Replacing politicians is only the beginning:

Billerica has taken its fair share of hits in its corporate tax base in recent monts. We lost Jabil, Nortel, the Boston Globe printing plant, the long abandoned K-Mart warehouse (somewhat mitigated by a new mixed industry plan for the building) and many other jobs. It is obvious that the manufacturing sector in the United States and particularly in the Northeast is converting to high tech manufacturiing. However, even these relatively new jobs and corporations are far from safe bets in so far as maintaining a revenue base is concerned.

This reality adds fuel to the debate over Billerica adopting a mixed use overlay to its zoning laws. The demise of the Billerica Mall demonstrates, clearly, or it should, that big box, flat roof malls will not work in town. There is no demand to fill the available space. Part of it may be due to the atrocious conditions of the mall with its multiple leaks, its mold, its poorly kept parking lot and its just nasty appearance in general.

However, I think a bigger reason is that there is no justification to placing one’s business in a mall without direct highway access in an area surround by mega malls that do have this advantage. The Burlington Mall and a Mega Theater are just down the road for most Billericans. The Phesant Lane Mall is about a 20 mile or less ride for many, and with the expected increase in the State’s sales tax, expect to see more folks driving the distance to save money during these lean economic times.

Another reality is that with each drop in tax revenues resulting from business failure, home owner taxes are going to go up. Something has to replace the missing money and you can bet that the last thing a politician is looking to do is to cut programs and spending. Those are lip service intentions that are almost never realized. Additionally, expect the town to consider raising hotel and service taxes to the extent they can. But, also, don’t expect any real increase from such tax behavior. We are too close to the border with NH and its feasible for business travelers and others to book NH hotels and have a longer but managable commute in the name of saving precious corporate and personal dollars.

The Governor has already strained relationships with the Granite State and has been acting like a bad neighbor with his bullying behavior insisting on access to a tire company’s books to identify, locate and tax Massachusetts purchasers to assure that they pay their sales tax on out of state purchases as required by law. It’s fine to ask, but to demand that companies in NH act as tax agents for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is preposterous and doomed to disaster when it comes to interstate relations. It will also most likely end in a law suit against the Commonwealth for violating the “commerce clause” of the U.S. Constitution.

Mixed use seems to be the way to go, but like all other ventures, it must be studied and managed closely by people who know what they are doing. It should involve architects, professional planners, dedicated politicians and perhaps even an economist. Times have changed and so has Billerica. We must decide in the very near future what future we want for ourselves and the best way to get there. If we keep going on with the status quo, none of us will have a thing to worry about when the town goes the way of the business base it has been favoring.