MOORECOL.No.10
10-08-2004

hed :

Time to make Big Decisions : Be Precise

By BOB MOORE

With all sorts of assertions, avowals, plans, promises and predictions
floating about, this could be a confusing time, except for one thing -
we are about to become precise. That goes with the pre-budget season.
One thing suggests another.

One example, the yes, no and maybe about what should be a Housing Plan
for Framingham will come to a head when the Oct. 19 Town Meeting goes to
the mat on Article 3. That names the Board of Selectmen ["the
policy-making board"], together with Planning Board, as the sole
authority to define what shall be housing policy when it has a
two-thirds majority  in Town Meeting.

Its importance : It tackles the vague assertion that we have such a
policy because someone says so. Bottom line : it's official only if it
passes the test. Only if - its contents do not run counter to what TM
will pass with a two-thirds majority. That deflates another of the
frequent belief that something's official if it sounds good. A move
toward precision that we've long avoided.

Before moving on - another example of getting precise : Manager George
King's bushel basket of capital improvements that need attention. Uh -
through another override. A "debt exclusion override" what could get $90
million changes done in 20 years. Through 20-year bonds that, paid off
in 2024, would not add to the town's debt.

Hold on. What King has done is call attention to a mountain of things
left unattended that need to be corrected. His list I gave last week in
brief includes an attack on our road system. That is something that will
be tackled. The list is not all-inclusive. But it calls attention to the
patchwork of now-and-then changes that have avoided action. King has
passed the list around to selectmen, Planning Board, School Committee -
and the public - for reaction.

So far, Board of Selectmen has said -  well, OK. The School Committee
has raised some questions. This week the Finance Committee points out
that the proposal has not included a five-year Capital Budge Plan called
for under the Chief Finance Office act.

The FinCom's reaction reflects the time-taking complications that must
be considered if King plans to offer a specific plan to a special Town
Meeting in January. That means testing something specific before town
boards and special committees of Town Meeting. A long drag King hopes to
have finalized by Dec. 6. So he can take the debt exclusion override to
TM about mid-January.

Some of the figures I mentioned last week, you might pass over but $20
million to work on roads is probably the most important. And it's
complicated, too. It involves coordination with the long-overlooked
sewer upgrades. You can't do one without the other. Considering our
growing traffic problems, much thinking has to be done on "lesser" roads
now being used by "traffic-jam evaders."

Peter Sellers, the master adjuster who serves as head of the Public
Works Department, has stressed the old habit of "fix-it-and-move-on" has
not led to long range planning and consistent maintenance. That work
could well eat up the $20 million sought. Maybe it would be $30-$40
million he once outlined. A lot, but being precise now can avoid
millions more eventually. Right?

HOUSING - Getting back to the confusion over what to do about a Housing
Plan. It's been promoted by the Housing and Economic Development
department, but has become so tangled up in who speaks for Framingham
when we deal with a state or regional authorities that we don't know if
there is a plan or not.

Efforts to find out if the original plan is alive, adjusted or extant
has brought up another demand for "location" or precision. Selectmen,
who may well have passed on The Original to a planning agency, now
insist the Original has been revised and/or dumped. So we're back to
Article 3 on the Oct. 19                 TM. To be precise, backers
insist on a clear definition of who speaks for Framingham on housing
plans. Next : some action.

Tying down who speaks for the town after sufficient hearings have been
held will be a rugged fight on TM floor. It's no game. It calls for
precise procedure that you can count on. That's what Town Manager
government is all about and what it has been achieving slowly in the
past five years. One thought : We'll know how well this works when we
take seriously the hearings this article calls for. One by one. Checking
to see what's accepted and making sure it's carried out. Week by week,
if necessary. And it is.

"SHOCKED!" - Hmm. The race to see who will be the state senator from
this district is stumbling on much as it did in the Democratic primary
won by State Rep. Karen Spilka. The Republican contender, Atty. Jim
Coffey of Hopkinton, backed by the Romney moneybags says he's "shocked."
So am I.

Follow me on this. Coffey says Spilka favors "sex predators" in the
schools because she is part of the Democratic leadership and she favored
existing state law rather than a  remote bill dealing with the
background of all involved in the schools. Under state law, CORI,
schools are using such protection.

Yes, I'm "shocked" that Coffey knows so little about local affairs that
he would try an old chestnut used by newcomers who want to get aboard.
This wild spear-throwing did not click with Spilka's two Democratic
rivals.  Spilka has a good reputation, even among Republicans and the
unenrolled. If you're going to attack, be precise.
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You can reach Bob Moore at edmoore4@aol.com or at 1-508-620-1449.