Winthrop, again, seeks override
By John Laidler, Globe Correspondent
In another round of a recurring battle over taxes in Winthrop, supporters and opponents of a series of proposed overrides are preparing to press their cases with voters.
The Town Council has approved the wording of 10 Proposition 2 1/2 overrides totaling $2.6 million that will appear on the ballot at a May 19 special election.
The state law, Proposition 2 1/2, caps the annual increase in a community’s property taxes to 2.5 percent plus revenue from new growth. An override allows for a permanent increase to that cap. Adoption of all 10 requests would add $479 to the annual tax bill of an average single-family home valued at $364,000.
This marks the sixth time in the last decade that Winthrop has taken up override proposals. A $2.5 million override passed in 2001, but overrides were defeated in 2000, 2003, 2004 (when two of them lost) and last year, when $1.55 million was requested, largely to support the school system.
Winthrop has passed two debt exclusions, which are temporary tax increases to repay loans for projects.
Supporters say the current proposals, offered in a menu format, are needed to maintain or restore vital town services in light of recent and anticipated state aid cuts and reductions in local revenues.
Three of the questions would provide the money needed to keep open the library and senior center and continue town trash collection.
‘‘We cannot afford not to pass this override. We have to maintain our quality of life,’’ said Richard Honan, chairman of Winthrop Cares, a citizens’ committee that is promoting passage of all the overrides. That quality of life, he said, includes ‘‘good schools, clean streets and parks, and public safety.’’
Honan, who owns a local sign business, said his group plans to advocate for the requests by passing out literature and through a local cable access show.
But opponents say the overrides would place an unnecessary burden on taxpayers.
‘‘A ‘no’ vote across the board is going to send a clear message to this [Town] Council that they need to start listening to the citizens of this community,’’ said Alex Mavrakos, spokesman for Citizens for Fair and Balanced Government, a group opposing the overrides. He said citizens want the town to generate the revenues it needs by promoting development.
The Town Council has not taken an official position, but council president Thomas E. Reilly said he supports the overrides and believes all the other council members do as well.
‘‘We are looking at the ability to sustain the town’s services,’’ he said. ‘‘We will have, for the next fiscal year, a very dramatic reduction in the revenue available to us from both state aid and from our local receipts. And in order to operate town departments at the level they are operating at right now, we will need some additional revenue.’’
According to Reilly, Winthrop is anticipating a state aid cut of about $950,000 and a drop in local revenues of about $400,000 next fiscal year, which begins July 1. The drop in state aid would follow a $511,000 midyear aid cut the town has absorbed in fiscal 2009.
The proposed overrides include:
-- $979,073 to cover trash collection;
-- $565,000 to help fund the School Department;
-- $499,324 to fund the library;
-- $135,285 to restore the jobs of two police officers laid off because of the midyear aid cut;
-- $122,922 to fund the Council on Aging; and
-- $88,726 to fill two vacant firefighter positions.
The proposal to restore the police officers does not address the police chief’s job, which was eliminated with the midyear cuts. The department is being run by a lieutenant acting as executive officer.
Reilly said the school department would use its funds to restore some of the jobs it had to cut last year and to absorb some cost increases.
Another question seeks $84,666 for three departments. The Assessors’ Department would receive $41,003 to hire a part-time employer or contractor to fill some of the duties of an assistant assessor laid off recently. The Management Information System Department would receive $14,124 and the Health Department $29,304 to restore the hours of employees who were reduced from full to part time by the midyear cuts.
There also are proposals for $63,441 to restore up to 1.5 positions in the Department of Public Works eliminated by the midyear aid cuts; and $50,000 to hire an employee or contractor to serve as town planner/grants writer. The town does not have a planner, and the job of grant writer/procurement officer has been vacant for more than a year.
A final question seeks $47,124 to help support the operations of the Parks and Recreation Department. Reilly said the department now relies on fee revenue, but is having difficulty meeting all its costs.
Mavrakos said his group does not dispute that the town needs more revenues, ‘‘but we want new revenues to come from new sources, not from the same people who are currently paying the taxes.’’ He said those revenues should come from business and residential growth.
‘‘Winthrop is the most thickly settled town in Massachusetts,’’ said Reilly. ‘‘We do have some opportunities for development. But it hasn’t occurred, and the idea that we should not fund major services in town because we haven’t had enough condos built in town isn’t logical.’’
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So if you laid off the Police Chief just for fiscal reasons, why no override for his position? Why did you really lay him off?
Mavrakos, Mavrakos, Mavrakos, Mavrakos.....de da, de da, de da, de da....all we ever hear from is the "Almighty Mavrakos"! Does anyone else have an opinion on the subject?? Fewer cops, fewer firemen, fewer teachers, way to go Winthrop! $500 bucks a year increase on taxes....oooohhhhhhh. That's a large cheese pizza a week. 2 $5 scratch tickets. A couple packs of butts. Take a walk by Nick's....packed. Hit one of the Yacht clubs on a weekend night. Drive around and see all the boats parked in residents driveways (real classy)! Winthrop has the money, but people live up to their means and are always on the edge. Hey, scale back your cable services, doofu. For the truly needy that CAN'T afford it, let the rest of us help them. We can donate to help the needy. Letting the town die isn't the answer.
So where is the money that they are already stealing from the taxpayers of Winthrop? Has it disappeared and now they need more? Don't be suckers for scumbag unions.
Notice how the stuff they say they need money for are just about the only things that you might actually want from your city government. They aren't going to say that they need an override so some scummy politician can hire his brother-in-law for a nice big salaried position. They don't say they want an override so they won't have to deal with the unions' rath because they didn't get every single thing their entitled little selves demanded. Tell Winthrop to stick their override where the sun doesn't shine.
raise taxes in winthrop,why not ?winthrop voted down question # 1,raise taxes until the people demand reform.
Yippee!! HUGE praise for "unhappywithwinthrop" for laying it all on the line!!
Unlike what the great Mavrokos spews...there is no stolen money under a rock...there was no mismanagement...and there is very little room for more business development in this town. FACE IT PAL!! Its time to own up to the TRUTH here...we all need to help each other. Period. End of story.
I am embarassed by all of the angry rhertoric coming from a faction of this town. I have lived here all my life and intend on staying here in my little house by the sea. I love this town and I love it enough to pay a little bit more to SAVE IT! These are not idle 'threats"...this is REALITY.
These are the same people who got rid of the Town Meeting and the board of Selectmen in favor of this new form of government. Now they point fingers and yelland scream about this NEW form of government. I"m tired of it. I would love know how they sleep at night.
This economy is hurting all of us. The bounty of riches we were blessed to receive each year from Massport and the MWRA in mitigation funds has gone dry. Now we are being asked to pay our fair share...to take care of each other. Yes, I understand it isn't easy for everyone to pay even a dollar more...it won't be easy for me, believe me...I don't have a boat in my drive way....and I work two jobs. But, it is what we are called to do.
The two comments by "peter" posted here....what Unions are you speaking of??
I hope that the people of this beautiful town will do the right thing.
To uninformed Peter (Poster #4): What delusional world are you living in? Do you see the potholes dotting the roads in Winthrop? Driving around town is like driving an obstacle course. One false step and you've blown a tire, or worse, need a re-alighnment.
There's no Police Chief. They say they will end garbage collection. The school systems extra-curricular activities (sports, music, you name it) require donations and fees...this is unheard of in most towns and cities, which provide the same things for their children. It means that those who HAVE get to participate, and those who DON'T are just out of luck.
NIce way to run a town, and nice attiude you have. If you follow what's going on in Winthrop, you can't help but come to the conclusion that money is NEEDED and DESPERATELY.
The City (not town as no town meeting) should have to do a revaluation if it raises taxes, that is only fair, my guess is that after a revaluation even with an override taxes will go down as house values have crashed so make them do both.
If you vote no, and then one night, you call the police with an emergency and you will be told you have to WAIT, you will wonder why you didn't vote for the override. We do not have enough police on the streets to be safe. Do you want to take a number in the event your home is broken into or wait while your house is burning down because the fire department is understaffed? Is that what people really want? Those departments really don't have enough to effectively run and if anyone thinks that's a lie, walk into those places and see and ask what is going on.
REFORM BEFORE REVENUE....UNIONS are the problem, if we weren't paying mediocre teachers(and mediocre is being polite) the same as we are paying the great teachers, we wouldn't have this problem. Look to Denver, Southern Cal and other school districts who have implemented pay for performance programs and look at the not surprising improvements in the outcomes.
Where has all the money that you already pay gone? What are you paying for now if you are not getting what you need from Winthrop? What are you paying for?
"Police, bla, bla, bla, public safety, bla, bla, bla, emergency, bla, bla, bla," go ask the cops for the money, seems like they are the only people with any left.
So, Winthrop pays good teachers like xxxp and pays bad teachers like xxxp(albeit more xxxp than you think they're worth) and you think the answer is to not give them raises because the bad teachers would be less xxxpy than they deserve?? Wow. Winthrop teachers are teaching classes out of their specialty, are working without a contract, changed their health plans voluntarily to help the town and got played for the effort, bring in their own soap and cleaners and paper towel and kleenex, sweep their own floors and all they are asking for is a full staff and a cost of living raise. Is that unrealistic? For recieving an education that includes bachelor and masters decrees, just to be lumped as mediocre by you? Winthrop is not a cheap town to live in. Shouldn't teachers deserve a white picket fence? Don't the kids deserve a fully staffed school to help them develop into caring, productive citizens?
Here is an idea on where to get the money: reduce town employees pensions, sick days, and medical costs. Only 18% of people who work in the private sector get pensions. It used to be that public employees were under paid compared to private employees. Not any longer, according to Forbes Magazine which compared the same jobs per job, public employees across the US not only have better benefits but also get paid more for the same jobs. Think of it this way, if a public employee went to the dreaded private sector, would be earn more or less in total compensation. The answer is less or else they would have already left.
What unions? I don't know of any unions? Unions?
My question is why did the town take all the schools away? The Chase The Darymple the fine school on Punam street. If we had these perfectly fine schools we probably would not be in this boat. My concern is the people who make these decisions. Will the decisions be better in the future? This is the question to ask????
ItsaNewEconomy...any teacher who would leave to make more money in the private sector probably wouldn't try teaching to begin with. Teachers aren't expecting to get rich or die trying, as the expression goes. But why do town employees get to watch their neighbors dictate their income?? Can I decide how much your boss pays you?? Can I judge you as incompetent because someone else I know who has the same job is a loser?? Teacher's don't create "direct" capital, so they are not valued. But think of the capital created by someone who was motivated and mentored by a teacher...........you could argue that it would be in the billions. A software programmer makes 120,000 but a fireman makes 50???
What unions? I don't know of any unions? Unions?
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