The Newton Beacon just published this article by Dan Atkinson, about the last 20 years of override history in Newton and our surrounding neighbors.
Override history in Newton and surrounding towns
by Jerry Reilly | Feb 28, 2023 | Newton | 11 comments
I wish Mr. Atkinson would use per-median-house or per-capita numbers in comparing our history with Needham and Wellesley, which are each about a third the size of Newton, but his suggestion that this breaks down by level of trust in the mayor makes sense to me. I’ve wondered why the overrides seem to be supported more by development enthusiasts than by development skeptics, on Village 14 and on the city council. The “trust” argument is a sensible explanation.
Personally, I supported the new senior center and the Webster Woods purchase. I think more housing in village centers improves the city and helps local businesses. So I guess it’s not surprising that I support all three measures.
An interesting point is that Webster Woods and the senior center both had and have strong constituencies. However, because action on them were never put to a direct vote such as an override, it’s possible to cast them as “pet projects” of the Mayor (primarily by the Mayor’s political or ideological opponents).
The Mayor has, however, been re-elected after those decisions have been made, so there has been an indirect public referendum on them.
I don’t especially favor the idea that capital projects that provide important social services, including senior centers and schools, should be put to a public vote. However, Prop 2 1/2 basically requires it for at least some projects. And it does force proponents to be vocal.
There’s a large amount of personal rhetoric against the Mayor on the “no” side on social media. Ironically, her opponent Councilor Sangiolo was the only candidate to bravely state that the need for an override was a possibility (though stating it should be a last resort).
I give the Newton Beacon an A for effort in trying to produce nonpartisan coverage.
I think the “trust” argument holds more sway than I anticipated. I find it frustrating to be honest. Mayor Fuller isn’t going to our mayor forever. She may not even run in 2 years. I look at this much more as a way to get the new superintendent some additional resources, and to improve the city in a bunch of little ways that really matter.
I do wonder sometimes if Amy Sangiolo had won, would an override have passed without as much opposition?
I think an Override will always be contentious in Newton, no matter who the Mayor is. While trust in the Mayor is an issue for some, do keep in mind that these blogs and forums are echo chambers and don’t represent the electorate as a whole. Mayor Fuller was reelected not that long ago so obviously there are plenty of people that trust the Mayor.
Interesting to note that the push for Overrides in the City started under Mayor Cohen.
Ted Mann was Mayor for a quarter of a century and managed the City well without the need for Overrides.
I believe a solid fiscal manager sets the right priorities and manages within budgets. Another case in point, is Charlie Baker a top notch manager who never raised taxes in 8 years as Governor and left a 5 billion dollar surplus.
The rhetoric on Ted Mann borders on hagiography. I’ve also heard from his detractors that he’s the mayor responsible for signing up for those municipal worker retirement liabilities that have gotten us into this mess. It’s well before my time here in Newton. What’s the real story?
Peter:
I think every Mayor has his/her strengths and weaknesses. And it is hard to see those issues until decades later. So I hesitate to judge Mayor Mann based on what we know today. So this isn’t personal in any way, and I’m sure I’d have seen the good in his mayor term in the moment.
But in my view, looking at his time as mayor now, he is the cause of much of our current pain. The increase in long term liabilities/pensions in exchange for modestly lower salary increases. The non-maintenance of buildings. The sell-off of school buildings or other city property.
He balanced the budget based on those types of actions, and without having his hands tied by Prop 2 1/2 for half his term.
Like I said, he did some great things. I love the library (although I’m told that was controversial at the time). But I certainly wouldn’t invoke his name/time as mayor in the way you did. And stating that overrides began under Mayor Cohen ignores the obvious fact of when the limit to 2.5% increases took effect, no?
Part of that is because Prop 2 1/2 wasn’t enacted until 1982, halfway through Ted Mann’s 22 year term.
It think it’s important to delineate between Operating and Debt Exclusion overrides and also consider $ figures when comparing overrides proposed/approved in Newton vs other surrounding towns.
Debt Exclusion overrides have to be for a specific purpose so in my opinion that makes them more concrete and they only last a specific period. Overrides are permanent and the objectives are only in place for the first year of the override. Also the type of the objectives though specified are a bit less concrete on how they are carried out.
With an operating override the trust factor creeps in. Do you have confidence that the Mayor that she will spend funds as you envision she will based on the override objectives. The Mayor decides the overall budget. The City Council can vote to reduce some of the spending but cannot increase spending in the budget, The School Committee votes on the budget provided to them by the School Dept based on how they allocate the total money the Mayor allocates to them. Budgeting is a bit of a game …choices are made. Funds are allocated to certain expenditures, the Mayor may make choices knowing that it is more likely for voters to vote to approve an override for our schools in particular things that drive an emotional reaction.
Money was overspent on NN. That hurt Mayor Cohen’s chances on an override passing. Honestly it’s amazing that he wanted to ask for much more and had to be convinced otherwise. Luckily the school building process has changed both within the City and at the State Level with much better oversight on costs. On another similar note I believe that schools were partial state reimbursement is used for the project need to be funded through debt exclusion or at least very distinct funding.
Times change and circumstances change. While many of our challenges are rooted in the Ted Mann era, I’m not sure how much we can blame on the former mayor himself as perhaps the era. That was the “get government off our backs era”, when everyone was focused on keeping taxes low and spending in check, which necessarily meant putting off big financial obligations for as long as possible. Now the bills are coming due, as we are finding out.
As mentioned, Mayor Mann didn’t have to deal with Proposition 2 1/2 until halfway through his tenure. And of course, our societal needs and requirements are significantly more complex than in the 1970s – 1980s, and our ability to pay for these needs are highly constrained. So it may not be fair to compare more recent mayors with Mayor Mann since the challenges are different. But trust does matter. We all remember how Mayor Cohen’s career more or less ended after the new NNHS/override debacle of 2008. We’ll find out in a few weeks if Mayor Fuller has engendered the same trust. But the truth is that a Mayor Lennon or Mayor Sangiolo, or whomever succeeds Mayor Fuller will also have to make lots of unpleasant and controversial decisions.