Keep Framingham Affordable
Working to Keep Your | 
|
Every tax is a pay cut. |
|---|
| Override proposal stalling | Tuesday, January 25, 2005 |
|---|---|
| David McLaughlin 508-626-4338 | Metrowest Daily News |
|
FRAMINGHAM -- A month after Town Manager George King dumped his $86 million
override proposal on the laps of the town's fiscal watchdogs, the
ambitious plan is at a standstill.
An ad hoc committee set up last month in the wake of King's pitch met for the first time last week, but there is some confusion among members about what exactly they should be working on. Any recommendation about a possible override to be sent to voters, meanwhile, is a long way off, members said. In fact, as its first order of business, the group decided not to tackle King's plan, but to review the way the town goes about planning for capital projects. "I guarantee you, this is going to be a slow process," said Capital Budget Committee Chairwoman Jeanne Bullock, who sits on the ad hoc committee. "At the rate it's going, they won't have anything ready by April. I don't see how they could." In mid-December, King made his pitch for $86 million worth of capital projects across town to be paid for through a debt exclusion override. He said the plan addresses the town's most pressing capital needs, including a $28.5 million renovation to the Memorial Building, a $4 million Saxonville fire station and $24 million in roadwork. King made his presentation to selectmen and members of the Finance Committee, the Capital Budget Committee and the Standing Committee on Ways and Means. An unwieldy discussion followed, and the group voted to send the matter to the ad hoc committee. Committee members interviewed yesterday disagreed about the scope of their work and whether they will even make recommendations about the array of projects. Bullock, who voted against forming the committee, acknowledged there is confusion among its members about what they should be doing and said they are "feeling their way around." Selectman Katie Murphy said she expects the group will make recommendations about the projects and how they should be funded, whether it is through an $86 million override, a smaller one or none at all. "I think right now the entire spectrum is on the table," she said. Like Bullock, Murphy, too, acknowledged the April election is an unlikely target for any override. "It feels like it's way too early. April is really around the corner. But then who knows? Maybe it will be determined (an override) is a good way to go. I have a very open mind about it," she said. Tom O'Neil, another Capital Budget Committee member who sits on the committee, said the group is charged not with making recommendations about King's package, but to "set up a procedure, whatever it might be, to review" it. Making recommendations about the projects, he said, would mean doing the work of the Capital Budget Committee. "I don't see that as part of our mission. I really think that would violate the town bylaw," he said. Several other members of the ad hoc committee could not be reached for comment yesterday. |
|
Send comments to:
hjw2001@rcn.com
|
|