Keep Framingham Affordable
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| Override may mean more aid | Sunday, October 17, 2004 |
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| D. Craig MacCormack 508-626-4429 | Metrowest Daily News |
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FRAMINGHAM -- State Rep. Deborah Blumer said she sees opportunities to
get some state and federal help for taxpayers if a $90 million override
proposal becomes a reality and is approved by Town Meeting and a ballot vote.
Blumer, D-Framingham, pointed to special legislation that allows communities to extend the life of their bonds and thereby ease the annual burden on taxpayers as one way to sell the package to voters. She sees potential for road work and library improvements to be paid for in part through state grants, and a possibility of paying for part or all of the townwide communications center with federal money, she said. Blumer said she sees the package, proposed last month by Town Manager George King but still waiting for approvals from several committees before heading to Town Meeting floor, as perhaps less cumbersome than some residents might believe. "It's like buying a house," she said. "Of course you're going to look at the sticker price, but what you really care about is if you can make the monthly payments. "People have to make a judgment on whether $150 per year for 20 years is something they can afford. We know construction costs and land costs are going to go up and things that need repair now will need more later," she said. Gerald Bloomfield, an independent candidate running against Blumer for the 6th Middlesex District seat, said a lack of efficiency at the state and local levels has led to the large capital override proposal. He said he sees no way around some of the repairs, including sidewalks and some of the school renovations included in the proposal, but wonders about the plan to lump everything together for voters. "We need wireless Internet, but I'm not sure we need it right now," said Bloomfield. "And maybe we can do just some of the repairs to the Memorial Building and not everything all at once. "We have to do something, but I'm not sure we need to do everything at the same time," he said. Republican Nicolas Sanchez, the third candidate for the 6th Middlesex seat, said he sees a fundamental flaw with the capital override proposal, saying too much focus and energy is being spent on revitalizing downtown. "How many years will we try to renovate this part of town when most people are voting with their feet and going somewhere else?" he asked. "The people in this community don't seem interested in changing downtown." Blumer would try to rope in U.S. Rep. Ed Markey to see what federal money could be used for Framingham's proposal, she said, but said she believes residents will support the package if it moves forward over the next few months. "It's a lot easier to get people to donate if they can see some tangible evidence of the work, and I believe the same would apply here," she said. Bloomfield points to Beacon Hill and sees wasteful practices by politicians as one reason residents face increased tax bills every year. "At least 3 percent of the state budget could be re-appropriated and put to better purposes, and you have to do the same things in your town, too," he said. "You can't just expect the state to find better ways to use money. "People are genuinely overtaxed. To ask them to come up with even more and not try to cut back is pushing everyone to the limit. I'm willing to pay my share for good government but not for bad government," said Bloomfield. Sanchez said the log-rolling principle will eventually bring the burden back to the individual taxpayer anyway. "Since every legislator is passing these big projects along to the state, we end up just passing the buck back to ourselves," he said. "Ultimately we have to pay for it. That's something most people may not understand." |
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