The Board of Aldermen passed Mayor Setti Warren’s budget by a vote of 22-0 last night.
“I am thankful to the members of the board of aldermen for their partnership,” Mayor Warren said in a statement. “This budget represents 3 ½ years of work together to get our fiscal house in order, and build upon priorities such as excellence in education, unparalleled public safety, and improved capital infrastructure.”
It also doesn’t hurt to have an extra $8.5 million to play with:).
Here’s a link to Trevor’s story for the TAB on the budget debate and vote:
http://www.wickedlocal.com/newton/news/x438182803/Newtons-Board-of-Aldermen-OK-331-million-budget-for-FY14#axzz2TqCv8avU
I guess this is an energy sustainable director. I think it should be a temporary position because his/her first year or two will be the most productive. Once it loses it’s productivity they have to be prepared to let the job go.
“Why are we even being put in this position?” asked Alderman Amy Mah Sangiolo. “There’s not an urgent need for this position in the budget this year.”
We need to get away from this line of thinking and move the city ahead. We might not need it today, but will we need it in the future? Why wait until we’re forced to do it, let’s do it when we have the time and the ability.
I only wish this position was a financial sustainability director instead.
The best detail in Trevor’s story is Newton’s Chief Operating Officer Bob Rooney putting his money where is mouth is.
Said Rooney –
Lets hold him to it:).
If there’s a million dollars in savings, shouldn’t someone be held responsible for this?
Jerry, with regards to Bob Rooney’s bold statement about whether the sustainability director will save $1M next year, does that mean that Newton’s 2014 general fund expenditures will only be $330M next year (assuming energy prices remain constant)?
And what if the city is able to save money mainly through reduced energy prices as opposed to anything this sustainability director achieves. Can we still impound & dock Bob Rooney’s salary.
Bob Rooney has a lot of credibility. If he says there’s that kind of saving there, I’m ready to believe it. However I do wonder if, while he’s quote as saying..
He actually meant..
TAB editor Emily Costello tells me she checked with Rooney and he indeed did say: “have my salary.”
I wonder why if Rooney knows there is so much cost savings, then why haven’t they done anything about until now to come up with the costsavings?…what is costing all the money, where’s our waste? When did we learn about it? And how long have we been overpaying???
@Tom: Energy saving technologies continue to improve and become more cost effective. However, the city has already initiated many energy-saving efforts and those have been highlighted in past budget presentations.
Greg, I am a little skeptical about the administration’s metrics. For instance, because we had a mild winter last year, the city used 24% less energy, meeting the Green Communities Act 20% reduction goals the city adopted. Seasonally adjusted, however, the actual savings were more like 16-17%. Still pretty good, but not as good as it could be nor as represented. As Mark Twain puckishly said, “lies, damned lies and statistics.”
My fear from the beginning has been that the salary offered and the wide-ranging responsibilities required of the Sustainability Director–who will not have a dedicated staff–may make it very hard to find someone to do the job or may be setting the successful candidate up for failure leading to an early departure like we have seen in recent weeks and months in other departments. The position is modeled on the City of Philadelphia’s program, which has a sustainability director and a staff to work on these issues for a city with a multi-billion dollar budget. And we are losing a position in the Public Buildings department that was occupied by someone who was already working on sustainability issues in Newton’s public building projects. Unfortunately, we are going to lose his expertise and knowledge. These are not my views alone, but are representative of what we are hearing from the Energy Commission and the High Performance Buildings Coalition. Unlike me, these people really do know what they are talking about.
Still, Bob is passionate about sustainability and if the Mayor directs sufficient resources toward his initiatives, I have no doubt the city will save some money and energy.
There’s a nation-wide company that sells and installs solar panels. It’s called “RevoluSun” and located on Lexington Street in West Newton. A few months ago a bunch of local architects including me had a seminar there. This company pays $500 just for a reference to install a set of panels on a house.
I hope Bob Rooney and the mayor read this message and visit “RevoluSun”. That would save taxpayers $93,000 per year, but then the mayor would have to get off his white horse and do real energy saving.
Anatol: How does a $500 rebate translate into $93,000 savings annually?
Greg,
$500 is not a rebate – it is a reward for anyone who connects the company to a homeowner who agrees to pay for intallation of solar panels. This is for residential projects. They also install on commercial structures.
I’m thinking about public buildings in Newton: schools, DPW buildings, City Hall, fire stations. Instead of spensing $93,000 on a middleman bureaucrat, the city can deal DIRECTLY with an installation company. We don’t need that an energy guru to save money on energy, private companies are your gurus and fed and state provide tax insentives and direct rebates.