Tonight: Meet Local Candidates Running for Office
There will be a meet-and-greet at 7:30 p.m. in Town Hall, and then the candidates will debate the issues starting at 8 p.m.
Today is Thursday, March 21. Here are five things you need to know.
1.) Meet the local candidates running for office tonight: The town’s Candidates Night is tonight at Town Hall. Doors open at 7:30 p.m., and candidates for town offices, including those running for Town Meeting, will be available to chat with the public from 7:30-8 p.m. The forum will begin promptly at 8 p.m. Read more.
2.) In case you missed it, see the Arlington woman’s heartwarming Facebook post that now has more than 1.7 million “Likes.”
3.) We also shared some sad news Wednesday: Brian Murray, an Arlington arborist who owned Tree and Land Trust and a local youth and amateur sports coach, died last Thursday, March 14. He was 52. Read more.
4.) In business news, a new East Arlington deli could open by week’s end, and a new self-serve frozen yogurt shop is coming to Arlington Center.
5.) There is a chance of snow showers today after 11 a.m. and then again at night, according to the National Weather Service. Temperatures are expected to reach the high 30s.
smerls
1:50 pm on Thursday, March 21, 2013
@ Stephen,
This is from the board of selectman's meeting minutes on the town website, 1/29/2009, item number 4 under other business....in talking about if benefits for selectman should be cut....note the last sentence...
"Mr. Greeley rejected the idea of cutting out health insurance even if it means he could retain his own benefits. He stated “he never took the job of Selectmen for the pay and felt insulted when it’s implied he is not worth it”. Mr. Greeley stated the $3,000 yearly stipend for Selectmen hasn’t changed in 20 years and eliminating health insurance would limit who could serve on the Board. If the Board decides to eliminate the benefits he would step down.
I don't begrudge Mr Greeley from taking advantage of a benefit that the selectman have access too and was put in place years ago...but a couple questions.
Did Mr Greeley have insurance then and does he have it now?? Does he pay the full amount or what is the town's share, and if he were to loose that benefit would he remain on the board of selectman??
With all the overrides ect does he still believe the selectman should get these perks??
smerls
2:40 pm on Thursday, March 21, 2013
No it is not a small matter..and since he is a consultant with his own business it is understandable that he would want to take advantage of this benefit....which again I don't begrudge him for....
However it still raises some questions...did he just have access to the health plans and did he pay the full amount which is one thing or did the town pay part of the costs....as if he was an employee which is a different story??
Also how much did he make as a consultant... considering how much he owes (is that number inflated because it includes fees and penalties) and could he have afforded the health care on his own??
If the town contributed then how much did this cost, the town??
How does he reconcile the fact that he pushed for overrides while getting this benefit, that cost the town??
smerls
2:01 pm on Thursday, March 21, 2013
Some other questions....
When the last override went through, which Mr Greeley pushed for, the move for town employees into the GIC was still up in the air.
If I remember correctly the budget projections that was put out that detailed what would be cut without an override etc.. did not include any potential savings for the GIC.
After the override the GIC went through and unless I am wrong (if I am, I stand corrected) the savings amounted to about the same amount per year as the amount raised from the override, pushing out the estimated time until another request for an override would need to be made.
So my question is, was the last override really necessary or could the town have waited a few more years?? Also what has the board done to make sure that money is being wasted and is that money being keep tracked of??
smerls
2:05 pm on Thursday, March 21, 2013
Also,
Even without the housing bust a few years ago, the symmes project turned out to be a disaster. Also considering how poorly the mass ave project was handled at least initially, as a member of the board of selectman during those periods what could you or the board have done differently and did you learn any lessons that could be applied to minuteman or the consolidation of the town finance departments??