Belmont Budget leaves no room for black swan events.
Imagine balancing a budget based on left over free cash from prior years and one-time funds. It negates the need for an Override giving residents a false sense of security. Now imagine a Town that creates a budget based on a level service headcount but doesn’t fill all the positions. Those positions not filled grow the free cash which then gets applied to the year forward budget building a larger eventual deficit. Now imagine what happens when you need to cut the budget, but you are already understaffed. You are at great risk of a Black Swan event. You have no room to cut. That is Belmont in a nutshell today. We have major vacancies in the Police and DPW departments from not filling budgeted positions and are at risk in other areas. We are also at risk of losing trained employees that take time and money to replace.
It gets worse… The recently approved $300m new School and $40m new expanded library impact the ability of our Top 10 property tax burdened community to pay any more. We literally are a Town of Cards.
I second Ed Kazanjian’s call to repeal the new library by any means possible. It is the only responsible thing we can do at this stage. There is no more room to cut employees on the Town side. The schools would need to be gutted and that seems a bad trade off for a luxury building. This isn’t fear mongering. It is the reality of our budget. The Town is at enormous risk of a black swan event. Take notice people.
Foodies…
Butterbird (Jason Santos latest) will be opening at the Watertown Arsenal this Spring.
Porcinis after 23 years is closing. Covid casualty.
Belmont Author in the News….
Belmont Realtor, John Kolis, had his first book recently published and it has gone national with sales in over 33 States. Kolis, a certified gun safety instructor in Massachusetts, has trained hundreds of gun enthusiasts over the years. “Pistol Practice” is a guide to safe and effective handgun training. Kolis a Belmont resident can be hired for private lessons and offers gun safety training. His book is available at https://pistolpractice.com. I had the whole family take a gun safety course a couple years ago and believe it would be beneficial to offer one to High School students. Those who have attended gun safety courses like me understand how rigid Massachusetts gun laws are and the level of responsibility the owner needs to take on.
Guns and Belmont….
Is Belmont immune to gun violence? No.
In Belmont, two people were believed to have been shot on Olmstead Ave a week ago. Police recovered spent rounds and with an assist from a Weston Police Dog located a firearm nearby. The investigation is ongoing.
In 2014, an Olmstead Ave resident was arrested for the murder of a Waltham teen and having an unlicensed firearm.
Last year, Police searched the home of a Belmont youth suspected of being involved in a shooting and discovered an unlicensed firearm.
A devastating loss….
No, Floyd Carman didn’t die but he is retiring as Town Treasurer. Floyd was well respected across the political divide in Town and worked diligently managing Belmont’s money. His independence and old school “tell it like it is” approach will be missed. Belmont has 26,000 residents so finding Floyd’s replacement won’t be easy but can be done.
Governor Healey’s link to Belmont
Former Belmont resident Joanna Lydgate was in the news. Lydgate and her partner Governor Maura Healey made their relationship public recently as her divorce is being finalized. Just a thought but since Healey was an athlete and Lydgate was a BAYS volunteer maybe we can get some money from the State to build a Hockey Rink for our Top 10 program. Anybody know Joanna??
Firefighters/Police crisis looms…
Some in Town will celebrate the new MOUs with the Police and Fire Unions as a win/win. Townie Talk knows better. The new contract only puts Belmont Firefighters, Police and Paramedics in the top of the bottom third in pay. Not much incentive there to want to stay. Once other Towns settle their new contracts those same contracts will drop Belmont back to the bottom 80%. Currently, Belmont Fire will be fully staffed at 48 when the current recruit finishes at the academy. Belmont Police currently sit at 38 staff which includes 3 in the academy. That is significantly below fully staffed at 49 (48 if you consider the SRO paid by School funds). In the past, 60 staff would be considered fully staffed.
Finding qualified men and women to rise to the task of firefighter, police and paramedic is incredibly difficult these days. Your safety and life depend on their diligence. The hours are dysfunctional and the physical and mental stress is brutal. Keeping trained and experienced employees of the Fire and Police departments should be our top priority. Belmont is at elevated risk of losing personnel from both the Fire and Police departments to other Towns and Cities that offer better pay and opportunities for promotion. The risk is real, and the risk is imminent.
Belmont Police are currently at minimum manned requirements on every shift. Events like the recent shooting put Belmont at significant risk. The Town is playing Russian Roulette with resident’s safety at such low levels. Boston Police are also in a dire situation and have asked for laterals from other cities and Towns. Problem is in Boston residency requirements make the job less attractive while in Belmont low pay and anti-police bias make it less attractive.
Lexington Fire just lost an employee in a lateral move (better pay and promotion). Belmont Fire is at risk of losing several. Morale is low. We just had the Spray-gate incident, and it is very difficult to explain how a Town that doesn’t flinch at a $300m new School and $40m new Mega Library finds paying employees in the bottom third of eastern MA equitable. Belmont invests a fair amount in training FF’s and Police and losing them to laterals is bad business. These new MOUs should only be seen as a tourniquet. A commission should be formed to address the situation immediately.
Waverley vs Waverly battle brews…
A recently unearthed photo of the “Waverly Post office” from 1912 or so has shocked Dunkin regulars to the core. A cohort of Townies have long insisted it is Waverley Square (with the “e”). However, Townie Talk has info that says the square was named after “Waverley Station” (Train stop) but was named Waverly Square. Similar, to opium dealer John Cushing’s Bellmont estate losing an “L” to Belmont. The stakes are enormous leading one longtime Townie to insist the inconsistency could open the door for a citizens petition to void the original 1859 deed of land sale from Watertown, Waltham and Cambridge and return the land to each community. Stay Tuned.
Birds gone wild
The Belmont DPW was involved in rescuing an Owl during the post-Christmas storm.
American Bald Eagles have returned to Little Pond in Belmont.
Somber 2023 ahead…
Not a great start to 2023 as US President Joe Biden is now being investigated by a special counsel for illegally storing top secret classified Government documents from his time as VP at multiple locations. Impeachment is looking more likely as the new GOP controlled House will be looking at Biden’s relationship with his son Hunter, China, Ukraine, and missteps by his Transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg. The World Bank now says a Global recession is imminent in 2023. Mass layoffs have been announced by Twitter, Amazon, Goldman Sachs, Salesforce, META (Google), Doordash, Redfin and others. Real Estate prices are in decline and high interest rates are causing VC and Hedge Funds to pull back on investing. Even nearby Watertown is feeling the impact as commercial biotech space leases are at risk. Covid continues to linger but RSV and a particularly bad flu are making the rounds worse. To make matters worse the Patriots were an embarrassment and right on cue the Town dumps a perfecta of gut punches as the new tax bills were mailed (btw the $40m library is not included yet) and the new light department statement details the massive increase in electricity.
Not all is bad 2023
The Bruins and Celtics lead their leagues respectively. Belmont HS Boys Hockey remains in the Top 10 in the State. Advances in medicine continue to provide hope for many suffering from chronic and life shortening diseases. The School Committee is less controversial. We have had very little snow and the temperatures have been relatively mild so far. Gas prices have receded to an almost manageable $3.30 a gallon.
Speaking of gas prices…
Just had dinner with a friend in the Electricity conservation market who told me that charging an EV can cost as much as filling a car tank with gas. Is that possible? The friend lives in Western MA and said their electric rates surged. He said do not buy an EV under any circumstance (instead go with a hybrid). Claims the Government will have to regulate days you can charge your EV at the current pace of EV adoption. Odd coming from a greenie. As someone who just put 1,000 miles on the car last week… gas is the only option now especially with rural travel.
Rumor…
The Library Committee did not have a plan for the physical transportation of materials to a temporary location and is asking the Town for a vehicle to assist. Possibly the COA van.