Selectmen Playing with Fire.
By Jim Conley • Mar 16th, 2007 • Email This Post to a Friend •
Print This Post
• Email this author
In their budget presented last week, the Brookline Selectmen and Town Administrator Richard Kelliher proposed to take three firefighters off the force and close a station during the summer months. Given that one of these positions will be re-assigned to a desk, the net loss to the force is two positions.
That will save about $100 thousand in direct costs.
Where might we find the money to reinstate these positions? Well, how about in the Office of Economic Development? In that department, two employees cost taxpayers $150 thousand in direct costs…to serve as a PR arm for local developers and to purchase snowflakes for merchants.
The “commercial areas coordinator” earns nearly $20 thousand more than the average firefighter. A simple cost/benefit analysis would reveal how out of whack the Brookline Selectmen’s priorities are with the taxpayer interests. And I’ll bet that in Kelliher’s Boston neighborhood, the force is fully staffed.
A more responsible budget would cut the extraneous items first. So let’s call this budget what it is - a set up for a tax override by scaring residents into thinking that they’ll lose the services they care for most such as fire, police and education. While protecting non-essential services like economic development and golf.
That’s just pathetic.
Jim Conley is publisher of On Brookline.
Email this author | All posts by Jim Conley
Perhaps Fisher Hill residents upset with Longyear might suggest eliminating the Zoning Administrator who seems to shepherd the flock of developers. How much might that save?
And perhaps there can be some cuts in the Planning Department that might get its attention in order for it occasionally to challenge the Building Commissioner rather than move in lockstep.
And perhaps cuts in Town Counsel’s office budget regarding the hiring of outside counsel. I would think that the associates by putting in enough time could become more knowledgeable and proficient in areas of the law currently leading to perhaps overuse of outside counsel. By demonstrating additional legal skills, these associates could become more marketable not only serving in Town Counsel’s office but also in professional growth if they were to leave for the private sector or another municipality. Shouldn’t Town Counsel be encouraging the associates to expand their legal skills? That’s what is usually done in a law firm. Perhaps the fact that Town Counsel has not had the benefit of significant private practice might suggest the need for her to develop better leadership and growth skills. Or do the associates consider this as their careers or dead-end jobs?
[...] Selectmen Playing with Fire.In their budget presented last week, the Brookline Selectmen and Town Administrator… [...]