CHAMBER

Challenges and Opportunities Facing Area Towns
MetroWest Chamber of Commerce
March Board Meeting
Wednesday, March 29, 2006

This was the first of four panel discussions the MetroWest Chamber of Commerce plans on hosting. All four panel discussions will be moderated by Helen Lemoine, Director of the Leadership MetroWest Program.

Panel Participants (5 selectmen representing towns in the MetroWest Region):

1. Framingham Selectwoman – Katie Murphy

2. Hopkinton Selectman – Eric Sonnet

3. Southborough Selectman – Bill Christensen

4. Natick Selectwoman – Carole Gloff

5. Ashland Selectman – David Teller

Introduction: Helen started the discussion by stating how important it is for businesses and communities to work together for the common good. She then introduced the members of the panel and gave each five minutes to discuss what they feel are the top 1 or 2 challenges currently facing the town they represent.

1. Katie Murphy (Chairwoman of the Framingham Board of Selectmen)

-     The biggest challenge currently facing Framingham is the revitalization effort going on downtown. The area is in a prime location with easy access to Rte. 9, 495 and the Mass. Turnpike, as well as commuter rail.  Neighborhoods are ready for a village approach. 

-     There is increasing reliance on property taxes.  Businesses and legislators need to work together.

-     She painted the picture of a new town that resembled an old vision. Businesses and homes will sit side by side transforming the downtown area into a desirable place for visitors as well as current Framingham residents.  Through the START program, arts and cultural activities such as the Danforth Museum and the new community theater group at the Civic League will draw more visitors downtown.

2. Eric Sonnet (Chairman of the Board of Selectman in Hopkinton )

-     In the last 20 years Hopkinton’s population has doubled in size. They currently are one of the fastest growing towns in the State. They also have the fastest growing school population. Currently 20% of Hopkinton’s population is under the age of ten.

-     The biggest problem currently facing Hopkinton is their school system. Because of their demographics they get very little money from the state. The citizens demand a high level of education for there children but getting the money to provide it is the problem.

-     Who’s going to pay?  State aid is short.  People have to be willing to tax themselves.

-     83% of tax revenue comes from residential property tax, with 17% coming from the commercial sector. (EMC pays 6%)

-     In the future, they are looking at $2-3 million per year in overrides.  The average tax increase would be $300 per million in override. 

-     Part of the answer is increased economic development.  Companies that expand or locate in Hopkinton are now eligible for tax increment financing.

-     Water and sewer are key to growth.  Infrastructure can only happen with cooperation between business and the community.

3. Bill Christensen (Member of the Board of Selectmen in Southborough)

-     Similar to the problems facing Hopkinton, Southborough is having trouble securing the funds to provide the services its residents demand. It has gotten to the point were the local government can not tighten its belt any tighter.

-     In 1990 Southborough had a little over 6,000 residents and 20 town employees. Currently in 2006 the town has over 10,000 residents but the number of town employees still total only 23.75. They have been able to keep the number of employees stable by finding ways to improve their productivity. But at some point they are going to need to hire more employees and right now they do not have funds necessary to do this. 

-     They have a single tax rate and commercial/industrial property pays 17-18% of the total.

-     Insurance was 2.5% of the budget but is now 10%.  Cities and towns should get a share of the state sales tax and income tax.

-     Another problem is the unexpected jump in energy costs this year. The town was forced to go into its reserve fund without a Proposition 2 ½ override.  This has the potential to become a major problem in the future, especially if energy costs continue to climb.

4. Carol Gloff  (Member of the Board of Selectmen in Natick)

-     Following the theme of the discussion, Carol labeled budget issues as the number one problem in Natick. Eighty percent of the town budget is salaries.

-     A joint planning is done by the Board of Selectmen, School Committee and Finance Committee.  They are working on a five year plan.

-     By really cutting back and providing the bare minimum in services to its residents Natick was able to work out a budget for 2007.  

-     In 2008 this is going to be a very daunting task, and most likely the solution is going to be to further cut services the town provides to its residents. Natick has had only one override in its history and that was to purchase a new ambulance.  They had a debt exclusion override for the Wilson Middle School.  The Community Preservation Act was recently defeated with a 27% turnout and 60% voting against.

-     Another hot button issue in Natick is the parking situation downtown. The upper level of the downtown municipal garage began to cave in forcing the town to shut it down. This eliminated about 180 parking spaces in downtown Natick. The employees/ residents who lost their spots are now parking right on the main street, taking spots away from the small businesses that actually purchased these spaces from the town. The parking problem has become so bad that many downtown locations are claiming they have lost a significant amount of business because people are staying away from downtown because it is so difficult to find a parking space.

5. David Teller (Member of the Board of Selectmen in Ashland)

-     He praised the CPA measure that Ashland passed. It gave the town over $1.5 million to build a new town hall.

-     He joked that when he first moved to Ashland, nobody wanted to live there. Since then it has more than doubled in size and it has become a very attractive place to live.

-     Ashland faces similar problems to Southborough. They are forced to provide a basic amount of services to its growing population of citizens without increasing town employment. Ashland has 8 less call firefighters then it did in the 80’s. 

-     Ashland cooperated with Hopkinton on a $8 million water treatment plant.

-     The location of Ashland really hurts the town when it tries to recruit new businesses. There are only two major roads (Routes 135 and 126) into Ashland and they are usually very crowded during rush hour.

-     Adding more affordable housing to the town has become a major problem. Seniors looking to sell their homes and move into a retirement setting are either having to leave the area or pay exorbitant amounts of money to move into these communities. For most it does not make economic sense.