BOARD OF SELECTMEN
ANNUAL REPORT 2003
The Arlington Board of Selectmen is pleased to submit to the residents of Arlington our Annual Report for 2003. The Arlington Board of Selectmen is composed of five elected individuals who are entrusted with the responsibility to set policy and oversee the management of the municipal functions of local government.
The current members of the Board of Selectmen are: Kevin F. Greeley, Chairman, Diane M. Mahon, Vice-Chairman, Kathleen Kiely Dias, John W. Hurd, and Charles Lyons.
Mr. Charles Lyons named National League of Cities President
The Board of Selectmen is honor this year that Charles Lyons became the President of the National League of Cities. The National League of Cities, established in 1924, represents 40 state municipal leagues and over 1,700 cities and towns across the country. As stated by the organization:
The NLC serves as an advocate for its members in Washington in the legislative, administrative and judicial processes that affect them; develops and pursues a national urban policy to meet the present and future needs of our nation’s cities and people who live in them; offers training, technical assistance, and information to municipal officials to help them improve the quality of local government in our urban nation; and under takes research and analysis on policy issues of importance to the nation’s cities and towns.
Mr. Lyons is the first Selectman to ever serve in that capacity and brings a tremendous amount of prestige to the Arlington Board of Selectmen and Town of Arlington. We wish him well in his tenure as president.
Financial Overview
The Town continued to experience significant budget shortfalls in 2003. The federal and state economies have shown no improvement and declining tax revenues caused the Legislature to reduce state aid to municipalities throughout the Commonwealth. Arlington’s local aid was cut once again in Fiscal Year 2003 and in Fiscal Year 2004. Local aid went from $18 million in FY 2002 to $15 million in FY 2004, a loss of over $3 million.
The town projected a deficit of approximately $8 million at the beginning of 2003. The Board of Selectmen voted to ask the taxpayers to approve an override of one half of this deficit while the Town and School were asked to reduce services by an equal amount. In June the voters defeated an override for $4 million. Eventually, through the tightening of budgets the deficit was reduced to approximately $7 million. Unfortunately the failure of the override vote in June caused both the Town and school to reduce services. Working with the Town Manager, the Board went into Town Meeting recommending significant cuts to the police, fire, public works, library, elderly, and youth service departments. Revenue raising measures, such as increased user fees and fines, were implemented as partial solutions to
the fiscal situation. The Board formed a number of sub-committees to evaluate and to make recommendations on reducing the costs of some of our “budget busters”, including insurance costs, pension obligations, and out of district special education placements. Some of these initiatives, such as selling parking spaces in our municipal lots overnight, provide alternative approaches that enabled the Board to maintain services for our citizens and employees.
These cuts in state aid when coupled with significant increases in employee health insurance and out of district special education costs have caused the Board to rethink how services are currently provided and to seriously consider eliminating some town services and postponing building projects until the economy improves. To that end the Board of Selectmen held several successful retreats with a facilitator to help the Board focus on Town priorities.
Transportation Advisory Committee
The Transportation Advisory Committee to the Board of Selectmen has provided significant research and recommendations to assist the Board in addressing one of the more negative aspects facing our community: traffic and congestion. The Transportation Advisory Board in conjunction with other town departments has used local expertise to develop solutions to make our neighborhoods safer places to work, live, and drive. They have managed to leverage small amounts of consulting money to produce incremental improvements for specific neighborhood traffic issues. The Board values their initiative and diligence and wishes to make special note of their efforts and accomplishments.
The Board would like to acknowledge the dedication and work of the citizens on all of the Town’s boards and commissions. These citizens provide the Town with invaluable service, input, and expertise as the community strives to maintain and improve the quality of life in Arlington.
Employee of the Year
Annually the Arlington Chamber of Commerce nominates an employee of the Town who, through their work, has proved to be a valuable asset to the Community. The Board of Selectmen was honored that Marie Krepelka, Board Administrator was chosen this year as Employee of the Year. The Board feels that Marie is indeed an asset to the community and to the operations of the Board of Selectmen and Town.
Town Manager Search
One of the most important roles the Board of Selectmen has is to hire a professional Town Manager. Once again the Board was faced with this important task. The Board appointed a five-member committee, each chosen by a member of the Board of Selectmen to work with the consultant and screen candidates for the new Town Manager. The Board interviewed five individuals selected by the Committee in Executive Session and, after narrowing the field to three candidates, whom were interviewed in Open Public Session, unanimously voted to offer the position to Mr. Brian F. Sullivan. Mr. Sullivan is the current Town Manager in Winchester and brings with him 29 years of municipal management experience. Mr. Sullivan will assume the position of Arlington Town Manager in January 2004. The Board looks
forward to working with Mr. Sullivan.
The Board saw the retirement of a long-time and valued member of the management team during 2003 – Mr. Alan McClennen, Jr. Planning and Community Development Director. In recognition of his contributions the Board renamed the Reeds Brook site to McClennen Park. The park is undergoing construction in 2004 and will provide a baseball field, soccer fields and open space for the use and enjoyment of all citizens. It was largely through the efforts and foresight of Mr. McClennen that the town was able to see the fruition of this project.
The Board wishes to thank Nancy T. Galkowski for assuming the position of Acting Town Manager during 2003.
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