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March 26, 2008

Chelmsford town, school leaders support override

On April 1, the voters of Chelmsford will be given the opportunity to vote on the operational override. The Board of Selectmen, Finance Committee and School Committee all have voted to support this issue. Paul Cohen, our town manager, and Donald Yeoman, our superintendent, have stood side by side describing our financial situation and the impacts to our services should the override fail. Our fire chief and police chief have been clear: A failed override will directly affect response time. This is an unprecedented and unique support from our town boards and leaders.

In 2002 the state slashed aid to Chelmsford, and since that time our leadership has worked diligently to address our financial situation. Together we have advocated for more state aid, implemented cuts in services, streamlined and improved efficiencies, consolidated functions, and addressed medical costs by increasing employees' co-pays. All of this has been accomplished because of hard work, and cooperation among our boards.

In the last three years the communication between boards has steadily improved, beginning with the formation of the Cost Savings and Revenue Generating committees and most importantly with establishing leadership meetings. These leadership meetings include two members from each board, the town manager, the superintendent, the town treasurer and the school business manager. Meeting consistently, including over the summer months, has facilitated an open exchange of ideas, a comprehensive analysis of the financial challenges facing Chelmsford, and fostered excellent communication.
The culmination of this work resulted in the unanimous decision by the Board of Selectmen to place an operational override on the April 1 ballot. The Finance Committee, a board appointed to objectively review our town budget, has voted to support the override. The School Committee, mandated by state law as responsible for its budget, has unanimously voted in support of the override. The town manager, superintendent, police chief and the fire chief have all stated a failed override will result in a significant reduction of services provided. When making your decision April 1, please take into consideration these strong messages of support from both our elected and appointed officials.

KATHY DUFFETT

School Committee chairman

Chelmsford

Posted by Admin at March 26, 2008 3:21 PM

Comments

Posted by: tony hawk at April 5, 2008 9:00 PM