Taxes are being “trimmed” as you would like to call it (others say slash to gain more attention, as I did – I don’t think we need to debate the meaning of similar words), simply because our commercial tax base has been dropping steadily for the past 15 years. The commercial tax rate is split in Westwood with the Residential tax rate, meaning when commercial development stalls, the residents pick up the tab. In FY 2012, Residential Taxes are set to rise an estimated 6% above the current rate, and services are going to be “trimmed” to alleviate the pressure or burden that is already placed on the residents. These tax increases are NOT due to cuts in State or Federal Aid. The Commonwealth’s Municipal Aid cut will not affect the particular issue that I am referring to in this post.

Secondly, I never sound dumb. A sound can’t be dumb by it’s nature, since something that is audible can’t be “dumb.” So “let’s get that right.” In addition, the Town of Westwood budgets a certain amount each year in snow removal costs, and in previous posts, I have made it clear that by budgeting a few hundred thousand dollars more, we would have been better prepared for many of the storms that we encountered this winter. It’s true that the town can’t provide an accurate portrait of the snow costs for each season, because the Town has no “direct line” to mother nature, nor can it budget too high, since the Commonwealth does not allow cities and towns to reduce their snow removal budget once it reaches a certain threshold. By law, plowing contracts must be awarded to the two lowest bidders (or as many companies as you need to complete the job). Westwood’s contractors are: CJP & Sons and FedCorp. The video I published raises concerns about town contracted companies using equipment to perform residential services, while charging the town for its time on the street. The same incident, involving the same company, FedCorp, was uncovered in Dedham earlier this week.

So, in closing, I was not vilifying the town. I was illustrating how things could have been done better and pointing out where waste has been occurring. Also, I was stating pure fact, something you seem to have trouble doing.

Next time, I’d stay in PA Frank.

Also, you sound kind of dumb when you say that the town can’t provide snow removal costs or a budget. That is completely untrue. Since they have privatized snow removal costs, the budget is: whatever the privatization contract would be, which also is disclosed since it is public record.

Before you vilify people serving the town, perhaps next time you should check your facts.

I will yield that I knew nothing of the archaic Massachusetts General Law that prohibited a town’s snow removal budget from ever dipping below its lowest figure, however, towns (like Westwood) should still budget at least $100,000 more in FY 2012 if they want to lessen he amount of times they request more funding from the Board of Selectmen.

Secondly, people intimately involved with the so-called “failed” Westwood Station Project on University Avenue have questioned some of my wording regarding the residential tax increase being a direct result of the lack of development of the Westwood Station property.

I am of the full understanding that the agreement between the developer and the town excludes the commercial tax base from the year in which an agreement was reached from dipping below that point.

I was merely trying to illustrate in my post that in order for the residents to be relieved from their astronomically-high tax hike of a proposed 6% in 2012, increased commercial development in the University Avenue area would be necessary, and that has not occurred as proposed or as planned.