My first contact with stock brokers came in the early 1960s when I started receiving “cold calls” at my law office in the early years of establishing my practice. I recall a joke back at that time that was told as a “lawyer joke.”
Perhaps the Commonwealth should be rethinking exemption of these institutions from property taxes. Perhaps Congress should be rethinking income and other tax exemptions available to these institutions. Perhaps there should be geographical apportionment of such institutions such that their burdens do not fall too heavily on just a few communities.
Financing for Phase 2’s $2.4 billion costs (in 2007 dollars) remains a problem. EOT projects that at the “2016 midpoint,” these costs may range from $3 – 3.7 billion. (These projections may raise eyebrows of those familiar with the escalation of the BIG DIG’s costs.) The RDEIR/DEIS will reflect the extent of non-federal, non-state funding that may be required but without identifying the sources for such shortfall.
The Citizen’s Advisory Committee (“CAC”) public meeting of September 22, 2008, which happened to fall on the Autumnal Equinox, foretold longer and darker days for Phase 2 of the Urban Ring.
This meeting was not very contentious or that much more informative than the previous CAC meeting of July 28, 2008.
Is it just possible that our Town of 55,000+ with an annual budget of $200 million might be more efficiently served legislatively with a 15-19 member council or board of aldermen that could meet routinely as a body on a weekly basis to address serious issues in a more timely manner without months of preparation as for this STM? Your participation in this “anatomical” study may lead to diagnoses of and cures for what ails this Town.
My layout for this series has been temporarily sidetracked by a recent letter in the Brookline TAB (8/28/08) from Marty Rosenthal and Frank Farlow, Co-chairs, Brookline PAX, critical of a TAB editorial (8/21/08) “Leadership and reform from [Governor] Patrick” lauding, inter alia, the use of civilian flaggers in lieu of police details. I found their objection to this reform to be most unusual for a local civil rights type organization.
Yes, Brookline as a community had been in the forefront of justice, not only for its residents, MA and America, also for the whole world. But in recent years, there has been a gap in Brookline’s soul, as I understood it, right here in our own backyard. This was most recently reflected in the aftermath of the May 24, 2007, Town Hall Brawl, which continues with the Citizen Complaint Review Committee appointed to address certain aspects of this matter that involved Brookline resident Arthur Conquest.
EOT’s Ned Codd in discussing funding sources and challenges at the recent CAC meeting made reference to the “Magic 8 Ball” – suggesting the “outlook is not good.” Since the tunneling costs for Phase 2 are so high, it appears that EOT will push its “Plan B” (my description, not EOT’s) for surface routes in the interim; but Codd conceded that federal funding might not be available for interim surface routes.
Brookline, with its Representative Town Meeting (“RTM”) form of governance, is required to hold an Annual Town Meeting (“ATM”), usually in May. As Brookline’s population has increased to 55,000+ and its annual budget to $200 million, the ATM has not sufficed for Brookline’s legislative needs. This has resulted in recent years in a Special Town Meeting (“STM”) in the Fall. Some years ago, an STM would be reserved for zoning amendments back when zoning changes were not an annual sporting event as seems to be the case in recent years.
Archie Mazmanian has part three of his series on representative town meeting and sees a way to revert back to an open town meeting — over the Internet.
Remember, Brookline does not really have a town meeting. We elect voters to serve as town meeting members. Rather republican in practice, but its members see it as the “purest form of democracy.” Except that they won’t record votes by roll call.
Archie Mazmanian has added an installment to his whistleblower series and calls on Massachusetts’ residents to lobby on behalf of those who drop a dime on taxpayer waste and fraud.
He also provides a link to a thoughtful article on the changing perceptions found with whistleblowers and the service they provide in matters of finance, in policy administration and in taxpayer-financed research.
The current (employment) Contract is most generous in providing benefits to the Town Administrator, not only in direct compensation, but with many fringe benefits, including indemnification that is much more generous than provided by statute to municipal employees.
At first blush it would seem that the Selectmen’s evaluations of the Town Administrator pursuant to Section XI of the Employment Contract once placed in his personnel file would have the benefit of the cited exemption from public records. But the role of the Town Administrator as the Chief Administrative Officer of the Town would seem to be uniquely different from most, if not all, Town employees.
The ultimate question is, how can Brookline residents be assured that our Selectmen have duly and truly accounted for the Town Administrator’s performance if the Boards evaluations rendered pursuant to Section XI are not available to the public?
How effective are Brookline’s TMMs as its legislature meeting only one or twice each year as compared to the frequency with which Newton’s legislature (i.e. the Aldermen) meet? Newton’s aldermen are in a position to challenge its mayor more readily and more frequently than can Brookline’s TMMs challenge its Selectmen. In addition, in Brookline the town moderator exerts significant controls over TMs, both annual and special, which can stifle debate. (The town moderator, elected for a 3-year terms, not only presides over TMs, but also appoints members of the Advisory Committee and various other committees.)
By Arshag A. Mazmanian
The presentation by the Executive Office of Transportation (EOT) at the March 10, 2008 Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) meeting proceeded along in the direction of addressing preliminarily its Locally Preferred Alternatives (LPAs) for Phase 2 when all of a sudden EOT dropped a bombshell: There may be problems resolving required approvals [...]
By Arshag A. Mazmanian
The next Citizens Advisory Committee (“CAC”) meeting is scheduled for March 10, 2008, 4:00-6:00 PM, in the BRA boardroom, 9th floor, Boston City Hall. Since the last CAC meeting on December 10, 2007 (reported on in my “A CraZy Scheme” Urban Ring installment), the Executive Office of Transportation (“EOT”) has been [...]
By Arshag A. Mazmanian
The dust has yet to settle on the mass resignations of ZBA members last fall and the recent resignation of Building Commissioner Jim Nickerson that may have been causally connected to the May 24th Town Hall Brawl triggered by a ZBA decision just prior thereto, which the ZBA reversed several weeks [...]
By: Arshag A. Mazmanian
The big news from the Executive Office of Transportation (“EOT”) at the Citizens Advisory Committee (“CAC”) meeting on December 10, 2007, was that there was no news on the demographics required for critical ridership projections to support EOT’s Urban Ring Phase 2 RDEIR/DEIS, the filing date for which had been extended to [...]
By: Arshag A. Mazmanian
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, just as is ugliness. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart in addressing what constitutes hard-core pornography that is unprotected by the First Amendment’s Speech Clause recognized the difficulty in defining it, stating “but I know it when I see it.” Perhaps the [...]
