Contracts, Efficiencies On Selectmen's Agenda

The voters sent town officials "a very clear message" on June 14 when it rejected a town sponsored Proposition 2 1/2 override that would have helped bridge a nearly $3.5 million budgetary gap between available funds and needed expenses.

And Ralph Jones, chairman of Belmont's Board of Selectmen, said he and his fellow town officials certainly heard voter concerns.

But rather than a blunt and simple "no" to providing an additional $2 million for town functions and schools, Jones has interpreted the results with a more subtle analysis.

If the town and the board are willing to ask for more money in the future, Jones said, they must first demonstrate it can run town government with greater efficiency, and that responsibly lies principally with the three-member board.

And in the first of several moves he and the board will promise voters in the coming year, Jones feels the first place to demonstrate this new emphasis on cost savings is with the biggest expense of all: salaries.

"I don't see a lot of waste in town government, but what I and many people saw in the past election was that employee compensation for many town workers is much too high," Jones said, noting that those salary increases were occurring during the worst recession in nearly 70 years as state and town revenues fell.

He said the increases of high-salaried school personnel over a recent 24 months period were "really unheard of and that's what captured the public's attention."

Jones said the town side of municipal government – the departments outside of the schools – must also be aware of large year-to-year budget increases, especially in overtime pay for public safety employees.

Jones said where he and the board would begin taking control over compensation expenses during new contract negotiations with the town's unions later in the year.

"We will take a very tough approach to protect the taxpayers," said Jones.

While unwilling to show the town's hand in the coming contract debate, he said the town has found itself being placed into a structural deficit in past bargaining negotiations.

He said in the past, when inflation is two to three percent, wages would be negotiated in the four to five percent range.

"Today, we have zero inflation and we don't need to provide a salary increase of five percent when all we can raise from property taxes is by two-and-a-half percent," said Jones.

We will need to hold any increases down to where we as a town will not be pushed deeper into a financial hole," said Jones, who expects a tough fight over the coming contract.

Benefits will also be on the table in the negotiations with the focus on the town's percentage of employee's health care contribution.

"We need to once again look to transfer more coverage to the workers," said Jones. With a state required minimum town contribution of 50 percent, "we have decreased the town's payments from 90 percent to 80 percent in the past and have to do even more now," he said.

Jones said while payments to employee pensions are rising at an accelerated rate, "there is very little we can do on pensions as they are run by state or regional retirements boards and are under state statutes."

While wages are the main source of future savings, Jones said another area the town could find greater efficiencies is in the town's business processes.

"We need to increase automation and computer technology in financials," said Jones, saying he is working from personal experience where he has seen private sector companies double their work volume with only a small increase in the work force.

"There is no reason why we can bring those practices here," said Jones, also pointing to consolidation within town government including bringing together human resources functions that are now provided by several departments.

"And the school committee must look at this how classrooms are to be reorganized and also seek greater use of outside the classroom learning," said Jones, pointing to computer and internet-based study for advance placement courses, for example.

But, Jones noted, greater use of automation and computer technology "is all dependent on an increase in the capital budget for this technology."

Jones is joining fellow Selectman Angelo Firenze by acknowledging that it would be unwise to bring another override proposal to the ballot until all attempts at greater efficiency and structural changes are put forward.

"I would like to issue a quarterly report to the residents on our goals and how far we are on accomplishing them," he said.

But Jones also believes that residents must also be aware that not spending funds on necessary functions is penny wise but pound-foolish.

"The most worrisome is the lack of capital investment," said Jones.

"There is a need for public education on this issue especially because it's not prudent to run the town's infrastructure, such as the roads and sidewalks, to failure," he said.