Matters

 High School Building Project

I thank the voters for approving a new Stoneham High School, and the Select Board for appointing me the designee to the project. I have never been on such a complex process, and the education I continue to receive from this process is invaluable. I am looking forward to fall of 2024 and having our students and staff walk through a new state of the art building and having the opportunity for students to continue to receive the best education we can deliver for them.

In 2019 the MSBA finally approved the partial funding of a high School for Stoneham. Over the course of design, supply chain issues, and the pandemic, we had to cut (value engineer) things out of the scope of the project. Some of the toughest meetings were when we had to cut items. It was a constant “gut punch”.  Endurance, and tough discussions happened, and (fingers crossed) we are still on time and on budget. I hope this community will engage in resources and amenities available to them in this new building. For me, being involved in this project will be one of the highlights of my life.

Budget

One of our biggest challenges is our budget. The process in which we approve the annual budget is long, and tedious. Every nickel must be accounted for to create a balanced budget. The Town Administrator, Town Accountant, Town Wide Budget Director, and Department Heads all work tirelessly to stay on track. The good news is the town has an AA+ rating one ranking below the AAA rating. These ratings are tied to good fiscal and management, policies and practices. Stoneham has been the recipient of Government Finance Officers Association Budget award for the past several years. The town’s fiscal policies introduced in 2019 have put us in a better place than we have been in past twenty years. Stoneham’s budget is largely supported by its residents and the tax base which is restricted to Prop 2 ½. The bad news is with reduced State aid, and limited new growth, the budget is what it is. The Town is always looking for ways to be creative and innovative with seeking outside grants, shared costs across departments for saving to its residents. I am an advocate for outside funding for Stoneham.

American Rescue Plan Act: “ARPA”

The town of Stoneham was granted $7.2 MIL in ARPA funds. These onetime funds were doled out by the Federal government to help Americans recover and cope with pandemic related issues and revenue loss. Because Stoneham was receiving less than $10 million dollars, we were dropped into a special category (by the Treasury) that let us decide how to spend the money (because of revenue loss) on the town’s needs vs. being told we could only spend it on certain buckets dictated by the Federal government.  

On February 1, 2022, The Select Board discussed possible decision making strategies and requested recommended next steps. The town issued an online survey for residents to collect data on town wide needs. It is important to note, that because these funds can be used for government services which includes any service traditionally provided by the town, Stoneham was able to acquire some much needed capital requests that had no allocation set. As a Select Board member, these are just some of the items we voted on to fund. Board of Health (covid response), Fire truck, Police Vehicles,  Zamboni, New Water lines, Chrome Books for SPS, Wetlands study for cleanup (SHS), IT security upgrades, Voting equipment, Old Burying ground preservation plan.  

Had these funds not been available to us, these items would have put a bigger burden on the residents, and our budget. Moving forward the Select Board will continue to spend down the ARPA funds as wisely as can be with community input, capital and department requests.