. "We will work with different departments to make sure we properly spend the money."

"This should keep the town going for the next three or four years," he added.

Shortly after being notified of the results, former candidate for selectman Tom McCormack expressed concern about the small margin of victory.

"It’s still split down the middle," he said. "To me this is significant."

McCormack ran as an anti-override candidate in June.

"Management should listen to both sides," he said. "All people have to be considered."

Sept. 1, 2001

Calm prevails at override forum

By Brian Burns
Staff writer

    A calmer, more reasoned approach to the override question prevailed during Tuesday night’s standing-room-only forum at Town Hall.

    Individuals representing both sides of the debate seemed willing to abandon the summer’s strong rhetoric in favor of working towards a better understanding of the town’s financial dilemma. The forum was hosted by selectmen and the school committee.

    “I am impressed with the sensitivities shown here tonight,” resident John Hasenjaeger said. “People seem to have empathy and care for each other.”

    On Sept. 11 voters will be asked to decide on the town’s second $3.7 million override attempt in the past six months.

    Raising the tax rate via an override will allow the town to improve the level of service that it provides, but could also place a financial strain on seniors and other residents living on a fixed income.

    If approved, the override will restore $1.9 million worth of cuts in personnel and services made in June and provide for $800,000 in enhancements.

    It will also add $430 annually to the average residential tax bill.        

     “I just have one question,” Dudley Street resident Barbara Peatfield said to begin the session. “Can I afford to keep my house?”

    Peatfield, who lives on a fixed income, was concerned not only about the increase in taxes from the override, but also about the cost of paying off three school improvement projects and the purchase of Adams Farm.        

    Finance director David Davison said that tax bills are already expected to increase by an average of $110 next year regardless if the override passes.    

    That amount includes payments for Adams Farm and the high school project, he said.

    The town has yet to start paying for improvements to the Elm Street and Boyden Schools.

    If the override passes, the total increase to the average home would be $540, according to finance committee figures.

    Both Davison and Town Assessor Clem Boragine talked at length about programs available for residents on fixed incomes who would have trouble paying for the override.

    All but one of the exemptions are controlled by the state and are given out on a regular basis, Boragine said.

    Monica Stevenson, a former school teacher, told the crowd that she was new to Walpole and concerned about large classroom sizes.

    Superintendent Robert Couture had reported earlier in the session that the average classroom size in grades 1-8 was 32 students, with some classes reaching at 35 or higher.

    She asked selectmen if anyone had come up with another option besides the override.

    “One teacher to 35 students is unacceptable,” she said. “Is there another solution?”

    “Welcome to Walpole politics,” selectman Chairman William Ryan told her. “We’ve looked for a year.”

    Ryan said that the only way the town can provide the level of services residents count on is to increase the amount of revenue it takes in.

    The only way to do that is to increase town taxes, he said.

    Old Post Road resident Frank Waldron asked if the selectmen had ever uncovered any mismanagement, skimming or pork barrel management.

    “We have found no signs of gross mismanagement,” selectman John Hill reported. “We haven’t found the money. We don’t know where it is.”

    A frequent topic of debate was a letter by Selectman Susan Maguire in last week’s issue of the Times. The letter asserted that not much had changed in town since the failure of the first override attempt on June 2.

    Several audience members, including resident Phyllis McClean, lamented that Maguire, the only selectman not present, was not there to answer questions about the letter’s assertions.

    In other discussion, resident Ed Connor was concerned that town officials were pushing for exactly the same amount that they did in the spring.

    “If I submitted a budget and my boss told me it was too high, then I came back with the same budget I wouldn’t be looked at too highly.”

    Finance Committee Chairman Al DeNapoli told Connor that his committee had spent hours going through each line of the budget.

    The $3.7 million represents a “bare bones” budget that has been pared down as far as it can go, DeNapoli said.

     Property reevaluation proved to be another hot topic, as many residents wondered if the town was going to realize more money by reassessing properties at a higher rate.            

    Davison explained that the reevaluation does not create more overall revenue, it simply reallocates how much each individual pays in response to the increase or decline in property values.

    A number of audience members touched on the issue of trash fees.

     In the spring, Town Meeting members allocated only enough money to provide trash pickup until January.

    Resident Dave Clark speculated that instituting a pay-as-you throw program after the first of the year would end up costing residents $200 annually, nearly half the amount the override would.

    Town Administrator Marjarita Doherty told the audience that the board of selectmen has asked Health Agent Robin Chappell to investigate a trash fees program and report back to them on Sept. 4.

    Doherty also cautioned that although the trash budget is $1.1 million, instituting a collection fee for the second half of the fiscal year would only save the town about $186,000.

    The town is under contract to pay the incinerating company a certain amount of money no matter what happens, she said.

 Aug. 17, 2001

Forum scheduled on override Aug. 28

By Tom Glynn
Staff writer

As requested by the school committee, selectmen and that board will host a Town Hall forum Tuesday, Aug. 28, on the proposed $3.7 million Proposition 2 ½ override. (Starting time is either 7 or 7:30 p.m.)

The forum was agreed to over the objection of Selectman Susan Maguire who said it would just be "more of the same… It’s not going to make people come together."

Her colleagues disagreed in the discussion at their meeting last week. Selectman Judith Conroy said a forum might bring out people who have questions and who want information,

Added Selectman John Hill, "We’ve all been accused of not getting the information out."

At the selectmen’s meeting last Tuesday, the board received a breakdown of where the $3.7 million might go from Finance Director David Davison. And Al DeNapoli, chairman of the finance committee, gave a presentation on the FinCom’s similar, but not identical proposal. 

The plans from Davison and DeNapoli are basically the same proposals that were presented in advance of the unsuccessful June 2 override. The override retry is scheduled Tuesday, Sept. 11, at the same time as balloting in congressional primaries.

At the regular monthly forum that was part of last Tuesday’s board meeting, former selectman Ron Mariani warned that even if this override passes, town officials would seek further overrides in years to come.

Rather than going down that route, "we have to ratchet back expenses," he said. Town workers, for example, could be asked to pay a higher share of their insurance costs to save jobs, he said.

Without the override, the town’s budget from July 1 through next June 30 is up 4 percent over the previous fiscal year, Mariani noted.

A $3.7 million override would mean that the current fiscal year’s budget is up 10 percent over last year’s, he said. Just to maintain that level would require repeated overrides, he predicted.

In a point also made by Selectman Alan Rockwood, Mariani asked board members to stop referring to the town as broke and bankrupt.

The fact is, Walpole has $48 million in this year’s budget, he said. Further, budgets can and do go up far more than 2.5 percent year after year even without overrides, he said.

The town is allowed to increase its levy by 2.5 percent of the value of new construction and excise taxes and revenues also boost income, he said.

Talk about being broke "scares people" and "sends them in the wrong direction," Mariani said.

Referring to the cutback in school buses, he charged that "kids are being used as pawns" to win passage of the override.

"If we can’t find $120,000 to keep kids safe, we’ve gone over a line," he said.

He and former selectman Joanne Muti are working to get buses restored in time for the opening of school, he said. "You can’t put kids out there to see what happens," he said.

Speaking last in the open forum, Mariani left the room just before the first event on the regular agenda: DeNapoli’s presentation of the FinCom’s plan.

"It’s too bad Ron left," DeNapoli said to the board.

Maguire objected. "I’ve been the recipient of that kind of comment," she said.

DeNapoli responded, "The best way is to listen to one another… not to walk away from the numbers."

Selectmen Chairman William Ryan noted that the FinCom plan, unlike Davison’s, does not include $200,000 for a stabilization fund that has meant lower interest rates on town borrowings. He suggested that the FinCom find a way to restore the stabilization money.

Aug. 17, 2001

Naming rights for Walpole High School?

By Brian Burns
Staff writer

The Walpole High School Alumni Association wants the opportunity to sell naming rights to portions of the newly renovated Walpole High School.

WHSAA president James Brady presented what was termed the association’s first "giving opportunity" for school committee approval on Monday night.

While appreciative of group’s intentions, several school committee members worried that the sale of naming rights would send the wrong message.

"I just don’t think it’s appropriate," school committee member Ed Thomas said.

Under the association’s proposal, different portions of the high school would be assigned different values- for instance naming rights in the gym would be more expensive than those for a science classroom.

To commemorate the donor’s contribution, a plaque with his or her name would be affixed to the wall in the area that was purchased.

The WHSAA is hoping to use the sale of the naming rights to build a strong financial base for their newly formed organization, though they have not yet formalized a rate structure.

The goal of the association is to enhance programs at the high school, reconnect the school’s network of graduates, and instill a sense of pride in the school.

They have been working with WHS principal Frank Sambuceti to develop a wish list of requests that will be filled by the funds, including new books for the media center, new lab supplies for the science wing, and a number of guest speakers.

Brady stressed several times during the presentation that the funds raised would be used for enhancement purposes, not to supplement the school’s everyday budget.

"We shouldn’t be substituting for what the town should provide," Brady said.

Ed Thomas said that he thought the association was a tremendous idea but disagreed strongly with the naming concept.

If such a program was to be put in place, he would rather that it entailed one big plaque in one area rather than smaller plaques scattered throughout the school building, Thomas said.

Jean Hogan was also unsure about putting a plaque in every classroom.

Hogan noted that other organizations like the Education Foundation and the Computer Foundation have made many donations in the past that have gone unrecognized.

School committee chair Bruce Norwell had some reservations about the idea, though he thought that it was proposed with good intentions.

"Maybe we can do something that doesn’t smack of commercialism," he mused.

Dr. Richard Smith was the only school committee member who spoke in support of the concept. Smith said that he hoped Brady didn’t lose any enthusiasm for the project based on the response of the school committee.

"There needs to be more pride in our schools," he said.

Brady told school committee members that the association was open to their comments, though he was reluctant to abandon the concept entirely.

He noted that it had worked well in the private sector, citing both CMGI Field and the FleetCenter as recent examples.

"Does it smack of commercialism? Yeah, but you don’t get something for nothing," Brady said.

"The school has to stay competitive," he added.

Brady then wondered if there might be a compromise that would balance out both sides.

"This is just a suggestion, he said. "We’re not married to any one idea."

Both sides agreed to meet again in the next few weeks when more information is available.

Since the school is a public building, no one was entirely sure of the legality of selling off naming rights.

Superintendent Robert Couture said that he believed the project would be legal if the school committee voted to approve it.

That issue will be determined before the next time the two groups meet.

There were also some lingering questions about what form the project would take.

As Smith pointed out, there is a big difference between ‘a physics lab outfitted with the assistance of Ed Jones’ and the ‘Ed Jones Physics Lab.’

The WHSAA is leaning towards the former, he said.

Other plans in the works for the association include an annual spring dance open to all WHS graduates and a cookout at the high school following the Norwood-Walpole football game in October.

So far, the association has been spreading word of its goals by distributing letters at class reunions and to the recently graduated class of 2001.

They’ve also completed an exhaustive update of the alumni database and are planning to send letters to more than 5,000 WHS graduates in the coming weeks, Brady said.

The WHSAA is one of two alumni associations incorporated for public schools in the state. Brookline High School has the other.

July 20, 2001

Selectmen will try again for $3.7 million override

By Brian DeCesare
Staff writer

Fearing a menu-driven override would further divide the town, selectmen Tuesday night voted 4-1 to place a single question on the Sept. 11 ballot.

As part of that vote, the dollar amount for the general override will remain the same as the one that failed on the June 2 ballot: $3.7 million.

Selectman Alan Rockwood spent 90 minutes pushing for a menu, but Assistant Superintendent Daniel Feeney eventually "sold" him on the idea of a single ballot question.

Feeney referred to a menu-driven override as "divide and conquer" and emphasized the need for the town to move forward as one unit.

School Committee Chairman Bruce Norwell agreed, saying, "We all really have to rise and fall together."

Selectman John Hill said the quickest way to cripple the next override effort would be to divide it in menu fashion.

Calling Feeney his "guru," Rockwood responded to him, "You sold me. If you believe that’s the right approach then I’ll buy into it and endorse it."

Selectman Sue Maguire, who has been opposed to an override for months, was the lone dissenter on the board.

Nonetheless, Maguire backed Rockwood during his pitch for a menu-driven ballot, referring to a menu as true democracy.

In not supporting an override, Maguire said the town is entitled to see a year in which other ways of doing things financially are sought.

"We can survive one year," she said. "I believe the best government is the least government."

She said the first place to look for money is in the salaries of school administrators, which in total, she said, exceed $1.5 million.

Throughout the budget workshop Tuesday night, Rockwood said he preferred a menu-driven override particularly because some money in the town’s coffer is better than none.

With a menu, he said, those on fixed incomes who voted against the override in June would at least be given the chance to bolster some aspect of town services.

"I’m very concerned with coming out of Sept. 11 with nothing…zero…nada," Rockwood said.

By offering only one question on the ballot, he added, "we’ll never know what type of town the voters want."

But Finance Committee Chairman Al DeNapoli said a menu is the wrong thing because it would pit parties with special interests against one another.

"People lobbying for limited resources is bad," he said. "That is the wrong type of message we want to send."

Other than Maguire, every town official at the workshop agreed that $3.7 million was the correct figure to ask voters, considering that not much has changed since June.

At a meeting in June, most of the selectmen expressed reservations about going for the full $3.7 million on the grounds that some people would have real trouble coming up with the money to pay for it.

But Tuesday night, selectmen Chairman William Ryan said he spent the past month dissecting the budget.

"We have to ask the taxpayers for their help," he conceded.

Selectman Judith Conroy said the board shouldn’t ask for any dollar amount less than $3.7 million, whether there was a menu or not.

"I firmly believe this town needs $3.7 million to operate," Conroy said.

Selectman Hill agreed, saying the town "desperately" needs an override in the area of $3.7 million.

As a FinCom member prior to becoming a selectman, Hill said he observed first-hand how the $3.7 million figure was arrived at.

Former selectman candidate Thomas McCormack told the board there are other ways of finding money than "slipping the bills to the taxpayers."

July 20, 2001

Seventh and eighth graders will have buses

By Brian Burns
Staff writer

Superintendent of Schools Paul Livingston introduced a few twists in his busing plan during Monday night’s school committee meeting.

As expected, the plan will eliminate all busing for high school students, but it now manages to save the service for many seventh and eighth graders, Livingston said. The cuts come in the wake of a failed Proposition 2½ override June 2.

All seventh and eighth graders had been expected to lose busing service following the school committee’s decision to eliminate five buses for the 2001-02 school year.

By law, the school department is only required to transport students from grades K-6 and only if they live more than two miles from their school.

Under Livingston’s plan, approved unanimously by school committee, students in grades 1 through 8 who live more than two miles away from their respective schools would be entitled to bus pickup.

Last year, buses picked up students who lived more than 1.25 miles from the school.

All high school students and those students in grades 1 through 8 who live within the two-mile radius would be expected to walk or find other means of getting to school.

All kindergarten students would be provided transportation, as would elementary school students who live on the far side of Route 1, Livingston said.

There will no longer be any late buses.

Livingston said his new plan is built along three tiers, similar to last year’s plan.

That way, the department can easily resume full service if the override passes on Sept. 11, he said.

The superintendent also spoke out against the idea of instating bus fees as a way of restoring service.

The cost and hassle of implementing those fees would be prohibitive, he said.

Livingston said that it would cost $150,000 to restore the cut buses.

Those buses, in theory, could serve about 600 students, he said.

If all 600 students paid the bus fee, the cost would be $250 each, Livingston said.

Noting that many families would not want to pay such a high price, the superintendent said it was more likely that only 300 or so students would actually take advantage of such a service.

That would drive individual fees closer to the $500 mark, he said.

Livingston also noted that the logistics of implementing such a program by the start of school would be extremely difficult.

He suggested that affected families explore carpooling, van leases and senior volunteers as alternatives for getting their children to school.

During a budget presentation on Monday night, Livingston listed his priorities should the schools receive any additional funding.

Classroom teachers were first on his list, followed by specialist teachers in the art, music, health and physical education department.

Next on his list would be to add on the new teaching positions that had been requested in the school committee’s original budget.

He would then reinstate the secretarial support positions that had been cut, he said.

His next priority would be to curb the increases in athletic and extracurricular activity fees.

Restoring bus service was last on Livingston’s list.

All of these priorities would be addressed by the passage of a $3.7 million override, he said

July 13, 2001

Override vote scheduled Sept. 11

By Brian Burns
Staff writer

Walpole residents will have the chance to vote on another Proposition 2 ½ override question Sept. 11.

Selectmen voted unanimously this week to hold the override referendum on the same day as the primaries in the 9^th Congressional District race. Separate ballots are required.

The amount of dollars and the form that the override question will most likely be determined during a budget workshop next Tuesday, selectmen said.

Last month, voters defeated a $3.7 million override, most of which would have gone to maintain town services.

At the selectmen’s meeting Tuesday night, Several audience members spoke out in favor of a figure of $3.7 million or higher during an open forum session earlier in the night.

David Thayers presented the board with a 1,200-signature petition for the full $3.7 million

Selectman Alan Rockwood said he would not support another override bid for at least five or six years if voters agree to an override in September.

The September override should be enough to cover the town for that period of time, he said.

Finance committee Chairman Al DeNapoli returned from his vacation to ask selectmen for the same $3.7 million the second time around.

"It hurts our credibility and leadership to go back," DeNapoli said.

DeNapoli also spoke out against a menu-driven override that would let residents choose which programs they would like to support.

Selectmen have indicated that they will consider the menu option.

DeNapoli said he feared a menu driven override would pull an already divided town even further apart.

"It sickens me to see all the fighting," he said.

The purpose of the override is to pull everyone up at the same time, he added.

Selectman Susan Maguire said that while she does not support the override, she would rather have the question settled earlier than later.

"We’ve seen what the results of the last discussion did to the town," she said. "Let’s do it with the primary and spare the town another month of tearing itself apart."

"The town is not going to die from a lack of funds, it’s going to die from a lack of humanity," she said.

DeNapoli said the excuse he has heard most often is that people were uninformed about what would happen in a no override scenario.

He pointed out that the FinCom held open meetings twice a week and sent a report of their findings to every home in Walpole.

"If (voters) were uninformed, all they can do is look at themselves," he said. "The info was out there."

YMCA opens town pools

After staying quiet for the first few weeks of summer, all three town pools returned to action last Thursday.

The opening had been delayed while town officials worked out the details of an agreement with the Walpole YMCA to operate the pools.

Town officials handed the reins to Y staffers in late June after a failed override bid forced them to cut municipal funding for the pools.

The Y agreed to operate the pools at no cost to the town provided that it is not held responsible for any major repair costs.

During an interview on Tuesday morning, YMCA Aquatics Director Timothy Dalmata said that everything has been going "pretty good," so far.

The only problems have been the slow sale of pool tags and a slight leak in the south pool, he said.

The Y is offering residents season-long pool tags for $40, with a maximum of $160 charged per family.

This is an increase of $30 over the cost of last year’s individual tags, when the operation was subsidized by the municipal budget.

In their initial offer, Y staffers told the board of selectmen that $40 would be the absolute minimum they could charge and still be able to cover all their costs.

Dalmata said that tag sales had started to pick up this week as more people became aware that the pools had opened.

Swimming lessons and practice sessions for the Barracudas (the Walpole Swim Team) also began at the center pool on Monday morning.

The Barracudas had been practicing at an indoor facility in Canton while town officials were deciding how to handle the pool situation.

Coach Cheryl Cavanaugh said that her team was happy to be back in their home pool, even though they felt a bit out of shape after swimming at a smaller one in Canton.

"It’s so much easier to get here," assistant coach Jessica Shea added.

The Barracudas’ first home meet was scheduled to take place on Tuesday night.

The Y is providing swimming lessons at the pool for a separate cost of $57 for preschoolers and $62 for youths.

The first session is already underway, but there are subsequent sessions scheduled to begin on July 23, Aug. 6 and Aug. 20. Call 508-668-1098 for more information.

Many of the same instructors previously employed by the town have returned under the direction of the Y, Dalmata said.

Lorraine Dundan’s daughter Meghan had her first swimming lesson of the summer at the center pool on Monday.

While waiting for Tuesday’s lesson to begin, Dundan said that her initial impression of the Y-run pools has been very positive.

"The teachers were really good, really interactive with the kids," she said.

Despite the hot weather on Monday, only a few people came out to swim, Dundan said.

She said she expected attendance to pick up as the summer progresses.

"Yesterday was a good experience, so I was out promoting it," she said. "I don’t think the word’s out yet."

Laura Kickham’s children enrolled in swimming lessons, but do not have tags to use the pool recreationally.

Kickham paid $50 for her entire family to use to pool last summer. She was not willing to pay $160 this year, she said.

She said she was disappointed that the failure of the override had brought about such a sharp increase in fees.

Copyright 2007 The Walpole Times