Wareham finally takes up money matters
By ANIKA CLARK
aclark@s-t.com
May 24, 2011 12:00 AM

WAREHAM — One month after Wareham residents tabled most of the special and annual Town Meetings' financial warrant articles, they got down to fiscal business Monday night.

Shortly before 8:30 p.m., voters had approved $212,860 in budget transfers for fiscal 2011 and an appropriation of $150,000 to the stabilization fund that acts as a town savings account.

Residents, who numbered 156 at 7:15 p.m., spent most of the discussion at the beginning of the meeting on an ultimately successful article to appropriate $50,000 from the Community Preservation Affordable Housing Reserve Fund to South Shore Housing to rehabilitate apartments at Depot Crossing in East Wareham.

While the units in the eight two-story buildings represent affordable housing already, according to Nancy Miller, chairman of the Community Preservation Committee, the article requires the complex remain affordable housing in the future.

The measure will "protect this property in perpetuity," Miller said. "These folks are Wareham people and need help having decent housing."

Selectman J. Michael Schneider also encouraged passing the article — which several speakers described as pertaining to 50 units of affordable housing, although Miller later told The Standard-Times it pertains to 32 units in total.

But the Finance Committee had previously voted against recommending the article by a margin of 1-5, with one abstention, because of South Shore Housing's history with the town. In 2003, town officials condemned one of the Depot Crossing's buildings for structural problems, forcing residents to evacuate for months. And Miller said, at the meeting, "There was an issue where an affordable unit was sold at market value," although she said South Shore is now working with Community Builders, which she described as a highly-respected nonprofit affordable housing organization.

Due to a miscommunication, South Shore wasn't notified to attend the meeting, according to Miller.

Finance Committee member Dominic Cammarano spoke against the article.

"It's a great idea," he said. But "the people we're getting in bed with is wrong."

Among other measures Monday night:

    * Voters approved reserving for fiscal 2011 $150,000 from estimated fiscal 2011 revenues for acquiring, creating and preserving open space and community housing, and acquiring and restoring historic resources.
    * Voters approved appropriating $6,230,399 from the Water Pollution Control Enterprise Fund for salary, wages and expenditures, including debt.
    * Voters agreed to postpone action, indefinitely, on a series of articles, including special meeting articles related to funding collective bargaining agreements and $55,260 for police vehicle defibrillators. Town Administrator Mark Andrews said the latter request will be consolidated into a capital plan this fall.

I apologize in advance for sharing a quote from "The Unemployed One" but I think it best demonstrates the fascist attitude of the Hypocrite Elite:

Guy who almost had his house foreclosed on and had his LLC dissolved due to lack of state filing fee payment for three years but still thinks he should be giving the town financial advice wrote:

Logic soon took over, however. Town Meeting voters were assured that the opinions of various boards were just that: opinions. Residents would be the ones who would ultimately decide whether to call for a Health Care Trust Fund holiday.

The fin com's advice is "just an opinion?" 

The fin com has a duty to review the town's budget, take votes, and give town meeting guidance on financial matters based on their review of the town's finances.  Town meeting does not have to abide by the Fin Com's advice, but what they do is a very important function. 

They can't do their job if the TA isn't doing his.  We pay Andrews a high enough salary and we just gave him a raise - the least we can expect is that he do his job and provide the finance committee with the material they need to make informed decisions in a timely manner and not just right before town meeting.

The last finance committee resigned on town meeting floor, basically arguing that their duties were being interfered with to the point that it no longer made any sense for them to even be there.

This finance committee was chosen by the Hypocrite Elite, and even they are finding it difficult to work with the Hypocrite Elite. 

They're being pushed out of the process, kept uninformed, and the big question of the day - What is it about the town's finances that the Hypocrite Elite does not want the finance committee to know?

Last edited by GuyIncognito (2011-05-24 08:27:08)