Tebaldi on Selectmen

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Split Tax Rate Voted Down

Waste water revisited

By Demian David Tebaldi

November 21, 2007 — After the customary Pledge of Allegiance, a brief but informative presentation was made by Mr. Timothy Kilduff (File photo, left), President of the Hopkinton Athletic Association. A report on his recent ambassadorial visit to the city of Marathon, Greece, the official Sister City of Hopkinton, Massachusetts, Mr. Kilduff’s presentation included gifts of flags and a framed graphic from the Mayor of Marathon, Mr. Spyros Zagaris (File photo, right)who, along with his wife, Dyna, will be visiting Hopkinton next spring. It is Mr. Zagaris’ wish that the official flame from the races in Marathon be delivered in a tour to the various official races around the world; Selectman Mike Shepard indicated in a letter drafted to Mr. Zagaris and endorsed by the Board of Selectmen that Hopkinton would like to be the first town to receive the flame. While Selectman Brian Herr, who has run in the Boston Marathon every year for the last twenty one years, voiced his approval of the letter’s contents, Selectman Mary Pratt noted that, if the flame was to come to Massachusetts, the City of Boston should be the donee, as the event truly belongs to the Boston Athletic Association.

Public hearings slated for the evening included review (and resulting unanimous acceptance) of a Petition for Joint Pole Location on Hayward Street made by Verizon New England, Inc. and Boston Edison Company. The project will include the placement of a new, shared utility pole on the northerly side of Hayward Street approximately 95 feet west of the intersection of Hayward Street and Second Road, followed by removal of an old pole in the same location. Requests for a victualer’s license and a beer and wine license were made by Denise Griben, owner of the restaurant CIAO Time, who opened the doors of the 28 Main Street restaurant to the general public last week. The location was most recently occupied by Maria’s Caffe Italiano, which has moved to the former O'Toole's on South Street and is in the process of renovating the facility. The requests for licenses were approved unanimously by the Board, Selectman Brian Herr noting that a beer and wine license is now available due to the closing of O’Toole’s on South Street.

Mr. Anthony Troiano (File photo, left) delivered to those assembled the Town Manager’s Report, which consisted primarily of some details of taking the Town’s legal future out of the hands of current Town Counsel, Attorney Richard DeAngelis of Framingham, and placing it with Pickett, Meyaris & Harrington of Watertown, such transition to take effect as of January 1, 2008. “We are entering a new era with regard to Town Counsel,” Mr. Troiano noted, referring to the fact that legal issues facing the Town will be handled somewhat differently come January of 2008. Where Attorney DeAngelis would research, report and advise on legal issues, and await guidance from Town officials on how best to proceed, Pickett, Meyaris & Harrington will provide a more lawyer-driven approach, one in which trust in the counselor will likely play a more significant role. Mr. Troiano also reported that the Town had finalized an employment contract with Ms. Heidi Kriger, Hopkinton’s new Chief Financial Officer, for a term of three years.

Then came time to discuss, once again, possible solutions to the on-going and ever-increasing I&I (Infiltration and Inflow) issues facing the Town of Hopkinton. Despite the attempts of a few members of the Board to manage what is, technically, the purview of the Board of Public Works. Board Chairman Dan McIntyre retained control and suggested that members of the Board of Selectmen attend the appropriate meeting of his department, stating that “Infiltration and Inflow issues are not for the Board of Selectmen.”

However, Selectmen Chair Muriel Kramer countered that indeed it a Selectmen's issue was because it spoke to revenue that could be gained from an increase in commercial development.

Selectmen Vice-Chair Mary Pratt stated that she has attended every meeting, but one, for years. The meetings are held at 7:30 a.m.

Mr. McIntyre also revealed, with a certain amount of pride, that the DPW had just received the last two required permits from the Commonwealth for the Waste Water Treatment Facility proposed for Fruit Street.

The majority of attendees of the evening’s meeting came to discover whether the Board of Selectmen would vote for a “split” tax scenario for Town residents and commercial and industrial enterprises for the next fiscal year. Not a single voice present was raised in support of a split tax after a comprehensive and somewhat overwhelming presentation by Dr. John H. Duffy, Chairman of the Hopkinton Board of Assessors, which laid out options for the Town. The problem, put simply, is that, while valuations of single family homes in Hopkinton have decreased by 6% since last fiscal year, and commercial and industrial values have declined slightly over the same time period, the Towns’ tax levy has increased by 5.4% from last year’s levy. One solution proffered to bring much needed money into the Town treasury was to “split” the tax rates, decreasing residential real and personal property tax while increasing commercial and industrial taxes to make up for the shortfall. All who spoke during the public portion of the hearing, including Mr. Bob McGuire of Huckleberry Road, Mr. Bob McDonald, a representative of EMC Corporation, and Mr. Joseph Strazzulla, a past member of the Board of Selectman and President of Straly Corporation, voiced strenuous disapproval of a split tax rate.

The general impressions of those assembled were summed up by Selectman Mike Shepard, who noted that businesses in Hopkinton do not place enough of a strain on the Town’s infrastructure to be taxed disproportionately. “Businesses on South Street do not put children in our schools,” he said, indicating that voting for an imbalanced tax scenario would be akin to biting the hand that feeds the Town. The Board voted unanimously to continue into the new year with a single tax rate.

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