Deval's offer of help to Framingham

An Act Further Strengthening the Commonwealth's Partnership with its Municipalities
Please note: Below you will find the legislation as filed by Governor Patrick. After being filed, bills are sent to the Massachusetts legislature where they may be amended or altered.

January 21, 2011

To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives:

I am filing for your consideration a bill entitled “An Act Further Strengthening the Commonwealth’s Partnership with its Municipalities.”

This legislation provides cities and towns with additional tools they need to respond to the present fiscal challenges by managing their limited resources more efficiently.

First, the bill requires that, in time for fiscal year 2012, every municipality must either join the Group Insurance Commission or have a health insurance plan in place that will provide equivalent savings. Labor will have a meaningful role in developing this plan.< My words:(this may prove problematic here in Framingham)

Second, this legislation requires every city or town to move its eligible retirees into Medicare. These two measures will save our communities over $120 million.

Finally, this bill will remove the archaic property tax exemption for telecommunications equipment. This step is worth an additional $26 million for cities and towns.

These measures will help cities and towns weather the present fiscal downturn, save hundreds of millions of dollars over time, and take significant pressure off property taxes now and in the future.

In order to assure that municipalities have sufficient time to secure new health insurance plans through the Group Insurance Commission or otherwise, to enroll employees and their families in time for fiscal year 2012, and to meet the March 31 Medicare enrollment deadline for their eligible retirees, it is imperative to enact this legislation as soon as possible and with an emergency preamble. I therefore urge your prompt passage of this legislation.

Sincerely,

Deval L. Patrick
Governor


Text of Bill

FURTHER STRENGTHENING THE COMMONWEALTH’S PARTNERSHIP WITH ITS MUNICIPALITIES

Whereas, The deferred operation of this act would tend to defeat its purpose, which is forthwith to strengthen the commonwealth’s partnership with its municipalities in the present fiscal emergency, therefore it is hereby declared to be an emergency law, necessary for the immediate preservation of the public convenience.

TRANSFER OF ELIGIBLE MUNICIPAL RETIREES INTO MEDICARE

SECTION 1. Section 18 of chapter 32B of the General Laws is hereby repealed.

SECTION 2. Said chapter 32B of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out section 18A, and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 18B. (a) All retirees, their spouses and dependents insured or eligible to be insured under this chapter, if enrolled in Medicare Part A at no cost to the retiree, spouse or dependents or eligible for coverage thereunder at no cost to the retiree, spouse or dependents, shall be required to transfer to a Medicare health plan offered by the governmental unit under section 11C or section 16, if the benefits under the plan and Medicare Part A and Part B together shall be of comparable actuarial value to those under the retiree’s existing coverage, but a retiree or spouse who has a dependent who is not enrolled or eligible to be enrolled in Medicare Part A at no cost shall not be required to transfer to a Medicare health plan if a transfer requires the retiree or spouse to continue the existing family coverage for the dependent in a plan other than a Medicare health plan offered by the governmental unit.

(b) Each retiree shall provide the governmental unit, in such form as the governmental unit shall prescribe, such information as is necessary to transfer to a Medicare health plan. If a retiree does not submit the information required, he shall no longer be eligible for his existing health coverage. The governmental unit may from time to time request from a retiree, a retiree’s spouse or a retiree’s dependent, proof, certified by the federal government, of eligibility or ineligibility for Medicare Part A and Part B coverage.

(c) The governmental unit shall pay any Medicare Part B premium penalty assessed by the federal government on the retiree, spouse or dependent as a result of enrollment in Medicare Part B at the time of transfer.

REPEAL TELECOM MACHINERY EXEMPTION

SECTION 3. Section 5 of chapter 59 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2008 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “than”, in line 230, the following words:- a telephone or telegraph corporation taxed under section 52A of chapter 63 or.

SECTION 4. Said section 5 of said chapter 59, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the words “two A”, in line 233, the following words:- , other than a telephone or telegraph corporation,.

SECTION 5. Clause Sixteenth of said section 5 of said chapter 59 is hereby further amended by striking out paragraph (2), inserted by section 2 of chapter 173 of the acts of 2008, and inserting in place thereof the following paragraph:-

(2) In the case of (a) a business corporation subject to tax under section 39 of chapter 63 that is not a manufacturing corporation, or (b) a telephone or telegraph corporation subject to tax under section 52A of chapter 63, all property owned by the corporation other than the following:- real estate, poles, underground conduits, wires and pipes, and machinery used in the conduct of the business, which term, as used in this clause, shall not be considered to include stock in trade or any personal property directly used in connection with dry cleaning or laundering processes or in the refrigeration of goods or in the air-conditioning of premises or in any purchasing, selling, accounting or administrative function. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, a telephone or telegraph corporation shall be subject to property tax assessment on machinery used in the conduct of its business and leased to it by a corporation that is not a telephone or telegraph corporation.

MUNICIPAL HEALTH INSURANCE

SECTION 6. (a) Each municipality shall provide health insurance coverage to its subscribers either through the group insurance commission or through other means with benefits of comparable actuarial value to those provided by the group insurance commission.

(b) Notwithstanding chapter 32B of the General Laws or any other general or special law to the contrary, if a municipality’s health insurance benefits do not comply with subsection (a), the chief executive of the municipality shall give notice to its public employee committee, established or which shall be established under section 19 of said chapter 32B, of its intention to enter into negotiations to provide health insurance coverage to its subscribers and to enter into a written agreement within a period prescribed by regulations to provide such coverage.

(c) If no agreement is reached within the prescribed period, the municipality shall transfer its subscribers to the group insurance commission or provide health insurance coverage to its subscribers in a manner prescribed by regulations and which complies with subsection (a).

(d) The secretary of administration and finance, in consultation with the secretary of labor and workforce development, shall adopt regulations to carry out this section, including but not limited to regulations defining comparable actuarial value, setting forth deadlines for prompt and reasonable compliance with this section to ensure compliant coverage in fiscal year 2012, detailing the procedure by which the municipality shall provide health insurance coverage under this section, and determining the extent to which reduced costs to the municipality resulting from adoption of coverage under this section shall be shared with the municipality’s employees.

Deval's proposed budget cuts.. Will Beacon Hill buy it?

Gov. Deval Patrick slashed state funding for cities and towns, cut 900 state jobs and axed $1 billion in health care spending in a bare bones $30.5 billion budget he unveiled today that one fiscal watchdog said is the most brutal in state history.

Patrick’s cuts also include:

• $65 million in local aid, which the governor spared last year during his tough re-election battle

• $45 million in a proposal to reform the state’s public defense system for people who can’t afford it.

• $23 million on emergency homeless shelters

Patrick didn’t include taxes on cigarettes, candy or soda like he has in previous budgets, but he did include the bottle bill which would charge consumers extra as an incentive to recycle. That initiative is expected to bring in $20 million.

Pull up the entire budget:
http://www.mass.gov/bb/h1/fy12h1/index.html

Beacon Hill is costing us 58 million dollars. Are they worth it?

One more corrupt Police Chief.. FBI and DA will investigate

In a stunner, even for Massachusetts, a Salisbury Police Chief has been fired by the Town Manager for exchanging drugs and favors for sex with at least 4 women. It appears that many in the community (58 witnesses) knew about this, even rank and file members, (14 officers) for a long time,(2006) but did nothing to stop it or investigate it. The code of silence is alive and well in Salisbury.

Look for charges, a lengthy trial, lots of witnesses and jail time for one who once again, abused and gamed the system.

Are you tired of reading about Beacon Hill?

Question for our readers.... are you as tired as I having to read, hear and watch the weekly reports of un-ethical and criminal behavior of our elected on the Hill? Does it serve us to continue to talk about it? Have we made any progress after all the indictments, resignations and jail time for those party loyalists who have fallen in the past 11 years?

I for one am sick over it. Even when we have the truth on our side, do they really give a dam what we think? I'm beginning to believe we should just ignore them all and stop trying, stop spending, stop calling and writing to them, stop protesting. Can the working man and women really have a voice in this thing we call a democracy? Will we ever have enough money or time to compete against the very forces that continue to dictate over our lives?

I see so much that is wrong and can't do a dam thing about it. I see my grandchildrens future being much worse off than my own. I see a police state where innocent people are killed in the name of justice. I see organized labor working against us. I see wrongs and can't stop them. I see thousands of whole young men and women go off to war, only to come back in pieces, if at all. I see us as pawns in a chess game where politicians are the Kings and Queens, never to be in check mate.

SEC looks into Cahill and Goldman Sachs

Look for this story to have legs a few months from now. Imagine if he got elected Governor....

From the Globe:

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has delivered subpoenas to the state treasurer’s office in a wide-ranging request for documents concerning dealings between investment banking giant Goldman Sachs and former treasurer Timothy P. Cahill, onetime top staff members, and former campaign aides, according to an official briefed on the document request.

The agency’s subpoenas, which seek e-mails, phone records, schedules, files, and memorandums, come just over a month after Goldman Sachs removed itself from two state bond deals in Massachusetts following the disclosure that a vice president at the firm, Neil Morrison, was active in Cahill’s 2010 gubernatorial campaign, which could violate federal securities regulations. Morrison had previously served as a top deputy to Cahill in the treasurer’s office.

The SEC served the papers just before the close of business Friday, catching the new treasurer, Steven Grossman, and his staff off guard. A spokesman for Grossman said the treasurer would not comment on details of what federal regulators are seek ing but said his staff is quickly assembling the requested material.

Nothing changes on the Hill.. no matter what

Soundly defeated were proposals to require roll-call votes on tax increases; to post results of committee votes online; and to eliminate the position of speaker pro tempore, a job most recently held by a member now linked to the patronage scandal in the state Probation Department.

Will we ever see open and honest state government in our lifetime?

X Rep Perry just won't go away

For those who have followed Rep Perry from Sandwich and his criminal behavior,lies, cover-up and out right denial of his role in strip searching two teenage girls, rigging a stop light, falsifying his school records, etc, etc, ect. Now we learn today, this un-ethical, corrupt moron Jeffrey D. Perry, the former state representative who narrowly lost in a hard-fought campaign for Congress in November, begins today serving in the position of special sheriff of Barnstable County.

In that $110,000-a-year position, Perry, a Republican of Sandwich, will be the top assistant to James M. Cummings, the long-time Barnstable County sheriff. Perry, 47, could not be reached for comment this morning.

The move positions Perry, an attorney and former Wareham police officer who served eight years on Beacon Hill, to maintain a public profile for possible future campaigns for elective public office.

Perry’s campaign for Congress against Democrat William R. Keating, the former Norfolk County district attorney, faced accusations that as a police officer, Perry stood by while an officer under his supervision strip searched a teenage girl.

Cummings in an interview said he hired a retired FBI agent to conduct an investigation of the incidents last month.

“The investigator was completely satisfied that Jeff Perry did nothing to cover up and did not stand by and watch the strip search,” he said.

My question, does this give anyone confidence in the system?

The Budget and Capital Spending

While we wait to hear how many Town employee's will be cut next year to plug the almost 7 million dollar deficit, department heads have asked for 24 million in capital requests. Our CFO has said that the Town should be able to take on 2/3rds of that, which begins July 1.

So we will close a school or two, lay off 200 employee's or so, pay millions in lawsuits, overtime, outrageous health care benefits and millions more for un-funded mandates.... and still borrow 16 million dollars..... I'm at a loss to understand the logic.

The new jobs outlook is at best, bleak. Foreclosures this year will outpace last year. A few thousand residents more than last year from Framingham will be unemployed. Property values and home prices will continue to fall this year and our schools will be decimated by budget cuts and lower local aid from Beacon Hill.

The question is, are the Town leaders that out of touch with reality?

MLK Day

In our lifetime we have witnessed much tragedy that has helped shape our country today. There are a few moments in that time that will forever live in our minds, no matter what color or political persuasion. And in the case of MLK, anyone old enough to remember what he stood for and the results of his bravery will acknowledge why we pay our respects to a man who helped change our country for the better.

Crime and DNA testing

In a piece from the MWDN over the weekend a resident from Milford had her home broken into. The thief cut his hand breaking a window and left a bloody paper towel behind. The paper towel was given to the State Police Crime lab immediately and 2 1/2 years later, a match was discovered. The homeowner had written everything off and had moved on. Many items stolen were not priceless but had great value to the family.

Violent crimes take precedent based on the statute of limitations for the 67 lab technicians working at the crime lab... which make sense. But there are approximately 11,000 samples to be filed into the 85,000 profiles already on record, with 5,800 forensic cases.

While 3 million dollars was spent on State Police overtime last year on details, thousands of unresolved cases wait for the crime lab to test samples.

More emphasis and money should be put on solving violent crime through technology and less time sitting in a car at work sites.

Deval makes the right call in Parole Board disaster

Gov. Deval Patrick said Thursday that he has accepted the resignations of the five members of the state parole board who voted to release a career criminal who authorities said later killed a Woburn police officer in a shootout.

Patrick also accepted the resignation of the executive director of the board and said he would seek to remove other officials from the agency.

The killing of a police officer at the hands of a paroled lifer is what it took...
to make change.

Mr. Eurie Stamps

STAMPS, Eurie A. Suddenly in Framingham Wed. Jan. 5. Beloved husband of Norma Bushfan Stamps. Devoted father of Eurie Jr., Marlon, Kyon Stamps-Murrell, Robin Stamps Jones and Priscilla Mansfield McDowell. Stepfather of Calvin Lee Smith III and Joseph L. Bushfan. Beloved brother of Narvous Stamps Jr., Marcellus Stamps and Hazel C. Stamps. He also leaves 15 grandchildren, one great-grandchild and a host of other relatives and friends. Funeral service Thurs. Jan. 13 at 6p.m. at St. Paul A.M.E. Church, Bishop Allen Drive and Columbia St., Cambridge. Visiting hours at the church Thurs. 3-6 p.m. Relatives and friends most kindly invited. Private interment. A.J. Spears Funeral Home, Cambridge MA 617-876-4047

New Library.. yeah or nay?

I'd like to know how our readers would vote on the new library... weather permitting Wednesday or Thursday.

After seeing some exaggerated user numbers put forth by the committee and the rush to get this approved by TM now, my opinion on a new branch library is that we not go forward. I liken this to someone who can't pay the mortgage but buys a new car. A bank who gets bail out money and lays off hundreds.

I'm not convinced that the State promise for funds for this project will hold true as it is now, we are 1.5 to 2 billion short this fiscal year and could see trouble down the road if the State does not provide the funding.

Driving home the patronage scandal.....

The Globe once again helps all of us understand how far this patronage cancer has effected the outcome of people's lives.

Joan Vennochi in the lead editorial shows how Chairman of the Parole Board, Mark Conrad, got to where he is now. Turns out he was one of Devals campaign drivers, after being a Milton officer for 20 years. In 2007, Deval named him to the Parole Board and in 2008 Deval named him Chairman.

Opposed by just one Governor Council's Committee memebr in 2007, "the politically connected chauffeurs are just one more slice of the patronage subculture".

The Parole Board did vote unanimously for Cinelli's release. And I honestly hope that we don't learn in the coming weeks, that patronage or favors got Cinelli out, hopefully it was incompetency and poor leadership.

The State probe into the Parole Board happening now will only be as good as the people doing the investigation. One could only surmise from the last two years of promised reforms that turned out to be no more than lip service, when all said and done, Beacon Hill will have to decide who gets life without any chance of parole. Will it be just for murders who have taken many lives or just one. I can't imagine how long that debate will last.

And if you didn't get to see Speaker DeLeo on TV today, still defending the "recommending someone policy" you have missed the poster child for what's ethically wrong in this State, laughing it up when asked about the three x speakers being recognized and honored on the first day of House business.

Perhaps after the multiple investigations lead them to DeLeo, that smirk will be wiped from his face.

Beacon Hill Celebrates... shame for the next two years

Lots of smiles and hand shakes this week on the Hill. Our beloved Governor gets sworn in again for another round of what we know now is, extensive travel to promote Massachusetts. The more likely reason is to promote his book and run for Senate in 2012 against Scott Brown. Which may be why Lt Governor Murray had such a long speech today... he'll be appointed when Deval wins in 2012.

Today's inaugural love fest was brought to you by insurance, financial and high tech companies that kicked in 700,000 for us to witness all this love. Last time, we as taxpayers paid 2 million dollars to crown Deval... remember back.. didn't we have a renewed sense of hope?

But as we already know, much of what went on for the past 10 years will continue at the corner office. Denial and impasse, excuses and sound bites, blame and eloquent speeches.

To ignore what went on the day before on the Hill would be unfair to the unaware. Robert DeLeo was unanimously re-elected Speaker of the House as was the minority whip for the R's.In what can only be explained by sheer arrogance on the speakers part, ALL THREE convicted or indicted former speakers were there to receive a warm welcome from the party faithful. The R's lined up and spoke what most think... what kind of an example does the legislature show when rolling out the last three house speakers that had to resign for corruption? Asked what he thought by a reporter, Representative Walsh said, he didn't think it was a big deal.

One may conclude from the historical record that we the people are in for the very same disrespect from State government as in the recent past. The latest and greatest example is the pay cut that legislators have to take.... 300.00 a year or .05%..... is that not an insult to us all?

Just what this Town needs... an accidental shooting by SWAT

The Framingham Police SWAT officer who fatally shot a man while serving a search warrant this morning may have done it accidentally, a family friend said outside the courtroom today.

Dwayne Barrett, of Framingham, described Eurie Stamps as "a very good man, the type of man who'd give you the shirt off his back. This shouldn't have happened."

Stamps, 68, was in his 26 Fountain St. house as police served a drug warrant there at about 12:30 a.m. He was fatally shot by an officer, although Barrett said authorities told him the officer accidentally shot his weapon.

Stamps was taken to MetroWest Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

This police action is not the first by SWAT to go wrong, but it should remind us ALL that we do live in a Town that authorizes SWAT Teams to execute search warrants. I'm reminded of Ruby Ridge when I see these things happen. And before I pass judgment before knowing the facts, it's not a stretch to consider another trigger happy cop killing some innocent by-stander.

All this over a failed drug war.

First Probation, now Parole and one dead peace officer

By now I'm sure you've heard or read, the top dog, O'Brian at the probation department has resigned, and vows to get his job back. This move came a week before he was scheduled to be before the disciplinary board.... the first bright thing the guy has done. As time goes on, those who have defended his code of ethics are now back peddling and trying to figure out how they can distance themselves from a system, they ALL worship, patronage, mis-management and fraud.

And while the probation scandal will be in the news for the next few years perhaps, leave it to another failed department to grant freedom the a convicted murderer, serving life... times 3, who kills a peace officer who never pulled his service revolver, trying to escape from robing a Kohls. And to add insult, the Parole Board never notifying the DA or the locals.

Now that this tragedy has surfaced, finger pointing is abound. But the sheer facts are that there has been in bill at the legislature for 10 years and even modified to include only 3 time convicted violent felons, must serve the last sentence given, without parole. Why would Beacon Hill not pass such a common sense bill? Just look at who's the committee chairman of the judiciary, Rep Flattery, a top criminal defense lawyer. Along with the dozens of other layers, one need not look to far to see why they have refused to allow Melissa Law to come to the floor for a vote. Perhaps now, law enforcement will put pressure on Beacon Hill to pass this bill.

The entire parole board should resign and a through review should happen soon, along with passage of the Melissa Bill.

BOS decides to support

The Library project, to now ones surprise. And to hear CFO Kelly speak about it last night in such glowing terms, one might think it was a done deal. The number I heard her say was it will cost each tax payer in Town 249.00 over 20 years. Business would pay 279.00 or so over 20 years. What they didn't say is that the property takes in around 10,000 a year in taxes and in 20 years, 200,000 less in revenue for the town. Selectman Chaaba Smith who is heading the private fund raising efforts claims it will not effect the schools whats so ever and has raised 17,000 already. Herb Chasen should have called on the big man to fund raise for the schools.

So we now have the other committee's to weigh in and as of last night, the property owner dropped the price by 40k I think I heard. Mighty generous.... we should offer to name the Library after him if he donates the land.

It makes sense to add a library to any Town, at most any time, but now might not be then. My biggest concerns are, what if the State doesn't pay it's promised share.. after all, we are down 1.5 billion in revenue already for next this year. Is the building "green enough", where are the solar panels? Does McCauliff really see 500 to 600 people a day? I've stood on that corner many hours over the years and have never seen that many patrons. The Library Board claims the old library needs 450,000 in repairs.... does that include detail cops?

The BOS decided to revisit the window and doors replacement project at Brophy. The SBoard has not yet decided if it's a project deserving their support as of today. There also seems to be ground noise about how the long the building will be a school. The grant, as Mr. Sisitky pointed out, makes certain the school has to be a school open for 10 years... and if not, we'd pay big time for violating the grant guidelines. There's plenty of talk about buildings, who's in them, why and at what capacity. The windows may not make it to TM if the SB has better uses of capital monies.

And of coarse, all of these decisions are down to the last minute... hours before TM will start.

Save our Schools.. an uphill battle

For the record, I support Herb Chasen in his effort to bring attention to the budget shortfalls and the consequences on our schools. In various meetings that I've attended many questions have been asked of those in the know. What strikes me the most is how well those in the know clearly place the blame on Beacon Hill and just as clear, are those who say that there's nothing that can be done. New revenue sources, taking the ever shrinking meals tax to provide more school funding and an override are two ideas that didn't go over well.

The Town seems to be more concerned with public safety as it was reported that police and fire will be able to fill vacancies and still spend 5 million in overtime.

Families will move here because of schools, location and affordability... not because we have 100 cops and 50 fireman. We must make every reasonable effort to down size police and fire and make our schools more attractive for families to move here. Schools must do everything possible to show the tax payers that they indeed feel our pain and spend our tax dollars as wisely as possible. The centralization of school administration is a good start, but it better save money. School choice... get the numbers done now... if it saves money... do it. Divert the meals tax away from the stabilization fund to the schools? maybe. But if the PEC does not agree or the court does not rule in our favor, we might as well file for bankruptcy and start a new.

Pam Richardson.. gaming the system to the end

For those of us who thought we'd hear the end of former legislator Richardson, just open your e mail. Last month I received an e mail stating that Richardson who is still on the States payroll, is now in the reality business. I'm sure I got the same message as everyone else who had signed up for her newsletter a few years ago. And clearly, it's not un-ethical to use the e mail addresses of voters who signed up to be notified of actions on Beacon Hill. Nor is it un-ethical to use that same web site to advertise your new business.

I can only wonder what type of Realtor she will be. Will she call you back if you call her? Will she respond to questions with inelegance and directly? Will she destroy documents of those she doesn't like? Will she game the system to benefit a select group of people? Can anyone closely tied to Bob DeLeo ever be trusted?

When and if I ever sell, you can bet I wouldn't list with her. Or even allow her in my homes.

www.PamRichardson.com

ERA Key Realty Services
1881 Worcester Rd. * Framingham, MA 01701
cell: 508-524-0723 Office: 508-879-4474
pamrichardson@erakey.com

Parking Regulations... don't give them a reason to ticket you.

ODD/EVEN PARKING

The Town of Framingham enforces a year-round ODD/EVEN side parking restriction program. Even years, (2010) parking is allowed on the even side of streets from Jan 1st to Dec 31st. Odd years, (2011) parking is allowed on the odd side from Jan 1st to Dec 31st. Centrally located Signs displaying ODD or EVEN restrictions according to the year exist in 22 locations throughout town, yearly changes are broadcast through the media and with the town’s rapid telephone notification system,

This restriction is enforced on a block by block basis, an exception to this would be (example) if during an even year (2010), a street has several blocks of intersecting streets along its, length, and one block between intersecting streets had pre-existing town signs prohibiting parking year-round on the Even side, residents could legally park on the Odd side only for that effected block regardless of Odd or Even years.

Special Town Meeting 1.12.11

For those of you who care about such things... TM will be asked to vote on

#1 transfer handicap parking fine receipts o the disability commission for projects that benefit the disabled... this is a no brainer.

#2 Replacement of windows and doors at Stapleton School. The total cost is 1,020,000 with a grant paying 588,000 and the Town paying 431,000. A worthy project for sure,but three line item explanations that need more intell. One is that there's a designer costs of 85,000, OPM costs 42,000 (whatever OPM stands for) and a 5% contingency cost of 42,000. Why is this figure so high? Are there that many unknowns in replacing windows and doors in an old building that had this same thing done in 1974?

#3 Approve preliminary design for new McAuliffe library building located near the Nobscot shopping center.

#4 Authorize the BOS to acquire land for new library. The facts as we know them now, the purchase of the land will be bonded over 20 years. A grant will cover 50% of the total land and building expense with dept expenses starting in 2013 and 2014. It is unclear what the already filthy rich land owner AJ Rousseau wants for the land, but it's cheaper than the land at Pinefield.

On the surface it's seems like a no brainer.... but when the Town is talking about laying off 200 employee's, the unions refusing to allow the Town to rein in health care costs, school closings, and the simple fact that no project has come in at or under budget and the millions in unfunded mandates, I'd need a whole lot more convincing to vote in favor of this project at this time.

I'd welcome any and all comments about this.

The warrant is 27 pages long if you want to print it out.

http://www.framinghamma.gov/Weblink8/
ElectronicFile.aspx?docid=17155&&&dbid=0