Monday, March 24, 2014

Challenging Times Ahead

Dear Malden Residents:

With another budget season upon us, we are faced with the reality that our revenues in the new fiscal year will not be sufficient to support our expenses. As most of you know, we are limited on what we can do relative to increasing revenues. Specifically, we are capped on property tax growth to 2 ½ percent per year and we don’t have any real maneuverability on our local receipts as these remain fairly constant year to year.

Additionally, state aid, in the form of unrestricted aid and school aid, promises to be a challenge. The proposal from the Commonwealth reveals that unrestricted local aid will increase $300K and funding for education will increase by only a little more than $200K. Meanwhile, our State Assessments, which include items such as the MBTA and Charter School tuition payments, increased resulting in a net decrease in Local Aid. Finally, our reliance on one-time resources in the amount of $5M in the current fiscal year to keep the city’s operations intact, have been all but exhausted going into the new fiscal year.

Since we are severely limited on what we can do on the revenue side of the balance sheet, we have to look toward our expenses to balance the budget, which by state law is required each year beginning on July 1. With most of the city budget being consumed by personnel costs, I already find myself not being able to sleep at night knowing that the decisions that need to be made to achieve the balance will not be easy.

There is no doubt that we find ourselves in a tough spot, but I am confident that if we work together we will meet the challenges that lie ahead. Despite our current fiscal situation, there are a lot of great things happening in our City and we continue to move forward with many successful projects and initiatives. Take a look here to see all that we have accomplished this past year. Thank you. 

Sincerely,

GARY CHRISTENSON
City of Malden, Mayor

Friday, February 21, 2014

Weathering the Storm

Dear Malden Residents, 

As I type my blog for February's E-Newsletter, I can't help but hope that we have seen the last of the snow.   

Despite the 50 plus inches we have received this winter, I have seen no quit in the response of our staff in responding to what seems like a never ending snowstorm. As a matter of fact, I have seen them not only respond but work to get better.

This is true thanks in large part to DPW Director Bob Knox. I have nicknamed him the Terminator because he does not stop at addressing as many of the issues that come his way. It does not matter the hour of the day or night, Mr. Knox tries to help as much as he humanly can. I also must compliment his wife Marianne as it’s not easy on her with two little kids to have to listen to her husband deal with me on an hourly basis.

I also can’t forget to thank the men and women of the Department of Public Works as they have given 100 percent during recent storms. I am also grateful for the work of our Emergency Management team, Permits, Inspections and Planning and Compliance. It has been all hands on deck in an effort to help as many of our residents and businesses as possible.

Another facet of responding to winter storms has been Police Chief Kevin Molis and Captain Glenn Cronin. Together, they have worked with the men and women of their department to enforce the rules in effect during declared snow emergencies. Their response has made it better for the DPW to plow and safer for first responders to travel in the event of an emergency situation.

Another new feature that has been added to our operation is a dedicated crew of sidewalk plows. We realize that a number of our residents are walking to and from Malden Center and other places in our community so we have worked immediately after the recent storms to clear as many of our sidewalks as possible. It’s an extra cost but in my opinion, it’s offset by improving pedestrian safety.

Something else we added is keeping the Bike Path clear of snow during the winter. On average, this will cost us approximately $500 per storm. We have received positive feedback from residents since many folks are using the path year round to get to and from their destinations. We are pleased to be assisting them by offering this new practice.

The last facet in responding to each storm is to educate residents and when needed, issue citations to those properties that don’t clear a path as required by ordinance. This emphasis is working slowly, but surely as Chris Webb, Director of Code Enforcement along with the Police Department and the Compliance Bureau report that they are seeing more and more people following the ordinance.


Proof that things are getting better in how we respond to snowstorms came during the most recent storm when at the height of the snow, someone contacted us asking how they might dispose of a microwave oven! Thank you for your patience as we continue to work on providing better service to you. Believe me, I realize it’s been a long winter but hang in there, spring is on the way!

Sincerely,

GARY CHRISTENSON