A Special Election will be held on Saturday, Nov. 15, to fill a vacancy on the Select Board.
Each week until the election, Abington News is asking the two residents running a question to help voters better understand them as candidates.
This week’s question was:
It’s a two-parter:
Abington, like many towns, is facing a sizable budget deficit next year. How do you propose balancing the budget while protecting needed town services?
The Select Board has already indicated it will likely seek a Proposition 21/2 override next spring. What factors will you take into consideration when deciding whether to support or oppose it?
NICOLE EMERY
Abington, like many towns, is facing a sizable budget deficit next year. How do you propose balancing the budget while protecting needed town services?
Balancing the budget will require new ideas and some tough decisions. We’re facing rising costs in education, public safety, and essential services like trash collection. Given the importance of these services, minor adjustments alone won’t be enough to close the funding gap.
Each department should be carefully reviewed to identify opportunities for savings. I’d look closely at where the town’s budget pressures are coming from, including programs that have relied on temporary funding that’s no longer available. We should also examine how we deliver services to ensure we’re operating as efficiently and effectively as possible. That includes finding ways to reduce energy costs, reviewing staffing and equipment needs, exploring shared services, and adjusting fees where appropriate to generate additional revenue.
We can also strengthen community partnerships and volunteer efforts to improve services and town spaces without adding to the budget. At the end of the day, my goal would be to protect the essential services residents depend on while being mindful of the financial pressures many face. We need to plan carefully, communicate openly, and work together to find solutions that keep Abington strong and affordable.
The Select Board has already indicated it will likely seek a Proposition 21/2 override next spring. What factors will you take into consideration when deciding whether to support or oppose it?
First and foremost, I would consider the effects it would have on the average taxpayer in Abington. I would weigh the impact on taxpayers against the effect on the quality of essential town services. My decision would be grounded in facts, transparency, and responsible financial planning to ensure we meet the town’s needs while keeping Abington affordable.
MICHAEL LAVERY
Thanks for the question. And thank you to everyone for the feedback about the last question. I’m thrilled to hear the residents of Abington are very excited for a fresh voice and new ideas. There is a vocal cry for concrete ideas and proposals. People are sick of generic talking points.
Since being on the Affordable Housing Trust we’ve gotten housing affordability from 7.1% to over 10%. That gives us new options on zoning and grants. One of those is 40R zoning, which is a Smart Growth District.
Whitman recently had a public hearing about adopting one. Just for approving the zone they’d get $350,000 from the state and up to $6,000 per new housing unit built in a designated area near an MBTA station. We’d be negligent if we didn’t look into the possibility of zoning like that. We’ve starting talking to the Old Colony Planning Council about our options. You can get more info on zoning options by watching the most recent Affordable Housing Trust meeting on the Abington CAM YouTube.
Hearing from departments around town, they all have concerns about the budget. That’s no surprise. But they’re all running at the bare minimum. I urge you to watch the Sept 8th Select Board meeting. Chief Bonney gives pretty clear examples of what the departments are dealing with to stay below budget while keeping us safe.
Our biggest budget payout is payroll for teachers, firefighters, and law enforcement. Not only is cutting down on their staffing not an option, if anything we need to hire more staff to cut down on overtime. Having a full staff will actually save us money. Chief Bonney expressed to me that the force is being stretched thin. It’s to the point where safety is a concern. Last month they had a multi-town chase pursued by a single Abington officer. There were two people in the car and the officer feared they had a weapon in the middle console. He acknowledges how unsafe that situation was for the officer. Last year we allocated $140,000 in overtime and they used $476,664.42. That’s $336,664.42 over budget. That’s not at any fault of the police, we need feet on the ground. Earlier this year I was thrilled to be at a Select Board meeting where new officers were sworn in. Being fully staffed for the first time in a long time will help save us hundred of thousands in overtime. And it will allow the officers to have free time to live their lives and decompress.
Before the new officers were sworn in, the Police were running 32% behind in staffing. We’re funded for 19 officers, and only had 13. Only 11 of those are patrol officers. Since we only had 11 patrol officers, Sergeants and Lieutenants were forced to take overtime shifts. Since they get paid at a higher rate, that obviously means higher overtime.
The staffing shortage is so strenuous that the Police Union and the station agreed that the officers wouldn’t take vacation time. Our police are burnt out, tired, and don’t get a break. That’s dangerous. Imagine after a few nights of bad sleep how things could slip in your job performance. As an officer, imagine how dangerous that is for everyone involved.
We’ve had 3 firearms recovered that were used in crimes, 34 guns seized, 55 held for impounding (due to things like restraining orders).
This year they’ve had a 12% increase in arrests. The department needs our support.
Today I talked to Fire Chief Jack Glynn. They’re running at a bare minimum. Not only does he need to keep the staff he has but ideally, he’d like enough staff to fully run the ambulances and trucks. Right now most of them are running 1 person short.
No one wants to pay more in taxes. But we can’t put a price on avoiding catastrophe.
The override is tricky. Either way it’s going to cost the people. We either pay more or we lose important services. The more I talk to departments around town, the more they stress the importance of the override. With that said, no matter what the people choose, we will make it work. I don’t think the town can add any costs without making serious steps towards making the cost of living more affordable. Even after an override, the goal is for you be paying less overall with adjustments to cost of living around town. One option the Select Board has discussed is the menu option where we vote on each department. The departments around town are worried it’ll cause a divide between them. Basically fighting for the same piece of pie. If anything the departments need to work together and communicate with each other. For example, I learned that multiple departments all would like a social worker. Instead of 3 part-time social workers, department communication could have lead to one full-time social worker. A social worker would help with housing and with finding employment which will all add revenue streams. A social worker would strongly help the seniors and veterans in town as well. We can’t let them get left behind in housing and assistance.
When it comes to costs, if we end up paying more in taxes, we need a break on cost of living. Groceries have gone up 4%. The price of coffee and ground beef have skyrocketed. Things like a municipal grocer would be an interesting idea so we can drastically cut the price of groceries, support small businesses, and any proceeds would go back into the town. That may also lead to big businesses lowering prices around town. I’ve seen people trying to have a bagel business in front of their house stopped, I see people trying to sell eggs in their yard. We should negotiate ways for our residents to be able to have their side-hustle while giving other residents access to cheaper food. If not in their yards, a place like a grocer would be perfect for that.
Abington is a Green Community. We’ve got grants from the state to stay green. That includes the community gardens that I’ve just started working on with the new committee to give residents more access to fresh produce. Even these gardens are a drop in the bucket. If successful, I think we should look into expanding the program. We also have options for alternate electric suppliers. But we should also be looking at green options like solar that will put the power in the homeowners hands. Cut down the price of utilities.
Abington should look to get involved in the Housing Choice Designation, which gives them exclusive access to grant funding for infrastructure and community development projects. We should support more mixed-use developments to get full use of our land.
But the biggest leap we can make towards cost of living is addressing the severe shortage in affordable housing. Studies show that investing in communities cuts down on crime rates. Affordable housing itself lowers crime rates. The biggest way to cut down on crime is providing housing security. Not only that but it adds revenue streams and takes the burden off of the Police.
Giving citizens more cash in our pocket will boost the economy. More going out to restaurants, more delivers, back to school shopping, new shoes, paying for sitters and recreation for the kids.
What’s considered affordable is 30% of household income going towards rent and cost of living. I know very few people that pay that low. Making our housing actually affordable will save the residents millions of dollars that can be reinvested into the community.
The key to Abington’s success is affordability and together we can make that a reality!
For more info visit Facebook.com/LaveryForAbington
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