New Selectman and Selectman candidate, Paul Marasco, sat down with former State Representative Bill Greene. Overall, I found the interview insightful and full of meaningful information to parse and assimilate in an effort to help choose the right candidate to vote for in April.

Paul stated that he has three major issues that concern him this year:

Under the first category, high taxes, Paul did a good job explaining how citizens are not protected as they may think they are by Proposition 2 1/2 because of the ever-increasing size of our town’s levy limit (or real estate tax). You can listen to this explanation yourself by going to the Billerica Access Television, Inc. website, clicking on On-Demand on the right side of the page (about half way down) and viewing the interview. Or, you can simply click this link.

Prior to watching the interview, however, I would recommend that you first make a cursory attempt to read the Commonwealth’s Primer on Proposition 2 ½ just to familiarize yourself with terminology and the additive effect that increased property values, prior tax sums and more have on the town’s “levy limit” and how that effects other budgetary and tax calculus. If you take the time to do so, you will be better able to follow Paul as he seems to be reading from the primer but with real tax numbers.

Paul talks a bit about finding new ways to curb tax increases and to cut spending as a means of responsible budgeting. He never mentions the availability of putting a referendum before the town for a Proposition 2 ½ underride. Another item not mentioned in his discussion is that there is more to our elevated tax burden (doubled in 10 years) than just the natural progression of bumping up the tax levy.

We went through nearly a decade of unprecedented growth in property values due to, what turned out to be, an unrealistic cycle of growth spurred by speculation, government intervention in the housing market, Wall Street greed and other factors. Because of these factors, housing prices (and hence your real estate or property taxes) rose at the same outrageous rate.

All the while this was going on, the town was sucking in revenue and taxing both business and residents at or near the maximum tax rates allowed and made no attempt to shrink spending and the town’s levy limit or levy ceiling. Each year, the town stated that it had to tax high in order to preserve itself from debt, and each year, few asked why. What town officials did was not illegal and was not in violation of or an underhanded way of working around Proposition 2 ½ regulations which anyone can find and read if they choose to. However, our leaders had an easier time avoiding making tough choices and opting to keep taxpayer revenue coming in due to the ignorance and apathy of the public as well as their general acceptance of higher tax rates without a threat of retribution at the polls.

Some, like the Billerica Taxpayers Association, did ask the question; but only during election season and only in an attempt to give their candidate an edge (their last blog entry was March 2010 – nearly a year ago). They made no strong effort to actually educated anyone; just to propagandize or demagogue issues. Never once did they continue the dialogue beyond the election or work, through their website or other means, to educate the public.

Paul next discussed what he calls reasonable growth and I think he did a good job in his hypothetical scenario of what you allow to come into your town is eventually can be what dominates the town, its appearance, its reputation and ultimately its soul. This is the major factor in my decision to push a mixed-use overlay, hopefully in a “by right” format for the town, including the town center. If you want a town that has a reputation for being smart, up to date in its thinking and one that offers the potential for a good lifestyle to both young and old investors; then, we need to be willing to take of the blinders, acknowledge the lack or curb appeal we allowed to develop and change! Mr. Curran understands this need. I believe Paul Marasco does as well. Even Town Meeting Representatives in favor of trying something new have increased so dramatically that this time through, the article may have a very good chance of passing.

Paul never mentioned Smart Growth per se or mixed use zoning overlays, and if he agrees that they can be beneficial; then, he made a significant omission in his commentary.

On the subject of public safety, Paul spoke more resolutely about environmental issues, water bills and other issues more limited in scope than giving strong support to the town’s police, fire and ambulance services – the true primary triumvirate titans of public safety. No mention was made of the number of buildings, both abandoned and occupied that were in danger of collapsing because they either failed to properly remove snow from their roofs or because of limited or non-mandatory maintenance of unoccupied property by owners.

Overall, I think Paul did a good job, but his answers were far from complete or completely thought out. I look forward to more encounters such as this one and hope retired Representative Greene will be willing to conduct similar interviews with all of the other candidates for office, be it for a Selectmen’s chair or a seat on the Billerica School Committee.

My thanks go out to Cosmo Cavicchio as well for all of the good work you do for Billerica. I also salute Paul for using technology to man up and make his views and positions known. Right or wrong on the issues as one sees them, Paul demonstrates clearly that he understands what leadership is all about.

As a post script, I would like to address the following: In the interview, Paul suggests that townspeople follow some sort of chain of command in reporting problems. I agree that is a useful way to go. For the water bills, the first call should go to the water department, the next call to the public works director, next, perhaps, the Town Manager. Ultimately, however, the Board of Selectmen is responsible for oversight.

The town had been undercharging for water for a decade. Meters were allowed to run five years past their expiration date without replacement being addressed until there was a crisis in funding a bloated budget and a need for new revenue. The fact is that both of these problems were completely avoidable by using something as simple as a Rolodex or PC driven “tickler file” system set to come up at an appropriate time, in advance warning of an impending issue that must be dealt with.

It is my view that by dropping the Selectmen from the citizens “call list”, we would be giving the Board an even greater opportunity to point the finger of blame at others when all the while the responsibility for oversight rest with each Board member and with the exception for the town manager, no one else. We are in a fiscal situation where greater proactivity and greater attention to detail are leadership imperatives that supersede conventional reporting chain protocols. As to the fairness or unfairness of prorated water bills, we’ll see. Mr. Accomando is up for reelection and voted on that issue, as did Messrs Deslaurier, Rosa, and Correnti. Mr. Lombardo has subsequently moved on as most of you well know. I’m certain that most citizens were well aware that their water bills were not increasing in the form of cost per gallon. Should they have called and asked why not? You decide their level of complicity in this fiasco cause by a failure to properly manage resources, revenue and procedures on the part of the Selectmen – in particular, 12+ year veteran Selectman Michael Rosa.

What procedures have they set up to prevent this from happening again? Do you know? Do you care? Have you asked?