Swampscott Town Administrator Talks Taxes, Transparency and Government

Town Administrator Tom Younger took on all questions Thursday in our Swampscott Patch Live Chat.

He fielded a variety of inquiries. For the sake of organizing these queries and comments into a chat summary we have placed them into four categories: management; taxes; transparency; and schools.

Overall, the chat reflected the town administrator’s reliance on deliberation, planning and, ultimately, action.

Here is our summary or link to . We fixed some typos, in the summary, to make it easier to read.

Tom on Management

Selectman Barry Greenfield told Puritan Road neighbors on Wednesday that sometimes residents need to compromise for the greater good. How do you achieve this when it appears competing interests are in play?

Tom Younger: 

This can be a difficult issue but generally you review the options, determine if there is any type of compromise amongst the issues and make a decision. My philosophy has been that when you do not make a decision, 100% of the public becomes upset.

About how many times a week do you talk, individually, with selectmen, either in person or on the phone, and what are the main topics of conversation?

Tom Younger: 

Good afternoon Larry. With issues with the open meeting law, I am somewhat limited with discussions. I generally speak with Chair almost on a daily basis regarding scheduling, local issues, etc. Sometimes residents bring their concerns to the BOS and they relay them to me. Residents, please contact me with anything that you wish to discuss. I appreciate that.

When you interviewed with selectmen for the town administrator position you said you would meet with department heads the next morning after the selectmen’s meeting to address concerns that arose the night before. Did you meet this morning? What did you talk about, or, if scheduling made it impossible, what would you have talked about if you had met?

 Tom Younger:

We met this morning and discussed last night's BOS meeting and they received their assignments.

Tom on Taxes and Business

What are you doing to make Swampscott an attractive place for people to settle down in? I know for one, the taxes are a major turn off for people just starting out.

Tom Younger:

First, is to develop a long term capital plan that gives us a roadmap for the next 20 years to determine what is needed in our community and prioritize such. Also, look for other sources of revenue to pay for some of these items such as Columbia Pictures. Also, try to receive additional funds and put underutilized properties back on the tax rolls. 

Speaking of taxes, Tom, do you think property taxes for businesses should remain twice the amount that residents pay?
 

Tom Younger: 

There are ways to look at lowering some of the tax burden of businesses but that would mean shifting it to residents. I would like to review that with the Selectmen to determine if the higher tax rate has prevented businesses from locating in Swampscott.

How will you make sure Swampscott gets its fair share of Chapter 70 funding?

How will I do that. I am on the Mass. Muncipal Association Board of Directors and testify regularly on legislative iniatives. I will be reporting back to the community regarding these efforts and will be meeting with our legislators.

Tom on Transparency

Will the town ever release the contents of the taxpayer supported fraud examiners’ report into alleged financial irregularities at the middle school? Why or Why not?

Tom Younger: 

Thank you for the question. I believe it is still under review. I wasn't here when the investigation began. I will need to get back to you on that.

There is a great deal of talk about increasing transparency in town government. With some of the financial missteps (e.g. Temple purchase guise as a policy station) in recent years it would be nice to see more accountability. Transparency is not worth much if we are just able to see mismanagement.

Absolutely. I pride myself on transparency. In the next few weeks, you will be seeing more of my reports on the website, weekly updates, etc. I need to have the confidence of our residents to succeed.

Tom on Schools

What do you think is the biggest challenge for the schools right now?

Tom Younger: 

Generally, there are issues with facility maintenance, increasing needs for special needs funding and education, as well as various mandates required for education purposes from the Commonwealth. I intend to work closely with school department on the possibility of combining some of our services.

Tom, part of the reason Hadley is in such dire straights is due to the neglect of the administration as evidenced by walkthroughs by other town departments. Will there be an investigation as to how this lapse in judgment was allowed to occur and what additional oversight needs to be put in place to prevent this from continuing/repeating at the middle school when it's deemed to be too old?

Tom Younger: 

I can't speak for Hadley and oversight of maintenance of school facilities fall under the School Department and not General Government but I intend to work with the School Department to deisgn a mutual long range capital plan that adresses the maintenance of all our facilities. I am a strong advocate of preventive maintenance.

I don't know if this is your domain, but can you ask for a review of the school master plan created about 5 years ago before we spend hundreds of thousands repeating work already done, and probably reaching the same conclusions? 

Tom Younger: 

Good afternoon Whisky. What is good about this town is that the Town Administrator is a member of the School Building Committee. We have had a few meetings and I will be reviewing the master plan. Please come out to the public session on Tuesday, June 19th at the Hadley regarding this.