“The lack of Candidate participation in Taxpayer Questionaire sends a signal of lack of concern or contempt for the Taxpayers concerns.  This seems to be a common theme that runs throughout the system of public service — from local Government to Congress”.

March 2010

In the spirit of supporting an informed electorate the Billerica Taxpayers Association (BTA) sent questionnaires to Billerica Selectmen Candidates.  The questionnaire was structured to measure each candidate’s commitment to the principles of sound fiscal and tax policy within the town of Billerica and their willingness to work closely with our state and community representatives to communicate and promote the needs of Billerica residents. 

Four Candidates are running for two open Selectmen positions.  Only one of the four candidates running for Selectman responded to the BTA questionnaire.  Mike Rosa was that candidate and has demonstrated on many occasions a strong commitment to the principles of sound fiscal and tax policy in Billerica.  He receives an overall Taxpayer Friendly rating of “Good” from the Billerica Taxpayers Association.  The Selectman Questionnaire scored candidate answers to questions designed to assess six critical areas of suitability.   These were: 1. Commitment to reduce the rate of growth in taxes and spending.  2. Understanding of the challenges facing Billerica and how they would address them.  3.  Understanding of the roles and responsibilities of selectmen.  4.  Understanding and support for strict conflict of interest and ethics standards.  5.  Support for a more disciplined and structured budget development and justification process.

Of the remaining candidates running for Selectman all refused to participate in the Taxpayer assessment or refused to communicate with the Billerica Taxpayers Association.  

There are four candidates vying for the two open seats on the School Committee. However, only two of the four responded to the BTA questionnaire.  Those candidates were Sandra Giroux and Ann-Marie Norman.  Sandra Giroux received an overall Taxpayer Friendly rating of “Good” from the BTA while Ann-Marie Norman received an overall Taxpayer Friendly rating of “Poor” from the BTA.  A key component of the poor rating was Ann-Marie’s potential for conflict of interest which is of serious concern to the BTA, because of the School Committee’s current predominate makeup of individuals that have a high potential for conflict of interest issues.  The School Committee is currently dominated by people belonging to or closely associated with municipal unions or work for companies doing business with the Town or School Departments.  The BTA feels that a committee with a more independent and conflict free makeup would ensure that Taxpayer interests are represented and that our investment in infrastructure was properly maintained. 

The remaining candidates running for School committee did not respond to the BTA questionnaire.

The Planning Board has three open seats with five candidates vying for those seats. Four of the five candidates participated in the BTA assessment.  Robert Casey, Rome Capobianco, David Savinao and David Kinsella responded to the BTA questionnaire.  All four received a BTA rating of “Average” with less than a few percentage points of difference between the candidates.

 The BTA also sent a questionnaire to the candidate running unopposed for Town Moderator, Mr, Gilbert Moreira.  Based on his response, Mr. Moreia received an overall Taxpayer Friendly rating of “Good” from the BTA.  One key area we would have like to see Gil improve is the establishment of a fair and balanced committee appointment process that selects the best qualified candidate, with documented selection criteria.

 The BTA does not endorse candidates.  Instead, the BTA rates candidates for their relative suitability in supporting the principles of sound fiscal and tax policy within the town of Billerica.  Please visit the BTA’s website and learn more about the BTA (www.billericabta.wordpress.com) and view the Candidate Questionnaire and Responses.  The BTA asks that all residents of Billerica take the time to be informed and exercise their right to vote.

Go to Cadidate Response Page for more detail:

Selectmen:

Our reasons are many. Some of which are:

1) Government just seems to never do without. Taxes are being raised at all levels of government. The sales tax was just increased and next year the President George Bush tax cuts will expire.

2)One of our missions is for transparency in government. One quick look at the make up of the Parker School Building Committee tells us that we have a problem here.  Out of the 13 members, at least 7 are school or town employees. An eighth is a school committee member who’s husband is a town employee and she also does business with the school department as an independent contractor for the school buses. Because of these 8 people, if you vote for the override the school gets built outside of the budget freeing up money within the budget as well as the bonding capacity to pay for their own employee contracts. Conflict of interest anyone?

3) The Parker School Building Committee willfully witheld information from Town Meeting regarding a 400 student, 72,000square foot school for $22 million dollars. See their minutes for the April 29, 2009 meeting pages 5 and 6.  We could have paid for this school within the budget and our bonding capacity.

 Camelot beckons reflections of an idyllic and fictional time that emerged from the dark ages of barbarism, superstition and hopelessness.  It beckons us to a time of hope and optimism, and provides lessons to learn about the acceptance of an aristocracy – elected or appointed. 

With the passing of the so called “Last  Lion of Democracy”, we now witness an end to an era of a family idolatry elevated to the romantic vision of Arthurian fiction, as represented by the famed castel on the hill – Camelot.  However, just as in the legend, imperfect man       betrays the utopian age of light and allows the darkness of envy, greed, jealousy and entitlement to infect and ultimately destroy Camelot’s impossible dream. 

As John Kennedy represented hope in a time when the world faced the darkness of a mushroom cloud of nuclear war and the threat of rapidly spreading communism, Ted represented the ultimate end to a dream that never was.  Though, John was not a perfect man by any means, his passing created the fiction of Camelot.   But, it was only a façade to cajole the people with hope and create an aura of nobility and romance as depicted by the use of the term Camelot.   It was a childlike vision of enlightened aristocracy selflessly serving the people and reminiscent of the throngs of followers lining the streets of England as the Royals pass by. Of course, this image of nobility was nurtured and reinforce by the Democratic Party, for obvious reasons.

Not being a native of Massachusetts, I have often wondered how the people could revert to elevating a family to nobility status as if, attempting to find a substitute to the royal family, lost upon their immigration to the United States.  Is the concept of royalty and being subjects, so instilled that people must live their unfulfilled lives through the envy and worship of a made-up aristocracy?  

For Ted, Camelot’s fiction was his ticket to fulfillment.  The people’s vote was only a formality, as it was a given that his brother’s Senate seat belong to him.   Despite his seriously flawed character, his coronation to the Senate was assured through the blind and adoring eyes of his subjects in Massachusetts. 

Was he a man of the people or was he just another knight of the roundtable who undeservedly inherited his title?  Having never held a real job outside of government and having lived a life of entitlement as a child, he continued that existence throughout his entire adult life.  Elected nine times to the Senate, he has spent a lifetime elevated by his subjects to the level of elected aristocracy.  Just as Camelot’s flaws are exposed to the light of reality and the imperfections of man, so we see the same imperfections with Ted.

Many believe that Ted did wonderful things for the common man.  Just the statement “the common man” — which, is routinely invoke by those that supposedly attempt to improve his lot in life, demonstrates an elitist attitude.  How is separating people into classes and groups and pitting one against the other, different from the concept of commoner and royalty?  I can find little that Ted has done or tried to do, that does not emphasize differences or pits one group against another — a common tactic for those that cater to special interest groups. Basically, Ted has spent his life, peddling influence, writs and gifts using other people’s money.  He was no closer to the common man than Marie Antoinette was to her subjects.  Through his generosity with other people’s money and his invocation of the often distorted purpose of the General Welfare clause in the Constitution, he destroyed or damaged many of the liberties we once freely enjoyed.  Ted was a willing participant in the generational theft and servitude of the people he supposedly served.  He basked in the adoration of the ignorant while flinging leftover cake crumbs to his adoring subjects.

The lessons of Camelot will be learned over and over.  What did the romantic story of Camelot really tell?  It tells that man is imperfect and to bestow unchecked power to an elite few that supposedly govern with selfless and altruistic motivations is a recipe for disaster.  The end result will be the darkness of perpetual servitude.  We see it today in the condescending attitude and words of our elected aristocracy with “shut up! — we know what’s best for you”.  How dare we question our elected elite! 

Have we devolved from the concept of a servant government to the age of Camelot and the “Divine Right of Kings”?  Are they no longer accountable to the people?

James Mollison is a retired Air Force Officer, Town Meeting Representative and President of the Billerica Taxpayer’s Association

Below is a depiction of how the revenue is used as a percentage of the budget:

Of course, the story is a fictional depiction of some future time and place, where the people go about their daily lives content in just trying to make a living and being left alone, while in the back of their minds they know “something is terribly wrong”.

The election results for the Town of Billerica are out.  Something is terribly wrong, only about 10% of the eligible voters voted.  Out on nearly 25,000 registered voters the unofficial count of those that voted was less around 3000.   Why would voters stay away from the poles in such large numbers?  Was it apathy?  Was it a feeling of powerlessness?  Or, were they just to busy in their daily lives to be bothered?

Admittedly, for me it was not the most exciting of elections.  However, rather than not showing up to vote, I made the choice to go down to the Vining Elementary School to mark my ballot.  Not many of the official candidates actually got my vote.  I usually make use of the write-in option on most elections. However, this year I used the option a lot. 

They say that all politics are local.  The closer you get to the individual the more effect it has on your daily lives.  In our last Presidential election nearly 60% of the eligible voters voted.  Now you might think this is a large percentage and by our standards it is.  However, in most other countries it would be considered a poor turnout.   Now, less than 6 months later we cannot get more that 10% of the eligible voters to show up for our local election.  

The people elected in our local elections have a significant impact on the services you receive, taxes you pay and bureaucracies you must deal with on a daily basis.  A local election is an election that links the voter directly with the first layer of Government.  This layer is the one that we deal with on a daily basis. 

What has a continued and ongoing lack of voter participation in local government elections brought us?  It has resulted in an environment so ripe with conflict of interest issues that there is not a chance for the Taxpayer to be truly represented.  Some accept as true, that Town Meeting has become little more than a gathering of Town and School employees and their families.  They believe the only time the taxpayer is adequately represented is during those rare occasions requiring a two thirds majority vote. Nearly every major elected and appointed office is represented by a person that has some form of direct or indirect association with the Corporate Town.  

I am sure that the voting results in Town Meeting have disillusioned many voters.  Perhaps, to the point of feeling powerless and giving up, thinking “you can’t fight City Hall”.   For those that have tried to make a difference by getting elected to Town Meeting or appointed to board and committees – they soon realize that they are among a brave few up against an overwhelming foe ripe with conflict of interest issues.  Some have tried for years, working diligently to bring balance into Town government, only to see their efforts quickly defeated by a system stacked against them.

Now, at a time when our Town is severely revenue growth challenged, after years of near unfettered growth, apathy is not an option. 

We have gone through more than a decade of a Corporate Town government dominated by municipal unions and a political party that licks their hands to remain in power.   As the economy continues its downward spiral the Taxpayers are going to be squeezed from every level.  This is a time in history when every vote counts.

This last election allowed a few thousand people to make the decisions on who will decide Billerica’s future and how much we will pay for that future.  In my column I wrote that without the participation of the majority of the people, even a democracy will devolve into tyranny.  We have effectively had that form of government over the last decade within Billerica. 

Some people may not recognize it as tyranny while it is still wrapped in the respectability of democracy or representative government.  It is just tyranny-lite.  However, as this last election has shown the sleeping giant is still asleep.  I have heard several politicians say, “Never let a good crises go to waste”.  We are in a crisis!  Wake up Billerica!

“The price of apathy towards public affairs is to be ruled by evil men” Plato

Welcome to the Billerica Taxpayers Association  Blog. 

Taxpayer Deceptions and Abuse

Below graphically shows the deception:

Anticipated Actions of Spring Town Meeting

With the Spring Town Meeting almost upon us, we anticipate a heated and focal debate — as we experience for the first time the results of our serious economic down-turn.  Below is a list of possible initiatives that the Tax and Spend special interests may introduce during Town Meeting (see column “Tattered threads of Town Meeting”):

• There may be a strong push to use the remaining funds from our rainy day accounts to replace funds lost as a result of the recently announce reductions in State Aid to the Town for fiscal year 2009.  (~$700,000)
  • Empty out what little we have in the Rainy Day accounts 
  • Once the Rainy Day accounts are emptied — look for a strong push for a 2 1/2 override.   

FINCOM will use the standard tactic of funding the dicretionary items within the budget request and using the rainy Day account to fund must pays items.

Since the Tax and Spend special interest groups have had increasingly less success in using the Rainy Day accounts as revolving checking accounts — we may see more examples of keeping funds out of the Rainy Day accounts by overestimating costs for projects — thus being able to use the remaining funds with only a majority vote.  

If anybody has any insights or information on potential budget issues or warrent articles of interest please — please contact us.  Or post comments

Recent News

26 January 2009 Selectmen’s meeting flares up over Scanlon promotion to part-time Town Manager (See Recent Columns for details) 

The saga continues:

• Town Manager claims a $50,000 savings by spending $50,000
• Questions were raised on the prudence of spending $50,000 that we may not have
  • Town to see over $700,000 in cuts to State aid
    • How will the Town be impacted? 
  • Why spend $50,000 we may not have?
  • How can Scanlon perform a full time position and a part-time positon during the same work hours?
• Town Manager claims it is his call — not the Selectmen’s
  • Scolds the Selectmen who questioned the need for the expense — knowing $700,000 reduction in State aid is coming.
• Ethics complaint filed agains one of the Selectmen who is a Town employee
  • Conflict of interest of Town employed Selectmen voting to authorize Scanlon to fill part-time position that will be involved in collective barganing. 
• Were proper hiring procedures being adhered to?
  • Legality of Personnel Board certifying appointments and hirings questioned — Board Chairman was certifying appointments without calling a meeting of the Board.  This practice may nullify years of appointments as the State investigates legality.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Town Meeting votes down important warrant articles that would help address the potential economic emergencies that the Town may see in the coming year.  The warrant articles included:

• Establishing an economic emergency committee
• Establishing a more structured approach toward managing Free Cash that would have provided some of excess taxes collected back to the taxpayer
• A resolution of Town Meeting support for cost control measures

(take a look at Town Meeting news for more details)

Important Issues

• State to increase gas tax — (while the gas prices have dropped our state legislature is using this opportunity to push for an increase of our gas tax)  
• Tolls will not be reduced nor will the Tolls be removed from portions of the turnpike outside of the 128
• State plans on further cuts to local aid
• Billerica Real estate Taxes up even though home values have gone down