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AlCo Auto Parts site planned for housingFor the full story, go to:https://bulletinnewspapers.weebly.com/uploads/1/1/4/8/...
09/22/2025

AlCo Auto Parts site planned for housing
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By Richard Heath

In a proverbial leap of faith, Karti Sabramanian of Patten Street is urging his Woodbourne neighbors to support a new housing proposal none have seen or heard of before.

All online.

On Friday, Sept. 5, Subramanian posted on the Woodbourne Neighborhood Association listserv his “short version” of the plan.

“A local developer Arx Urban has proposed a 47-unit affordable housing project on the site of AlCo Auto Parts on Hyde Park Ave. I’m putting together a letter of support to the city looking to include as many signatures from the neighbors as possible.

“Please show your support on this quick Google Form which includes the draft of the letter to the mayor’s office and the Boston Planning Department.”

A half-hour later Peg Preble, a Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council (JPNC) member and an Eastland Street resident responded, “Affordable housing sounds great, but can you forward any drawings or more details of the process?”

An hour later Amelia Onorata joined the listserv. “I won’t be signing. We’re always being told we need more housing but we don’t get a chance to determine what type of housing we need.”

Subramanian did not reply to The Bulletin about how he got the information.

“The developer is a local firm Arx Urban,” the long version message goes on, “who is also the developer of 4198 Washington St. in Roslindale [opposite Adams Park].

“It’s an affordable housing project making use of low income housing tax credits to develop units for a variety of income levels; the proposal is for six stories, 47 units and 18 parking spaces.

“The income-restricted units are priced for a range of people from those making 30 percent of area median income (AMI) to 60 percent.

“The owners of AlCo Auto Parts are strongly in support and in fact, initiated the process with the developer.

“There won’t be any ground-floor retail but they ate planning to include a community room; work space on the street level side.

“If you believe that we need more affordable housing near transit, not just to give people shelter but also to address sprawl please sign this quick Google Form to show your support.”

The Bulletin called Benjie Moll of Arx later. He was glad there was support for his plans but confused as to how the news got out.

Billings Field work continuesFor the full story, go to:https://bulletinnewspapers.weebly.com/uploads/1/1/4/8/114832579/w...
09/22/2025

Billings Field work continues
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By Ariane Komyati

During the summer months, Billings Field is usually filled with activities including basketball, tennis, pickleball, adult baseball and softball leagues, dog walkers, summer camps and rowdy teens in the woods.

But summer 2025 looked much different as construction work started on the renovation project.

In late June, construction vehicles began tearing down sports lights, bleachers, drinking fountains, baseball backstops, benches, parts of the stone wall, and more. The project team also completed partial court surfacing on the basketball and tennis courts.

A tall fence was placed around most of Billings Field’s perimeter, excluding the playground. Large, detailed diagrams showing the planned upgrades for Billings Field now hang on the fence.

The Billings Field renovations include a new set of stairs and an accessible ramp off of Bellevue Street, new paths and trees throughout the park, minor upgrades to the basketball, tennis, and pickleball courts, a splash pad, minor playground upgrades, field upgrades, and an outdoor hockey rink. The in-line rink was highly supported by residents during the 2022, 2023, and 2024 community meetings. The updated Billings Field will also include a large path around its perimeter, connecting the whole park.

At the end of July, a very large hydraulic breaker attached to an excavator destroyed the steep concrete stairs. Last week, the crew began construction of the new pedestrian stairs and accessibility ramp off of Bellevue Street.

Many trees along Bellevue have been cleared to make way for the accessibility ramp.

“Over the past few weeks, tree removal has begun, targeting dead, dying, invasive trees as reviewed and approved by the Boston Parks Tree Warden. All removals will be conducted with oversight from the project design team to ensure best practices for urban tree management are followed,” stated a Boston Parks and Recreation (BPR) spokesperson.

“Topsoil stripping, excavation, and grading are ongoing, and dust control measures are in place. Crews have also demolished sections of the existing block retaining wall reading repair, with salvaged blocks stockpiled for reuse, and installed new field light footings,” BPR explained. “Work will also continue on installation of the new retaining wall, blending salvaged blocks with new granite gray blocks for a seamless look.”

Minor upgrades to the playground, also known as the Lt. Edward Walsh and Firefighter Michael Kennedy Tot Lot, will take place this month. Playground improvements are scheduled to begin on Sept. 22. It will close for the duration of construction and is expected to reopen by Thanksgiving. Billings Field construction will pause over the winter and resume in spring 2026.

CPC: projects can come from anyoneFor the full story, go to:https://norwoodrecord.weebly.com/uploads/1/1/4/8/114832579/n...
09/22/2025

CPC: projects can come from anyone
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By Jeff Sullivan

The Community Preservation Committee (CPC) hosted its first of three information sessions on Tuesday night at the Simoni Meeting room in the Morrill Memorial Library.

The next information session is set for Monday, Sept. 22 at 1 p.m. at the Norwood Senior Center, with the final on Sept. 25 at 6 p.m.

While sparsely attended, the focus of the meeting was twofold: first, to inform residents that they have the ability to submit projects for Community Preservation Act (CPA) funding. The second focus was on the historical side of the CPA.

“One of the things we’re trying to achieve is to stimulate some new ideas,” said CPC member Debbie Holmwood. “All we need is a few ideas and a fresh eye.”

The CPA allows municipalities to add a tax surcharge on property to collect monies for the CPA Fund. The state gives a matching percentage based on statewide real estate transactions as well, and from the CPA Fund, the law allows municipalities to greenlight projects – either from residents, government agencies, or private entities – that have a public good idea and fall into three categories: open space and preservation, affordable housing and historic preservation.

In Norwood, most are submitted by Town entities: the General Manager’s Office, the Recreation Department, the Department of Public Works, and the Historical Commission etc.

But anyone can submit a request, and these information sessions are aimed at educating residents as to what is allowed, how they can submit, and what kinds of projects would be likely to pass muster.

It’s not exactly an easy process, but the CPC and CPC Coordinator, Kristen Phelps, are there to guide residents through the process.

CPC Chair Catherine Walsh said one of the first things needed for a CPA project is the permission of the landowner for which the project is sited.

“We do have the ability to spend money on private property, but there needs to be restrictions; there needs to be a public purpose for that, and clearly those projects are scrutinized more heavily than projects for Town-owned or conservation-owned land,” she said.

While there is not an inventory of all Town-owned properties available at this point, Phelps said that interested residents can look at the list of open space land on the Town’s Open Space and Recreation Plan -- https://tinyurl.com/36uf3kp3 – found on the Town’s website. CPC Member Julie Barbara-Issa also pointed out that if you have a property in mind but don’t know who owns it or how to contact them, looking at the Town’s geographical information system (GIS) map is a great place to start – https://tinyurl.com/2s3u478b

Walsh said there are several criteria that the CPC looks for in any request, but stipulated this is only the first step. After the CPC accepts a potential project, the landowner must assent, as well as the Board of Selectmen. After that, a public process of explaining each project to residents begins, followed by a final vote of Town Meeting.

Keeley reviews Marathon BombingFor the full story, go to:https://bulletinnewspapers.weebly.com/uploads/1/1/4/8/114832579...
09/22/2025

Keeley reviews Marathon Bombing
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By Dilani Yogaratnam

A crowd of 50 leaned forward in their seats at the West Roxbury Branch of the Boston Public Library on Sept. 13, to listen to Firefighter Chief (retired) Dennis Keeley talk about what it was like to be the firefighter in charge of District 4 on the day of the Boston Marathon Bombing – April 15, 2013.

Most of the elite runners had finished when the first blast went off at 2:49 p.m. Between 2:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. is when the largest number of runners usually crosses the finish line.

“They did their homework. It wasn’t the runners, it was the crowd they wanted to get,” Keeley said, referring to the Tsarnaev brothers.

Keeley presented a vivid timeline, relevant figures, and maps and pictures of where the two explosions occurred more than a decade ago. The Tsarnaev brothers were also involved in a shootout killing an MIT officer. The older brother, Tamerlan, died from gunshot and vehicle wounds, while his younger brother Dzhokhar made his way to a residential neighborhood in Watertown before being apprehended and ending up in a death row facility, where he remains to this day. His death sentence was overturned on appeal in 2020 and then reinstated in 2022.

“They did their homework, but they didn’t do all of it,” Keeley asserted. Keeley showed audience members images of the thickness of the crowd along Boylston Street. The first bomb went off at the finish line and the second bomb went off near 739 Boylston St.

“It was a perfect scenario for them (the terrorists). The two bombs, while identical, created different blast patterns.” The first bomb was from the older brother placing his backpack on the ground which made the blast go down and fan out in a circular pattern, accounting for the many severe leg injuries.

One person died in the first bombing, Krystle Campbell, a restaurant manager. Two others, Martin Richard, 8, and Lingzi Lu, died when the second bomb went off. Keeley explained that if the brothers had set the bombs off at Kenmore Square, many more injuries and deaths would probably have occurred. Copley Square had medical tents and many law enforcement officers equipped, as best as possible, to deal with the aftermath.

MSBC says building done…butFor the full story, go to:https://norwoodrecord.weebly.com/uploads/1/1/4/8/114832579/norwood_...
09/22/2025

MSBC says building done…but
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By Jeff Sullivan

The Middle School Building Committee (MSBC) met on Monday at the Technology Room in the new Coakley Middle School.

The school this particular committee was set up to oversee.

Vertex Project Manager Luke Apone reviewed new and ongoing issues facing the conclusion of the project. While the building is ostensibly done and classes are taking place, there are still some parts of it under construction and some fixes that need to be made. Apone said regardless, there will still be an open house for the building from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 20. Parents, students, residents, or anyone else are invited to attend and see the work for themselves.

When it comes to finishing up the building, Apone said one big issue remaining is the gymnasium, which is not as smooth as one might want an athletic surface to be.

“We have found what are called ‘poly balls,’ which is when the polyurethane finish seeps into the cracks between the wood (planks) and being pushed to the surface as the floor moves, expands and contracts,” he said. “We did meet with the floor contractor ahead of this meeting and they are proposing a maintenance program that will involve cleaning the floor on a regular basis until the floor settles and the finish dries and we don’t see this bubbling up anymore.”

Apone said this is not something they are too concerned about for the future.

“We don’t see this as an ongoing issue, just more of maintenance and cleaning issue for now,” he said.

Moving forward, Apone said the turf field sub-base (rock and/or gravel put underneath to keep the field stable) is looking to finish up on Sept. 23. He also advised that once the heat needs to be used in the building they will do the final commissioning of the heating system – that’s final checks to make sure everything is working correctly – on Oct. 30. The turf field is looking at a total completion date of Nov. 30, with its associated exterior improvements and applicable landscaping to be completed on Dec. 3.

He said the construction team will demobilize on Dec. 15 and just the landscaping team will come back in the spring to complete what is known as the ‘punch list,’ which is mainly just a final check list on construction projects of relatively small items not yet complete. He said they will be checking in on what’s already been planted and make sure everything is growing as expected.

“And then the final 10-month commissioning walk-through is scheduled for next June and we’re targeting the final Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) audit for late July next year,” he said.

Also at the meeting, Apone went through the budget and the monthly invoices – as they do most meetings – and Norwood Public Schools Superintendent Timothy Luff asked about a line item of about $135,000 for “Hazardous material mitigation.”

SC: Budget will be ready when it’s ready, deficit Committee sparking debateFor the full story, go to:https://norwoodreco...
09/22/2025

SC: Budget will be ready when it’s ready, deficit Committee sparking debate
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By Jeff Sullivan

The Norwood School Committee met last week and discussed the upcoming budget for fiscal year 2026-27.

The discussion came around the newly-minted Budget Deficit Committee, which was formed to address the structural deficit the Town of Norwood has been running for a number of years. The Town has been able to fill the budget gaps with free cash – leftover or unexpected revenues – but several boards and residents have said this is an option of diminishing returns, as you can’t really rely on that kind of revenue to fund an operational budget.

The issues with the Deficit Committee are centered on two main problems. The first, and probably most mundane, is scheduling. Much of the committee is made up of elected and appointed officials and residents. Due to summer vacations, meetings have been virtually impossible to schedule.

The second is a bit more complicated, with the focus concerning open meeting law issues. Essentially, Norwood Public Schools Superintendent Timothy Luff said discussing possible staffing reductions in a public meeting where those staff are legally entitled to view the meetings is problematic.

“Any open meeting like this could require the creation of minutes after the fact, and I don’t want conversations that will get out to the public staff and scare people,” he said. “We are here to stay and our staff is here to stay and I don’t want anybody to get nervous about this.”

Top It Off Accessories steps up, donates $30K of clothes to Mass Fallen HeroesFor the full story, go to:https://bulletin...
09/22/2025

Top It Off Accessories steps up, donates $30K of clothes to Mass Fallen Heroes
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By Jeff Sullivan

Top It Off Accessories Staff met with Mass Fallen Heroes (MFH) Board Member Jason Farrar and volunteer Thomas Foley recently so that the West Roxbury wholesaler could donate several large bags and boxes of clothes worth up to $30,000 retail.

The donation was for the MFH Sample Sale, a monthly fundraiser that usually takes samples from retail businesses and resells them for MFH’s programming.

The samples can be anything from housewares to furniture, decorations to tools to, and as in this case, clothing. The next sale is set for Oct. 11 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 19 Philips Ln. in Hanover.

Farrar is currently a Weymouth Firefighter and works with Foley to pick up and drop off most if not all the donations the sample sale takes in to process and sell every month. A lot of the time, they said, they get items from big box retail and corporate entities, but those entities, for whatever reason, do not want to be associated with the sale. However, Top It Off! owner Elizabeth Hoenscheid said she’s proud to stand with the organization.

Farrar got involved with MFH much like many of its volunteers and board members. His brother, Marine Sgt. Andrew K. Farrar Jr., was killed in 2005 in Iraq –

ZBA approves Great Scott planFor the full story, go to:https://bulletinnewspapers.weebly.com/uploads/1/1/4/8/114832579/b...
09/22/2025

ZBA approves Great Scott plan
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By Jeff Sullivan

Great Scott owners Carl Lavin, Paul Armstrong and Jordan Warshaw joined attorney Don Wiest last week at the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) to state their case for the return of the Great Scott music venue to Allston.

The new site will be located at 1-17 Harvard Ave., about two blocks away from the old location, which was replaced with a Taco Bell. The new, mixed-use building will create a 300-seat venue location replacing O’Brien’s, which is currently at the redevelopment site.

Wiest said to “offset” the cost of doing this, the mixed-use development will have 139 units of rental housing. There is no vehicle parking set for the site.

The community benefits listed for the project include the new music venues – which are to be independently owned and operated from the rental property – along with new, wider sidewalks, new street trees, the elimination of a Harvard Avenue curb cut, a contribution to Boston for parks and open space in Allston and Brighton, 200 construction jobs and 50-60 permanent jobs.

Wiest said the project has a lot of community support, to say the least. He said at the time of the Boston Planning and Development Agency Board approval in April, they had about 358 letters of support.

“And five in opposition,” he said. “Since that time, by our count, we’ve got in 1,584 support letters for this project as of today’s hearing.”

Allston Brighton Liaison of the Office of Neighborhood Services (ONS) Jennifer Roberts said her office is in support of the project, which is unusual. Most of the time, ONS states the office, “defers to the judgment of the Board.”

Developer: opposition caused loss of affordabilityFor the full story, go to:https://bulletinnewspapers.weebly.com/upload...
09/05/2025

Developer: opposition caused loss of affordability
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By Jeff Sullivan

The Wednesday public meeting for the proposed 204-unit rental project at 990 American Legion Hwy. saw several uncommon, if not unique, occurrences for a Boston Planning Department public meeting.

The project has caused a lot of controversy since it was first proposed five years ago. Then, Lincoln Development proposed the project in conjunction with landowner Jubilee Christian Church. Residents opposed the project because it would cut down most of the 14 acres of trees on the 24-acre property for the 270-unit proposal.

Since that time, the then BPDA ‘denied the proposal based on technical grounds. Lincoln, now Willow Bridge Property Company, ended up suing the city for conflicting and onerous regulations. Willow eventually won its suit last year. During the course of the project, residents formed the Crane Ledge Woods Coalition (CLWC), which has been organizing to push the city to purchase the property from Jubilee.

The city apparently gave Jubilee a $3 million offer for the property a couple of years ago, but that was rejected. Over the course of several community meetings held by the CLWC, representatives from Jubilee spoke about the project and their right to develop the property, and State Rep. Russell Holmes supported the church in its right to do so.

But, since the last time the project came into public view through the city, several things have changed. The affordability component, which originally required 41 units designated as affordable under the city’s Inclusionary Development Policy (IDP) has been scrapped. According to an addendum to the Final Project Impact Report (FPIR) filed earlier this summer, the reasoning is that when the project was first proposed to the Planning Department in 2021, the city required affordable units because it was not zoning compliant.

The project is now zoning compliant by getting rid of several at-grade housing units and other minor adjustments, and since the city did not require affordable units for as-of-right projects, it shouldn’t have to provide them now, even though the current city law is that projects nine units or above must comply with the IDP.

The project plan has also removed several other community benefits since then, including a bus shelter for a nearby MBTA station, public access to Crane Ledge Lookout through the property, as well as a nature path.

Holmes, whose district encompasses the site, said these reductions in the project has made him take back his support of it.

“That last slide on community benefits, it’s pretty much offensive to me,” he said. “I’m not understanding why. The last time I sat down with folks, all of the things that you had taken away were the things I had been advocating for. So can you walk me through why there is no longer a nature trail, why there is no longer a lookout, why there is no longer affordable housing, and why there is no longer improvements at the bus stop. Those seem to be all the things that I said were must-haves for me in my conversations with Jubilee through the years. Can you walk me through what happened?”

More money, more money, more money: Fire trucks taking longer, increasing costsFor the full story, go to:https://norwood...
09/05/2025

More money, more money, more money: Fire trucks taking longer, increasing costs
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By Jeff Sullivan

The Norwood Capital Outlay Committee (COC) met last week and discussed items on the Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) capital plan – and further years of the Town’s five-year capital plan – with department heads from various offices in Town.

The main gist of the meeting appeared to be getting more information on several projects committee members had previously discussed. For example, the Norwood Fire Department’s (NFD) request for a new, $3 million ladder truck. Assistant Town Manager Michael Rosen said that’s a $500,000 increase from when the COC last met.

“We’ve been advised by the Town Manager and working with several departments to bump that to $3 million; one reason being the lead time of three-and-a-half-to-three years now between ordering a truck and accepting delivery of a truck,” Rosen said. “So the recommendation, if we do borrow for this, is to go for $3 million, and the thing is, you only borrow what you need, so if bids come in less than that, we would only borrow what we need to do the project.”

Rosen said that $500,000 can also act as a contingency fund, as he made it known that more money will be needed for other things, and used an example imported technologies.

“Technology is increasing in price and we don’t know what’s going to happen with tariffs and whatnot, so we recommend bumping this to $3 million,” he said.

Rosen and NFD Chief Timothy Bailey said the need to replace the truck is now even though it will take three years to replace the current ladder truck.

“The ladder truck we currently have is 12 years old and has had several breakdowns in the last year, putting it out of service for months at a time,” Rosen said.

Selectman and COC member Bob Donnelly asked about the companies who produce fire trucks and whether or not there are more and different manufacturers the Town can reach out to.

Delayed housing development in JPFor the full story, go to:https://bulletinnewspapers.weebly.com/uploads/1/1/4/8/1148325...
09/05/2025

Delayed housing development in JP
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By Richard Heath

After all the drama, argument, rhetoric and sometimes hysteria that often mark Jamaica Plain community meetings about new housing, there is still the required Boston Planning and Development Agency Board (BPDA) vote and Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) determination.

And when all that’s over and the public process ends, in some cases a lot of time can go by before the actual construction work on the housing begins.

The Bulletin was reminded of this when the agenda of the Aug. 12, ZBA meeting listed an extension request for 121 Brookside Ave., a full six years after it was approved.

Delays seem to be common, and although none reviewed by the Bulletin will have any impact on increasing housing for those earning 30 to 50 percent area median income (AMI), they do conflict with the mayor’s oft repeated promises to streamline the development process.

The Wu administration is stocked with a host of “community engagement specialists”, but engagement does not seem to get housing built any quicker.

After the engagement specialists move on to other engagements when the public process ends, tracking the progress usually requires calling attorneys.

There does seem to be life regarding 121 Brookside, but Attorney Andrew Kara, who requested the approved extension, did not respond to The Bulletin’s calls for clarification: how long is the extension and is it for the original developer?

The original developer was Scott Johnson, of Cedar Hill Development. He proposed a four-story, 21–unit apartment house, designed by Cheryl Tougias, on a vacant lot numbered 121 Brookside.

Approved by the BPDA in May 2019 and then the ZBA on Aug. 27f the same year, the site has sat empty since.

The next door business, Carlysle Engineering Fire Protection Systems, strongly opposed Johnson’s plan at both the JP Zoning Committee (JPZC) and ZBA, stating “It would drive us out of business.”

In the meantime, Carlysle Engineering has moved its business in Jamaica Plain, where it’s been located for 75 years, apparently to Norwood sometime in May.
The 1.1-acre parcel was put on the market by LAER Realty in May, listed for $14.9 million.

One other housing plan, 12 Rock Hill Rd, presumed deceased, finally began construction in August after six years, a four-story, 12-unit apartment house designed by Ed Forte on the U-shaped road off Paul Gore Street.

Proposed in 2019 by Matthew Hayes, who owns Jamaica Plain Auto Body and the other garages on the street, Hayes had a difficult time; he was contested at three often contentious JPZC meetings from March 2019 through October 2020, when it was finally approved.

FinCom: What’s up with the deficit?For the full story, go to:https://norwoodrecord.weebly.com/uploads/1/1/4/8/114832579/...
09/05/2025

FinCom: What’s up with the deficit?
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By Jeff Sullivan

The Norwood Finance Commission (FinCom) met last week and discussed the Town’s structural deficit and the associated Budget Deficit Working Group, more specifically its lack of progress.

The Budget Deficit Working Group was formed earlier this summer to figure out what the Town would need to cut in order to plug the $7 million-plus hole in the operating budget. Schools and general government representatives have said in the past that salaries make up the vast majority of spending in both of those departments, and cuts would mean losing a good number of employees.

FinCom member and representative to the Working Group Myev Bodenhofer said that Town Manager Tony Mazzucco has canceled several meetings because of a lack of information on the schools side of the budget. She said she’s disappointed with the lack of progress.

“We’ve met a total of twice,” she said. “We were planning to meet weekly. Mr. Mazzucco had reached out to us one week and said the schools needed a bit more time so he was canceling that meeting, and then the following meeting I asked if there was going to be a meeting, and Mr. Mazzucco said he was canceling the next meeting. He said the schools are not ready to work, and I asked if we could do a meeting with general government stuff to discuss, and he said he didn’t feel it would be productive if it was just general government.”

Bodenhofer said there appear to be good reasons for the delay and that members want to get going, but it just isn’t happening.

“I thought this was a good idea and an opportunity for us to talk,” she said. “In conversations with the Schools’ Superintendent and other staff, I do think that they are interested in having discussions on how we should handle finances, and I also think there were concerns about establishing appropriate ground rules about how this committee should operate; is this working group subject to open meeting law because it was formed by an order of the Board of Selectmen, and basically just how should this be happening.”

Bodenhofer said she didn’t feel it was the FinCom’s responsibility to dictate what should and shouldn’t be cut. But she did say she felt Town Meeting members need to see a budget that is balanced and how many municipal employees would be lost under that budget – like the one Mazzucco presented in February this year for the General Government side https://tinyurl.com/25rh7xr8

“We are spending a lot of one-time money to prop up our budget every year,” she said. “I still think it might be a good idea to ask everyone to come up with a budget that can be supported by our recurring revenues. Ask Town Meeting to approve that budget and then possibly present supplemental budgets that would be supported by free cash and see what we can afford without the free cash. What would that look like if we have to add the free cash? I feel like that would give Town Meeting a chance to have a debate on how much free cash we should be using.”

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