When Wrentham voters hit the polls in April, they will need to fill two Board of Selectmen seats. Currently, only two candidates have stepped up and pulled papers. Incumbent Steve Langley is seeking reelection and Finance Committee member Charles Kennedy is seeking his first term. At press time, Selectman Bob Leclair had not declared his intentions on whether or not he was going to seek a return to the Board. Both Langley and Kennedy spent time separately answering questions about their motivation for seeking to be on the Board and their qualifications. Because of schedules, Langley responded to the questions via email while Kennedy discussed the issues in person.
What’s your background in serving on the Board of Selectmen?
Steve Langley: I was appointed to the Planning Board in 2001 and was elected to the Planning Board in 2002 and served as its Vice Chair for that year. In 2003 I ran for the Board of Selectmen and served until 2006. I then lost a reelection campaign in 2006 and served on the Recreation Committee as an associate member and then as a full member. I recaptured a seat on the BOS in 2009, serving as Vice Chair until serving as Chairman in 2010.
Charles Kennedy: I’ve been in Wrentham for over 10 years. I'm the co-owner of a CPA firm in Foxboro. I have a strong financial background including an MBA and I hold my CPA in Massachusetts. My undergraduate and graduate degrees are from Boston College. In 2008-2009, I was the treasurer of Wrentham Elementary School Trust (WEST) which is Wrentham’s Educational foundation. From there, someone referred me to interview for the Finance Committee. I’ve been performing those duties since 2009. From those two experiences I have really learn how the Town functions.
What are the pressing issues facing Wrentham?
Langley: I believe that one of the pressing issues for the Town is to continue to find ways to increase revenues in order to provide the necessary services for our residents while not dipping into their pockets more deeply. We need to protect our town and our residents from inappropriate development as we search for appropriate ones. We need to continue to keep the level of discourse at an appropriate level so that we focus on issues, not personalities.
Kennedy: One of the real challenges, and it came out last year, is the fact that revenue is in decline, from State aid and auto excise taxes and new growth. Money is exceptionally tight and it impacts some of the most vulnerable people in Wrentham and some of these residents can’t even vote like the children. This impacts the children’s education and has impacted public safety. I’m not happy when I see the staffing numbers for public safety drop to such low levels. All of the different departments have seen significant reductions. Some reductions have been helpful, namely greater efficiency has been achieved but not in most instances.
Is Wrentham providing services at a level you think is acceptable?
Langley: Adequate but not acceptable - there has to be improvement. All of us have had to make choices to prioritize the funding available to us, in our personal and professional lives, and the Town is no different. We do not do enough for our schools. We need to try to do more. Wrentham Elementary does an exceptional job providing for the educational needs of our children, and they do so effectively and efficiently – and have had their share of budgetary successes both by saving and generating revenue. The School Committee, Dr. Marsden, the staff and all of the many volunteers should all be commended for their fantastic efforts. Police and Fire staffing has been raised to a more appropriate level, but not to the level where we need to be. It is a testament to the leaders and the staffs of these departments who continue to do battle every day. We have a tremendously successful outlet mall which brings thousands of people to town every day, many miles of roads and area to cover, along with major roadways through town. It is imperative that we improve and staff, at least partially, the Sheldonville Fire Station – the West end needs more public safety support. All of these put pressure on public safety. We continue to scrub and scour our budgets in order to focus on what is important; cut things where we can by making those tough choices and put forth a budget that works for the town. We have been creating processes and laying the groundwork to prepare for an economic upturn that we hope will come soon. We also will continue to work with our elected officials at different government levels to either help with additional revenue or lessen the burden that unfunded mandates place on our residents.
Kennedy: For Police and Fire the staffing levels are too low which has me concerned. This is not a good situation. We have anywhere from two to four policemen on duty at any given time. The way they have it now, because of budget cuts, if one guy can’t make it in, they’re not paying overtime so that shift is not filled. For example, if there were three police officers assigned to a shift, if one cannot make his shift then it is left unfilled. Instead of three officers only two are protecting Wrentham. I also see classroom sizes getting bigger and programs are being cut. For Wrentham Schools, the amount we spend per student, is one of the lowest in the state. How much lower can we go? Do we want to be last? As far as the high school and how they compare to the regional schools, they’ve been in decline. They are well below average on what they spend compared to their peers. As a Town, We spend less than 50% on education. The last time I looked, Plainville spends 62 % on schools. We’re well under what other towns are willing to spend. The way to turn this around is through new revenue growth. We don’t want to raise the tax base above 2 ½ % and State aid continues to be cut so that leaves increasing new growth or cutting services.
What are your accomplishments during this most recent time on the BOS?
Langley: I have been pleased to have been a member of productive Boards for almost three years, including serving as its Chair for one. I think that we have had many successes of varying sizes. I would classify our hiring of our Town Administrator in 2010 and the process for which that was done as a tremendous success. We also had the pleasure to hire our extraordinary Fire Chief, Jay McMorrow, who was the right man for the right job at the right time. We have generated some additional revenue with the sale of tax title property, which helped the town tremendously. We have also really opened the door for new members of revitalized committees, with the EDC and the newly reconstituted Technology Committee and the fruits of their labor will be seen soon. Finally, I helped coordinate, along with Jerry McGovern Chair of Fincom, a meeting of all Town Boards and Committees to foster better communication amongst the varying components of our government. This effort has continued, and it holds tremendous promise for the future.
Economic development is often cited as needed in Town. What can the Town of Wrentham do to be attractive for commercial development? How does the Town protect itself from unwanted commercial development?
Langley: The town is already reasonably attractive for commercial development because of our proximity to Routes 495, Route 1 and Route 95 – one of the major tenants of development is location, location, location. However, we also need to work to streamline or expedite our developmental process– not to do so in order to push development, but to make it easier for developers to work with our adjudicatory boards to either move forward to develop appropriate projects and areas, or to have them denied. We protect our town by continuing to reexamine our zoning and proactively define what we want our town to be, all areas by all people. It is difficult, time consuming and does not always foster total agreement, but we must find commonality in our desires for the town and work to foster those necessary changes.
Kennedy: What I want to see is smart controlled growth in specifically targeted areas. From there, I want to determine what businesses are best suited for the area and Wrentham. It could be a hotel or a grocery store and put them in areas of town that impact the Town the least. There is always an impact including the impact in doing nothing. Unfortunately we have been much too good as a Town at doing nothing. I’m sure we can accomplish this but it takes a unified effort starting with the Board of Selectmen. Route 1 is a great example of where smart controlled growth could be obtained. It’s just ridiculous that more isn’t being done on such prime real estate. It is a shame that the owners of the land are paying taxes and they can’t even use that land to generate revenue and that’s not right either.
How do we handle the budget moving forward?
Langley: Since being honored by election in 2009, I have advocated that all departments that report to the BOS present their budgets, both operating and capital, to us before moving on. The BOS should be the gatekeeper for items that we do not want to move forward and to support those that we do. My first two years on the Board did not necessarily allow us to get back to this. The first year we had a Town Administrator who had his own process, and the second we had a new Town Administrator that had to get his feet wet. This year we are moving in that direction, and I am very excited for this to happen. The Town still has significant budgetary challenges to move past, and the message that was sent last year was very clear. The majority of voters do not want to reach into their pockets to guarantee that services are kept. We therefore have no choice but to reach for additional development in appropriate areas and to make up the revenue that has been lost from state and federal cut backs. Efficiencies and cost cutting have served the town well, but we cannot continue on that path for the foreseeable future. It is not sustainable.
Kennedy: The Town is faced with a decline in revenue. We have Proposition 2 1/2, but there has been very low growth and reduced excise taxes. Wrentham is in a state of decline in what it will receive in State aid for the Town and the schools. This is not going to change, rather it will accelerate once the economy improves. The reason for the decline is the fact State aid is a calculation based on two factors. One is the property values which are higher than the State average. The second is income level of the residents in Wrentham. This information is obtained when you filed your personal income tax returns. The State, with its calculations, says that Wrentham can afford more so Wrentham is going to receive less. What makes this especially devastating is the decline in State aid at the same time certain expenses are rising. Expenses such as health insurance are going up rapidly as well as utilities such as electricity and fuel. Most of the focus the past few years has solely been to reduce expenses. Well, we have taken that quite far and we cannot keep laying people off. There is a point when services are greatly impacted. My focus is, improve revenue and communicate those efforts to the residents. They need to be informed and included on these efforts.
Describe the political climate in Wrentham and how it impacts the town? Is it better or worse these days, and what do you attribute to the change, if there is one?
Langley: The political climate in town is challenging. The various interested parties tend to focus on personality and name calling when challenging different ideas or ways of doing things. It is difficult for people to want to work in this type of environment. Having said this, I do think that things have been different since I was elected. I attribute the change to a number of things. First, and I think that most importantly, is that the vast majority of town residents had grown tired of the shenanigans that passed for politics in town and have responded accordingly. They have focused more intently on the meat of an issue as opposed to the political defamations that often swirled about them. I also think that my campaign promise 3 years ago, to communicate professionally and respectfully and focus on issues as opposed to personalities, has helped change the tenor of the board. I think that it is important to lead via that example and it makes a difference on our board and in the overall political tenor of the town.
Kennedy: I see the politics in Town as cautious and slow to accept change. The reason I believe this is the case is because of a lack of communication; communication between residents and the various committees, boards and outside companies looking to conduct business in Wrentham. We really need to have much better communications. In this day and age, we can disseminate information faster, more in depth than ever before. One way to start is have everyone’s email address, so people can receive reminders and know what’s going on in Town. The web site is being revised which is aimed at better communication. But that is just the beginning. So much more must be done to inform residents before a Town Meeting. I too am surprised at information passed out at these meetings that should have been available weeks sooner. Another concern is the division I see in Town. I’m looking forward to bringing various groups together to improve the Town further. I will tell you right now, I’m not a person to complain about a situation or issue, I would rather work on a solution.
