5-Member
Panel Composed of Local Business, Academic and Policy Professionals;
Outside Experts Will Recommend Revenue and Savings Measures in Response
to Decline in Regional Economy and State Aid Cuts

SOMERVILLE –
Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone announced today that he has convened a
special Financial Advisory Committee (FAC) to provide expert advice on
both cost-saving and revenue-producing measures designed to help the
City maintain its financial strength in the face of a deepening
economic recession and impending mid-year cuts in state aid to
Somerville and other cities and towns. The new committee, which will
convene later this week, includes Samuel Tyler, President of the Boston
Municipal Research Bureau; Jonathan G. Sloane, President and Co-CEO of
Century Bancorp; Geoffrey Hargadon, Sr.Vice President for Investments,
UBS Financial Services; Ronald Bonney, Jr., President of Bonney
Automotive and Executive Committee Member of the Somerville Chamber of
Commerce; and Professor Daniel Richards of the Tufts University
Economics Department.

"We began preparing an internal review of
cost-saving and revenue options back in late October, but the new round
of anticipated cuts in local aid means that we have to find a way to
close an additional $3 million gap in the current fiscal year," Mayor
Curtatone said. "Somerville may be in better fiscal shape than many
other cities and towns in Massachusetts, but we're still faced with
some painful choices – and we don't expect much if any improvement in
2010. We could complete this process internally, but why shouldn't we
draw on the wisdom and expertise that's available all around us? We've
never been shy about turning to outside experts for advice about
municipal best practices, and I welcome the fresh perspective this
distinguished outside group will bring."

Curtatone explained
that the FAC would have the opportunity to make cost savings, cost
recovery and financial management recommendations in all areas of city
government, and would address both operating costs and capital
spending. "All options are on the table, but my charge to this new
committee is to help us avoid service cuts and layoffs if at all
possible," Curtatone said.

"In the end, this new advisory group
can't make the tough decisions for us, but they can offer helpful
guidance, and I am pleased that the Mayor is establishing this special
committee," said Ward 2 Alderman Maryann Heuston, who chairs the
Board's Finance Committee. "I also think that having an outside group
involved adds an extra measure of transparency to what is going to be a
challenging process – and that's important if the public is going to
have confidence in the final plan that the Mayor and the Aldermen
develop."

"Even as he proposes cuts in local aid, Governor
Patrick has been careful to argue that cities and towns should be given
more management tools to control costs and develop a more balanced
revenue base," said Curtatone. "But even if we gain the option of a
modest increase in meals or hotel taxes, and even if the legislature is
finally able to close the obsolete and pointless Telecommunications Tax
loophole, we won't see any new revenue from these changes until next
year. We need to act now to make up for these cuts – and we will."

"Somerville
is a regional leader in adopting municipal best practices to improve
service efficiency," said Samuel Tyler. "However, the size of the state
aid cuts this year and next will require creative but hard choices and
I am happy to join the Advisory Committee members in bringing outside
thinking to address this challenge."

Curtatone said the group
would be convened as quickly as possibly and would report back with
recommendations by mid-March at the latest. "We'd be happy to act even
faster on interim recommendations that the committee may choose to make
before their final report," said Curtatone. "I'm sorry to impose such a
tight timetable, but we really don't have a choice. We have to begin
closing the local aid gap well before the end of the current fiscal
year on June 30th.

"In the meantime, I will also begin talking
directly to our union leaders across city government," said Curtatone.
"We want to partner with organized labor on developing realistic
approaches to keeping cost under control while maintaining core
services. I anticipate their willing cooperation."

What
made it surprising was that it was only a few weeks after he moved
heaven and earth to ensure he would be reelected Speaker. What's even
more surprising is that within minutes of his letter to his colleagues
on Saturday afternoon announcing that he would resign on Tuesday, Bob
DeLeo and John Rogers were doing the dance for the chance to replace
him, with DeLeo pulling out all the stops and announcing he had the
support of 92 of his colleagues to replace DiMasi by midday Monday.

That
was enough for Rogers to back down by midday on Tuesday. That's fast,
people. At least around here, people can see you coming for a few
months before they start to become concerned. Or not.

We are
hopeful that under Speaker DeLeo's leadership, the issue of casinos in
Massachusetts will be reconsidered, along with a number of other
potential revenue-generating ideas that have been squelched under the
previous Speaker. Couple that kind of hope with a leader who is
sensitive to his member's needs and our notably progressive delegation
could get some real work done in the areas of equality, education and
infrastructure development, to name a few.

Entitled
the Housing Opportunity and Mortgage Equity (HOME) Act, the legislation
would allow homeowners to refinance to, and prospective home-buyers the
opportunity to apply for, a 30-year mortgage at the below-market rate
of 4 percent. By targeting homeowners and home-buyers alike, the bill
would both reduce the foreclosure rate and stabilize housing prices,
according to a press release from Rep. Cardoza's office.

"Anybody who has a 7 or 8 percent mortgage now could refinance and get
the 4 percent rate," explained Donald Norton, of ERA The Norton Group
of Somerville. "It will save people with 7-8 percent mortgages now
upwards of $500-700 a month."

Many existing homeowners cannot
currently refinance their mortgage to obtain a better rate and lower
monthly payments, because the decrease in housing prices has left them
owing more on their mortgage than their home is worth.

Typical
monthly payments on a 30-year, $300,000 mortgage at 7 percent total
over $2,000, while at 4 percent, the same mortgage would require only a
$1,400 monthly payment.

"I've been doing this for 30 years, and
I've never seen it this bad," Norton said, referring to the housing
crisis. He added that about 20 percent of homeowners in Somerville
currently have mortgages with interest rates over 6 percent, most of
whom could, consequently, benefit from the bill.

The bill comes
on the heels of the 700-billion-dollar Troubled Asset Relief Program,
or TARP, established by Congress to address the sub-prime mortgage
crisis in late 2008.

"I think it's a great bill; its part of
what we should be getting for all the money that is being given out.
There are people out there who would benefit," Norton opined, in
reference to TARP and its focus on the financial industry.

Somerville's
Congressman, Michael Capuano, expressed broad support for legislative
responses to the housing crisis, but was more reserved regarding the
HOME Act.

"There are a number of proposals designed to help
homeowners struggling to make their monthly mortgage payments. I am
closely reviewing all proposals, including H.R. 230, and will work to
advance those that I think stand the best chance of stabilizing the
housing the congressman explained in an email to the Somerville News.
H.R. 230 is the number formally assigned to the bill, or the HOME Act,
while it is under consideration in the House of Representatives.

The
legislation would work by exploiting the control the government gained
over mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae after it prevented them
from collapsing last summer. In effect, the government would require
both mortgage companies to purchase the new, low-interest-rate
mortgages, if lenders wanted to sell them. The security this guarantee
would provide to lenders would, in turn, enable lenders to more easily
offer new mortgages. Under this scheme, investors who currently own
mortgage-backed securities – securities which helped drive the
financial industry into its present state of crisis – could be paid
back in full, according to press releases from Congressman Cardoza's
office.

"This kind of a bill is good, because it's not giving
away money; it's just saying that the government will pressure banks to
refinance somebody who is having problems," explained Norton.

The
bill is currently before the House Committee on Financial Services. It
is not clear if the bill will reach the floor of the House.

Still, now that Governor Patrick
has announced his proposal to cut $3 million in Somerville's local aid
during the current fiscal year – and predicted that next year will be
just as bad or even worse – it's fair to ask if I still think
Somerville is in such great shape.

My answer is that, as a
community, Somerville will certainly experience some pain, and have to
make some hard choices, as a result of the current economy and the
associated loss of state aid. But we continue to be in much better
shape than many other communities – and we have no plans to retreat
from the service improvements we have made in recent years.

I
don't think we should back away from our recent progress because I
think it's clear that any cutbacks in city services will only increase
the problems now confronting our residents as a result of the national
economic situation. As I told a reporter over the weekend, I also think
it's clear that Governor Patrick understands that cuts in local aid
will simply make the local recession go deeper and last longer so, even
though he feels some cuts are unavoidable, he's going to do his very
best to protect cites and towns from unnecessary hardship. That's my
philosophy, too.

I am also grateful to the Governor for once
again requesting that cities and towns be given more freedom to
diversify their revenue sources through local option meal and hotel
taxes, and by closing the Telecommunications Tax loophole (the obsolete
1913 state law that allows telecomm companies to avoid paying local
property taxes). It's important for Somerville residents to understand,
however, that – even if the legislature approves the Governor's
proposal – these new sources of revenue won't begin to help us close
the state aid gap until next year.

So how, between now and the
June 30th end of FY 2009, do we make up the $3 million shortfall that
the state has reluctantly imposed upon us? Part of the answer comes
from changes we've already made. As soon as the state's budget
situation started to deteriorate back in October, we began to impose
restrictions on hiring. If a job doesn't help maintain revenues or core
services, we're letting it stay vacant. We also began cutting back on
the number of new initiatives previously planned for this year. For
example, we had planned to extend the hours at our branch libraries to
match the extended hours at the Central Library – but that service
improvement is now going on hold. On the capital budget side, we were
hoping to move ahead on a major upgrade to the Central Hill Park on
Highland Avenue that serves as home to our war memorials. Now that
project will have to wait.

Another part of the answer is that we
have been making city government steadily more efficient for the past
five years. By civilianizing clerical positions at the Police
Department, by becoming more energy efficient, by switching to an
internet protocol phone system, and making many other changes large and
small, we have been able to save hundreds of thousands of dollars a
year even as we expanded core city services. In making these changes,
we've put the analytical tools in place to help us prepare for a new
era of austerity.

But because the changes we have already made
won't be enough to close this latest gap, we are now preparing to take
additional steps to reduce spending and find new revenue. I have
already asked department heads to submit proposals in their areas of
city government. This week, I will be announcing the formation of a
special panel of outside experts to advise the City on revenue and
cost-saving measures – both long- and short-term – that will help us
get through the next two years with least possible impact on services.

I've
told this group (which includes local business and academic leaders as
well as outside specialists in local government operations) that
everything is on the table, and that we are willing to be creative
about changing the way we manage and spend in order to sustain, and
even expand, our current level of service.

That commitment is
very much in keeping with the progress we've made over the past five
years and in our willingness to look for, and adopt, best practices and
new technologies from the private sector and from other cities around
the country.

Here in Somerville, we will make whatever hard
choices are necessary to keep our city solvent and working through this
recession. And, as I said in my Midterm Address, what will pull us
through is that we have many advantages that other communities don't
have, including a solid economic development plan, more efficient
operations, an excellent credit rating and a strong cash position. Many
other cities in the Commonwealth are going to have cut police, fire and
teacher positions this year – and others will be closing school
programs and shuttering their libraries.

I still believe that we
can avoid those devastating choices. And if some residents think I'm
being overconfident, then I'll just have to live with that.

The new fire doors are working well, according to
Frank DiChiappari, District Administrator for Student Services. He has
not been otherwise notified to the contrary.

"Right now, we
really don't know exactly what happened. So for me to say that it's not
going to happen, I can't say that," said DiChiappari. "The children are
non-verbal, so they couldn't explain what happened. We basically
guessed how they left the building."

Allegedly, after having
left the after school program, which is held on the first floor of the
school, the children used a side door down the corridor from their
classroom "and up the stairs, to exit the building," according to
DiChiappari. "We just assumed that that's the door that they used," he
said.

Each year, the total enrollment of the after school
program depends on the number of participating students. However, the
classroom in which the two non-verbal children were placed during the
program was a General Education Classroom with eight other children,
all of whom are typically-developing.

Following the incident,
the program director and the school principal held a meeting with staff
regarding safety procedures, according to DiChiappari. After having met
with staff, proper safety and classroom procedures were reiterated with
students.

Currently, additional preventative measures, aside
from the fire doors, are being taken to ensure the prevention of
another similar occurrence.

How will the school attempt to
prevent a similar problem from re-occurring? "What we try to do is make
sure that the doors are closed at all times," said DiChiappari.
However, "It is a public building. People do ring the bell or knock to
try to get in because there are activities."

"After this
happened, the question was, 'How can we make sure all exits are
secured?' I know that the after school staff talked about putting large
red stop signs on all of the doors in the after school rooms," said
DiChiappari. "The importance of [student's] staying with the staff, at
all times, will be stressed."

In addition, student's files were
scrutinized "to see if there were any children that have any special
needs that would require special monitoring," said DiChiappari.
Further, each student's emergency contact information has been reviewed.

Before
the episode, precautionary measures were already in place, and the
installation of the fire doors had already been planned, according to
DiChiappari. "It's a constant training, staffing, concentrating on all
the students to make sure that students are safe in the classrooms," he
said.

The school installed the doors "because we're required
to by the fire department, by state law," said DiChiappari. For two
years, the WSCS delayed installing the doors, although, "the school
department has no control over the physical plant – that comes under
the supervision of the Department of Public Works."

So when you
fall on your keester like I saw some poor middle aged 9 to 5'er do last
week, you're wet, embarrassed, hopefully not hurt, dirty and cold .
Let's give these poor worker bees a break. There are a few of those
huge multi-family apartment "houses" on College Ave that are never
shoveled. I have a friend who uses a cane and he was out after one of
the recent snow storms and it was more difficult than usual for him to
walk.

Let me tell you, if I ever fell in front of your apartment
"house," I would own your house. What's the problem here? The city
gives fines for un-shoveled walkways, right? Do you just pay the fine
and continue to put Somerville's citizens at risk? Do you "absentee
landlords" live so far off in a snobby suburb that you can't make it
back to the place that is financing your uppity lifestyle – to ensure
public safety?

Hey Mr. Landlord, here is an idea for you – pick
a couple of your tenants, and take some money off their rent and make
them the "official" shovel brigade. I always pass two of my friends
houses on College Ave that ARE cleared, then it's back to Antarctica.
If they can shovel, why can't we all? I have two senior citizen friends
who still walk to St. Clements every week for Mass. Even when it is a
clear warm day it is difficult for them to make the trek. When you
slackers don't shovel the snow, you are adding an extra element of
extreme danger to my friends.

If they were my aunts or uncles or
parents and they slipped in front of your house, I'd call Jim Sokolove,
Dane Shulman and Barry Feinstein – and I'd get what's rightfully mine –
and THAT's THAT! While I am ranting, when I walk my dog, I have to get
out of the way of the "spandex sprinters" who use our sidewalks for
their own private race track. Maybe if you slender jaunters shoveled
some snow, you wouldn't have to parade your designer jogging outfits
(that often times look silly) like the sidewalk was your own private
fashion runway.

I pay decent money for my gym membership because
I no longer choose to compete in the fashion show that is jogging in
public. Plus, I don't want to have a heart attack on College Ave. Look
at me! I'm exercising! OOHH! When I did jog outside, I used Fresh Pond
or Dilboy Field. Anyway, some of you are getting too skinny. Stay in
once in a while and have a sandwich. How skinny do you want to get? I
do, however, like the little flashing lights that some of you wear.

Onward
and upward with another rant – I thought some guy was going to beat my
head in the other day…I'm walking the dog and I see this guy and he
says something like "…blah, blah, what the hell do you
want…(curse)!" Followed by more swear-words, more arms waving, louder
yelling with some psychotic gibberish thrown in – and then a very loud
expletive!

He was looking right at me and getting closer and
closer. I figured I had a confrontation on my hands – it was go time! I
thought it was some dude I ticked off, or some old girlfriend's brother
or something…Nope. Just some nut walking down the street apparently
screaming at someone on his hands-free bluetooth cell phone thing. In
the old days they had a place that they would send you for walking down
the street yelling to yourself!

And all this is going on over a
filthy, slippery, slushy, un-shoveled sidewalk that some inconsiderate
absentee landlord is responsible for. I'll tell you, if you leave your
car without money in the meter, or in the wrong zone, you promptly get
a ticket…So I hope these non-shovelers also get fined quickly and
heftily. It's not rocket science. The City does a very good job at
clearing the streets, so let's take care of our end.

By Saturday
the sidewalk is down to bare cement thanks to the weather and the
trudging of the commuters, not the shoveling of the landlords. That's
what happens when hundreds of people walk a beaten path all day, every
day. It goes from snow, to slush, to ice, to gone. But the transition
is a cold, wet, slippery and treacherous one. I know because I walk the
dog there. I realize some people are not physically up to shoveling
their walk , so what do you do? Call 311 or e-mail me. We will get the
sidewalk clear so we don't have any hips, heads, legs, ankles or wrists
knocked out of commission. I'm serious. We also don't want anyone
slipping and having to go through their work day with a dirty spot on
their butt, or a dried white salty stain on their outfit.

By the
by, it's good to see people holding their parking spaces with creative
blockages. Hi Holdies are back! Folks are using barrels, lawn
furniture, RCN and Edison work cones, recycling bins, kids toys,
bundled up grandparents in lounge chairs, shopping carts, armoires, old
stoves and other creative items to secure the spot they shoveled out. I
picked up a very nice end table for my living room last week (sorry).
And you kids thought "MySpace" was something new!

Many local artists and
supporters of the Armory's mission to create an artistic haven in
Somerville came to the hearing to support the administrators and
artists who defended their case for obtaining an entertainment license,
which is required by Massachusetts law to hold public shows and to be
able to charge admission.

According to their website, the Arts
at the Armory "seeks to galvanize the creative spirit by providing a
space where working artists and the community can come together." Now,
after many community meetings and a four-year restoration of the
building, the Arts at the Armory is ready to hold theatre productions,
dance shows, and concerts within the halls of the Armory.

The
entertainment license will allow the organization to host events from
7pm to 10 pm on weekdays and 7pm to 11pm on weekends. Already, the
organization plans to host a production of Shakespeare's "Coriolanus"
put on by the Actor's Shakespeare Project – one of many organizations
who rent space in the Armory to pursue their artistic vision.

The
Armory building itself is a well-known site in Somerville. It is hard
to miss when driving down Highland Avenue towards Union Square.
Resembling a white castle with big turrets and a grand front door, the
Armory sticks out remarkably well in this mostly residential
neighborhood.

Built in 1903 by George A. Moore, the Armory's
original purpose was to house the Somerville Light Infantry of the
Massachusetts' Volunteer Militia. For a good portion of the 20th
century it would also be home to the Massachusetts National Guard. The
building would then sit vacant for 30 years before the state would put
it up for auction.

In 2004 Joseph and Nabil Sater, owners of
Central Square's prominent 'Middle East' music club, bought the Armory
for $2.6 million. Joseph Sater had a vision of turning the run-down
Armory into a community arts center for the city of Somerville.

Over
four years later, the Armory has been completely restored and brought
up to code, and the Arts at the Armory is ready for their entertainment
license. "We want to do our job and fulfill our mission." Explained
Debra McLaughlin, manager of Arts at the Armory. McLaughlin believes
that to be an effective organization, the Armory must explore the "four
corners of the art world," meaning visual arts, music, dance and
theatre.

Not everybody in the community is happy about the
entertainment license though. While the crowd who attended Monday's
meeting was overwhelmingly in support of granting the license, there
were a few community members who spoke against it.

Most of the
community members' worries were about the issue of amplified music.
"The concern is that Mr. Sader owns the Middle East and we do not want
that sort of environment in the Armory," explained one opponent to the
license, referring to the rock and roll performances common to the
Middle East music club.

McLaughlin and other supporters were
quick to note the Arts at the Armory has spent thousands of dollars on
sound proofing the building and doing sound checks to make sure
potential noise from concerts would not disturb any residents.

In
addition, McLaughlin noted that the Arts at the Armory had several
professionally mediated meetings between the organization and the
community. At these meetings 41 conditions were agreed upon to gain the
community's consent to pursue an Entertainment License. Nine of these
41 conditions make stipulations concerning sound control. According to
McLaughlin the Arts at the Armory will comply with all 41 of these
conditions.

"We want to be a good neighbor." Said McLaughlin.
"We're taking every measure we can to do that very thing." McLaughlin
and other supporters went on to promise that an open dialogue would
continue between the community and the center via an Advisory board of
elected community members.

At the end of the meeting, one
member of the licensing committee commented that there seems to be "an
overwhelming public need for this project" – an opinion that was only
confirmed by the loud applause after the license application had
officially passed.