OPINION: Resident Urges a "No" Vote to Excessive Spending and Charter Changes at Westwood's Town Meeting

By Allison Drescher

There are several issues of concern to be addressed at Westwood’s Town Meeting on Monday. Are the cost and scope of these issues consistent with a town of our size? Can voters afford more tax increases in this economic climate? Are residents comfortable with proposed Charter Changes that alter the quorum for Town Meeting?

ARTICLE 3: For Year Operating Budgets

There have been significant real estate tax increases in town recently. The override, or debt exemption, for the Pine Hills School was recently added to tax bills, in conjunction with a new home re-evaluation. Article 14 (FS1 below) represents another substantial real estate tax increase. Because of Proposition 2 ½ in Massachusetts, taxes can annually be raised only 2 ½%, plus new economic growth in the town without an override.

Townspeople should not be caught short – conversations have commenced for substantial improvements to Westwood Public Schools. There are ongoing discussions of undertaking new construction on one or more school buildings, the Thurston middle school and another one of our elementary schools with discussions of modular improvements for others. This spending is likely to run into the stratosphere, and very possibly to be proposed in the not-too-distant future.

ARTICLE 14: Appropriation for Fire Station One (FS1) Construction Project

You may have heard about the FS1 or Fire Station One proposal. We will be asked to vote a tax override for a more than $38.1 million, up to $70 million with interest, to build this new station. The process has been lengthy, and the town has made a good attempt to engage voters at a series of public meeting sessions; but is the rebuild of FS1 appropriate for a town of our size? Is this the time to borrow, with interest rates at current levels? Why weren’t the needs for FS1 discussed during the Pine Hills School override?

$38.1 million is a lot of money. We are a town of 16,000 residents and 12,000 voters, with 5,000 residential tax bills. We’re told it isn’t such a big deal – the real estate tax increase is $372 per year. The borrowing runs for 30 years, so it’s $11,160 per tax bill on an average $1.2M of value ($372/year x $1.2M home value x 30 years), over the duration of the bond. If you choose to sell your home, the tax increase is part of your tax bill. At what point do real estate taxes price Westwood out for seniors and new families?

We are told FS1 must happen. We are assured it is not too expensive or too big. We are informed it must happen now. But what if it doesn’t happen? We’ll lose the design costs (approximately $3.5M). We will be facing a $25M renovation solution instead of a $38M new building. Many towns of our size make do with a $25M project cost for a fire station.

Has the FS1 process been open to hearing residents’ concerns and making changes in good faith? That’s debatable. Concerns about cost, size, facilities and consultant fees have been raised, but they are followed up with reasons we must complete the proposed plan. Taxpayer dollars of $25,000 were allocated to a professional public relations company to convince residents we need this version of the project.

ARTICLE 18: Home Rule Petition – An Act to File a Petition for Special Legislation to Amend the Town Charter

Town Charter changes will also be presented under Article 18. Many of them are laudable and include necessary updates – unfortunately, approximately 24 changes are lumped together into one article. However, two are major changes to town governance. One includes a change giving the Select Board the ability to call additional Town Meetings at will.

The second, and more concerning item, is that of the quorum change for Town Meeting. Town meeting may establish a town by-law quorum requirement only for the opening of an annual or special town meeting and no other quorum requirement shall apply at town meeting.

If adopted, these changes are significant for the citizenry and permits a very small portion of residents to make public policy for Westwood. It alters when and where people can make big decisions and the number of them to do so. If this concerns you, vote no on all 24.

Please attend Town Meeting on Monday May 19th at 6:30 PM (5:30 PM registration start) at the Westwood High School to state your opinion on the above referenced matters. Please plan to stay for the duration of the meeting, should the vote be reconsidered if residents leave. Bring your knitting or your newspaper.

Your vote as a resident of Westwood could well determine the fiscal direction of our town at Monday’s Town Meeting, and in the future.

Thanks to Allison Drescher for contributing this opinion article to Westwood Minute. Ms. Drescher is a resident of Westwood, a principal and manager of a family-owned real estate portfolio in and around Boston, and president of the Small Property Owners Association. She can be reached at westwoodtaxpayers@gmail.com.

Westwood Minute takes no position on the opinion articles that it publishes, but seeks accurate and thoughtful commentary on topics that matter to our community, from a variety of differing viewpoints. Feel free to reply with your reaction below, or submit another perspective to WestwoodInAMinute@gmail.com.

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You may also be interested in reading:-

- LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Westwood Needs a Modern, Safe, ADA Compliant Fire Station

- OPINION: Can the Taxpayers Afford All the Bells & Whistles on FS1?

- OPINION: Proposed FS1 is Essential, No Bells and Whistles

- Westwood Settles with Abutters to FS1 Project, and Withdraws Support of Article 15 Proposed Zoning Amendments