Some of the feedback on my override news post suggest that I oppose new growth in Pepperell.  With exceptions, I do advocate against zoning changes designed to increase single family housing.  I am working instead, to bring affordable housing into our community and recreational businesses that celebrate our natural resources. Here's why.

I'm aligned with the folks that wrote the ten year Master Plan, that was voted in for Pepperell's growth path, that cited the goal of remaining a rural community.  I credit our Planning Board members, past and present, for their volunteer, good willed efforts to guide our town's development path.  As a fellow volunteer on the Select Board, I understand and appreciate anyone willing to enter the debate in deciding our communities future.  We've been doing this for two hundred and fifty years! Our Planning Board, Finance Committee, Town Planner, Select Board and Town Administrator have resisted including climate change in their town planning.  We need a paradigm shift to reduce our carbon pollution and our leaders won't hear it., clinging to out of date growth planning that leads to more pollution, a lower quality of community life and loss of our open lands and farms. 

I find myself at a point in history where growth planning, as never before, needs to protect our planet and our children's protection from catastrophic environmental harm, including losing our secure  food supply.  Call me a chicken running around declaring the sky is falling, and you will be right!  It is hard to believe, and the temptation to deny the level of risk we face is strong.  As a farmer, I've experienced the hardship of climate change.  The science literature is good enough to lead to actions that reduce the current effects and future risks.

What is missing for our leaders is a curriculum and training on how to plan very differently.  The Commonwealth has offered all kinds of trainings.  More affluent cities and towns have been able to tie into new ways of growing.  Small towns remain challenged and under resourced. As Chair of North Central Climate Change Coalition, I have attended many State level trainings and webinars whose mission has been to help towns move to a climate friendly path.  I have pointed out to State staff that small towns are being left out of the opportunities going to bigger, better resourced towns.

Quinten Palfrey, head of the Federal Infrastructure Partnership Office recently reflected in his monthly opening remarks, that they recognize that small, rural towns have not been getting their fair share of climate dollars.  Adequate solutions have not yet been offered.

My wish,, my ask, and it's a big one,  is that our Planning Board take the lead, along with our Climate Change Committee, in getting the training they need to start including reduction of our carbon footprint in their planning efforts.  We now have a shared climate change staff person who can help move us in that essential direction.

Happy Spring Time,  and Thank you for your support, Tony Beattie 

 

$780,000 in our tax override vote that never went towards the school budget, does, in part, in fact exists.  We are taxed quarterly and the full amount will have been collected in full at the end of our fourth quarter at the end of June.  That amount, ($780,000), while morphed into different town accounts, is available to meet this years override amount.  (see flow chart).

Statements that $780,000 doesn't exist in our treasury is misleading, a lie of omission, in my opinion, an attempt to squeeze more tax dollars from our voters.  I have no doubts that Pepperell, and. many other small towns, are desperate for funding to maintain minimum services.  I attribute that to income inequality and class warfare.  The middle-class and poor are under attach and losing badly.  However deception by local government is wrong and I advocate for our children, seniors and young families with honesty.  ensuring that they can afford to live in their homes, eat healthy foods, breath clean air, receive fair compensation, be educated and enjoy their free time and participate in a happy community life.

To explain the flow chart below,  we vote to pay on warrant articles at Town Meeting.  Those amounts are taxed and payments are made quarterly, with full amounts collected by year's end. $585,000 of the $780,000 has been collected. $780,000 will be in our treasury at the end of June. It and other money flows into the treasury to pay weekly and bi-weekly bills, fund department budgets such as schools, police and fire, DPW, etc..  Some of the incoming taxes also go into an overlay budget, under the control of the Board of Assessors.  There is $700,000 in that overlay account and that can be moved to meet other needs as they arise. (think school budget).  Some tax revenue will end up in "reserves" ($437,000) and "free cash"  (1,186,000). (also available for the school budget.)

On the one hand you might say that the $780, 000 doesn't or never existed as an available budget source.  But only because of how our book keeping system works.  It is common sense and thankfully still available to pull that amount, or some part of it, back from our budgets accounts and apply towards paying the schools their budget request for this year.

I am sympathetic to Pepperell's need for more income and better savings on our budgeting path.  I believe some relief can come from green energy efforts and better informed town development planning  We live in extraordinarily complicated and hard times, despite living in a world that has never been better off.  Restoring income equality is a long, hard fight and it hurts the most when we can't assure our children of an educated and bright future for them . 

Please protect those that we can and vote no to an override this year, knowing that we can cover the $350,000 school budget request from existing revenues.

Last year we passed an override  to help meet our budget needs.  Approximately  $780,000 was subsequently not used  as the school budget was reduced.  That amount was levied and collected and remains available to meet this year's override request amount.  I recommend voting "no" to this override request and doing what we can to stabilizie our tax rate. Appropriate funds from free cash and end the need for an override the year. 

Our country, including Pepperell, is currently in the grip of economic uncertainty and the time for caution is now. On a hopeful note, there is an unprecedented effort by our legislative representatives to organize multiple school agencies in an effort to move State House leaders to amend the funding formula and return municipal/school budgets to solvency.  Our children deserve nothing less. I'm choosing optimism and hope we can pull overides off of our worry list.  If not, we will be problem solving again next year.

The Select Board, Town Administrator and Fin Com have not reached a consensus on their recommendation to voters.  Information and choices will be offered at Special Town Meeting next Monday.  I believe there are municipal savings to be considered and I believe we can close two current staffing positions we would be the better for to not fund, our full time town planner and human resource officer. The work of both positions, I believe would be better met through consulting services when needed.  I have disagreed with the rehiring and signing of a new three year contract with the Town Administrator.  His work, I believe has not brought financial relief to the town and  I hope the public will follow his actions with a critical eye going forward.

Further, the Climate Change Committee, (thank you Jim Scarsdale) has secured a grant and the assistance of a municipal shared energy manager.  With her efficiency skills we may bring relief to the cost side of both our government and citizen's electric bills.

In closing, I believe that Pepperell and all small and rural communities are financially strapped due to decades of income inequality in this country.  The rewards for our hard, dedicated work have gone to only corporate, elite entities.  The middle class has suffered, poverty grows.  In the world we have earned we could be generous in considering tax increases.    That has been denied.

​I look forward to seeing you at Town Meeting this coming Monday night!