MOOREcol.06-21-05. . . . . . . . .45 HED : The summer's heat And the Winter's work By BOB MOORE What is so rare as a day in June? Then if ever come perfect day/Heaven try Earth/If it be in tune . . . . Lowell's Vision of Sir Launfal so perfectly fits today's clime - and reminds us that, financially, we're not in tune with the FY-2006 budget year beginning only a week away. This has been a strange year. Town Meeting postponed action on next year's budget, waiting for final figures on the state budget - and that still is not finalized. Hence, it's a guess on what we'll have to spend. We may yet get a local budget on a contingency basis - a hoped-for figure that can be upped or downed. Already, we have the shadow of spending for two top-rated planners for Planning and Economic Development. And - the promise that it will be a barebones budget. Message : Don't count on getting what you'd like; we don't have it. As a result, this lengthy TM has been timid about voting for anything. Personally, I would have liked to have seen the repeated efforts to fund the McAuliffe library go through. It is something that brings Framingham up a notch. We'll probably be facing that proposition again - and hopefully we'll measure up to the standards set by Framingham. That said, I'm familiar with the arguments against doing that right now - why spend when we have the runt branch and there is so much more we need? Plenty of sweat went into the effort but little into the desirability. And the arguments for - it adds to the class that makes Framingham a place to live. Maybe you've noticed this, too. This stretched out Town Meeting has devoured time for meetings of the Board of Selectmen at a time when that reorganized board is trying to establish itself as the center of town activity. There's hope the board will have time this Thursday. Last week, in hopes that it could get moving, it squeezed in a session dealing with water and sewer rates. One object : find a way to 'equalize' rates for homes and those assessed to apartment dwellers. To avoid sudden changes, the board has hired a consultant to work on possible changes. And - it has appointed Selectmen Ginger Esty amd Dennis Giombetti to work closely with the consultant to work out a proposition to be ready for public consideration in the fall. I think this brings the always-thorny and unsettled question of rate structure into perspective. This is one to move - And a practical one - to get somewhere in the public eye and move on. It's worth watching. We've got time for that, even in these lazy days of summer. I've left out the questions of how we can finance the rising mound of capital projects we know, furtively, are there. That's an unsettled subject that still requires attention. And we'll get to it because it's another thorny question mentioned and ignored. And left to another day that's coming soon. Plenty of room there for unhapiness all around. But I can't leave out the effort to beatify: something comes up when the South Middlesex Opportunity Council feels under fire. Its move to take over the ample acreage at 517 Winter Street, that housed a nursing home. Personally, I'm a little queasy over that. I'll leave out the argument of removing the site from the tax rolls and come down to this : A shelter for homeless mothers attempting to shake drug addiction that was scheduled for the back streets of Worcester is moving in with their children who will be free to add to the school public schools. The shelter, wet or dry, depending on how well it is supervised, has the neighbors in this well-kept Precinct 11 neighborhood, has neighbors up in arms. If the shelter was objected to in one of the back streets of Worcester, why should it be placed on Winter Street? Answer : Under the so-called Dover Amendment of state law, SMOC can move in, no matter how disjointed its presence may be. In a recent Boston Globe story, SMOC Executive Director Jim is quoted as saying that local residents are picking unfairly on an agency that serves only to help those in need. It's above that. I find that a little hard to take. This is to say that SMOC is above criticism because of its devotion to helping the needy. No room for criticism? When it moves a shelter proposed for Worcester neighborhoods onto upscale Winter Street, Framingham. Do right and you can do no wrong? Cuddy et al are well paid for their devotion. His salary is $185,548, plus $8,933 in benefits. The upper eight [8] officials are salaried down though the $100,000s [plus benefits] to a low of $92,896 [with benefits] SMOCs move comes at a time when local neighborhoods are complaining : SMOC and Wayside and Advocates [social service agencies] let you know we're coming in because the law says we can. This growing number of freebies is getting a little hard to take, uncomplainingly and there is some feeling that SMOC might be asked for Payment in Lieu of Taxes [PILOT]. We'll see how it all works out. ___________________________________________ You can reach Bob Moore at _edmoore4@aol.com_ (mailto:edmoore4@aol.com) or At 508-620-1449. To unsubscribe, send email to majordomo@syslang.net with body unsubscribe frambors (the subject is ignored). Please read the Frequently Asked Questions maintained online at http://frambors.syslang.net/faq/about.html before posting or replying.