Other side of TM budget

By , October 4, 2009 8:13 am

Please attend town meeting – Mon, Oct 5, 7:00PM, Middleboro High School and support the purchase of the Miller Street property- Article 14.

I sent out an email with a similar sentiment and got this very interesting comment from a FinCom member:

This type of opportunity is exactly why we should not be voting for the current BOS/Town Manager/FinCom budget. The 2010 budget uses one time revenue and stabilization funds to cover 2009 and 2010 revenue vs. expense shortfalls. Ideally, one time revenues should be put into stabilization funds to help us pay for emergencies (roof leaks, building improvements/repairs, etc.) and for land acquisitions to protect our water supplies/wells. Between 2009 and 2010 budgets, we are using more that $1.5 million of debt stabilization funds, $1.3 million of FAM funds, and $900,000 of one time revenues. Of this total ($3.7 million), I have supported only $1.1 million of usage, $300,000 of which is the intended use of the debt stabilization fund. Some of the remaining $800,000 that I have supported was used for one time expenses and land purchases.

So I will gladly support Article 14, but I will not support Article 3 (the 2010 budget article).

When framed in that way, it makes me less enthusiastic about voting in favor of the budget.

In this article Middleboro Town Planner Ruth Geoffroy explains why Article 14 should be supported:

Town meeting will also be asked to approve borrowing $60,000 to buy 91 acres along the Black Brook corridor in south Middleboro.

Planning Director Ruth M. Geoffroy said it’s a win-win situation and sees no downside. “We’re putting in $100,000 to leverage $850,000.”

The property in question, owned by developer Ernesto Caparrotta, is smack in the middle of 865 acres of protected lands along the 4,000 acre Assawompset Pond Complex, a large regional water supply for more than 200,000 people.

Geoffroy explained the financing, the town puts up $100,000, of which $40,000 is already available, left over from bond to buy a conservation restriction on the adjacent Parks property.

Another $400,000 has been approved through a water supply grant and The Nature Conservancy has agreed to pick up $350,000 of the costs.

“We’re getting 8 to 1 leverage,” Geoffroy said.

And it’s not about just protecting the lands from development, Geoffroy said the region is a wildlife refuge and a park with walking trails.


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One Response to “Other side of TM budget”

  1. Middleboro gets $400K land grant | Bellicose Bumpkin says:
    January 8, 2010 at 8:15 am

    [...] in the October 2009 town meeting, Article 14 was approved that provided $60K along with a previously approved $40K for the purchase [...]

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