Hi Everyone. It been almost three years now since my election. It has been a wonderful and insightful three years. Now it is time to throw my hat in one again for a second three year term as your Selectman from Milton.
I need your help support and input as I begin my journey toward April 29th 2014. In the coming weeks I will keep you up to date with events, information and thoughts.
I have planned an event to kick off my campaign Sunday February 23 2014 at the Hoosic Club on Central Ave from 4pm to 7pm. Please come and join me for some fun and conversation.
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Boston Globe Article on Selectmans Race
Hurley, Livingston vie for open seat on Board of Selectmen
A political newcomer is running against an experienced candidate for the open seat on the Board of Selectmen.
Board chairwoman Marion McEttrick has decided not to seek reelection after serving three terms on the panel, and J. Thomas Hurley and Richard Livingston are vying for the vacant spot.
Hurley, who has served as an appointed member on the town’s Warrant Committee for six years, owns a private auditing and accounting practice in Quincy. He says he can bring his experience in finance to the board.
“I know an awful lot about how the town works, and what I think is lacking on the board is a strong fiscal background and I think I have that,” said Hurley, a lifelong Milton resident.
To boost revenue, he said the town should build up the commercial areas that already exist instead of trying to add commercial space to highly residential areas.
He also said he’d like to look at more ways that the town can consolidate certain functions. One idea is to combine the school system’s administrative department with the town’s administration.
Livingston, a Town Meeting member for 17 years, ran in the 2010 state election for the Senate seat held by Senator Brian Joyce. He lost in the primary to fellow Republican Bob Burr, of Canton, who then lost to the incumbent.
Livingston said one of the biggest issues the town needs to tackle is repairing sidewalks. “We have sidewalks in total disrepair ... the asphalt is cracking and buckling,” he said. “Those are the things that are a major concern.”
He said he also wants to hold the town accountable when it cuts down trees, by requiring it to plant new trees. He said he knows of trees on his street, Warren Avenue, that have been cut down by the town and not replaced.
Livingston, who works at the state Department of Transportation, says he wants to serve. “I’m not ashamed that I’ve run for public office,” he said. “This doesn’t mean that this will be the last time I run for public office. I find it as a very positive thing.”
Livingston said he hasn't attended election debates because he finds his campaign is better served by going door-to-door and making phone calls. He also said he has had a recent surgery that prevented him from participating in debates.
The town election will be held on April 26.
Sarah Favot can be reached at sarah.yourtown@gmail.com.
Board chairwoman Marion McEttrick has decided not to seek reelection after serving three terms on the panel, and J. Thomas Hurley and Richard Livingston are vying for the vacant spot.
Hurley, who has served as an appointed member on the town’s Warrant Committee for six years, owns a private auditing and accounting practice in Quincy. He says he can bring his experience in finance to the board.
“I know an awful lot about how the town works, and what I think is lacking on the board is a strong fiscal background and I think I have that,” said Hurley, a lifelong Milton resident.
To boost revenue, he said the town should build up the commercial areas that already exist instead of trying to add commercial space to highly residential areas.
He also said he’d like to look at more ways that the town can consolidate certain functions. One idea is to combine the school system’s administrative department with the town’s administration.
Livingston, a Town Meeting member for 17 years, ran in the 2010 state election for the Senate seat held by Senator Brian Joyce. He lost in the primary to fellow Republican Bob Burr, of Canton, who then lost to the incumbent.
Livingston said one of the biggest issues the town needs to tackle is repairing sidewalks. “We have sidewalks in total disrepair ... the asphalt is cracking and buckling,” he said. “Those are the things that are a major concern.”
He said he also wants to hold the town accountable when it cuts down trees, by requiring it to plant new trees. He said he knows of trees on his street, Warren Avenue, that have been cut down by the town and not replaced.
Livingston, who works at the state Department of Transportation, says he wants to serve. “I’m not ashamed that I’ve run for public office,” he said. “This doesn’t mean that this will be the last time I run for public office. I find it as a very positive thing.”
Livingston said he hasn't attended election debates because he finds his campaign is better served by going door-to-door and making phone calls. He also said he has had a recent surgery that prevented him from participating in debates.
The town election will be held on April 26.
Sarah Favot can be reached at sarah.yourtown@gmail.com.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
COMMERCIAL GROWTH IN THE TOWN
What are my feelings on our commercial districts and commercial growth? Although these are two different issues they are very much related. Will commercial growth help Town government financially? The answer is yes. Is it necessarily a financial boom for the Town? The answer is probably not. Under proposition 2 1/2 revenue that a town can raise from its property tax levy is limited to the allowable levy from the previous year plus 2 1/2 percent plus new growth. Proposition 2 1/2 does not distinguish between residential and commercial. They are all rolled together when dealing with the increase in revenue from property taxes. Therefore the mere fact that we have commercial property as opposed to residential property does not really matter from a revenue stand point with the exception of increased revenue from meals tax and personal property taxes on businesses.
New growth allows the Town to collect more revenue from property taxes. It does not really matter much from a revenue perspective if that new growth is residential or commercial. The increase in revenue is strictly based on the value of the new growth. On the expenditure side commercial growth is theoretically less costly since it will generally not add costs to education, general town government and public works that would be associated with residential development. On the other hand commercial growth could add more cost to public safety when compared to residential growth.
The mix of commercial and residential property does help town residents with their real estate taxes. The State allows municipalities to set different tax rates for residential and commercial. In Milton the residential rate is approximately $14 and the commercial rate is approximately $21. This allows for a disproportionate shifting of the real estate tax burden from residential to commercial. There are however legal limits on how much that shift can be. In Milton with so many people on fixed incomes and with the current state of the economy the ability to shift some of the property tax is no small matter.
Does that mean that we need more commercial growth in order to shift the property tax burden? Not necessarily. The allocation of property taxes between residential and commercial is based on relative values of the two types of property. If we do thing or encourage things that increase commercial property values an increase in shifting could occur without new growth as most people think of it.
I do favor any initiatives that would enhance our two business districts, East Milton and Lower Mills, and encourage development and revitalization of those districts. Parking and traffic flow are clearly a problem more so in East Milton. I am hopeful that something positive will come of the East Milton traffic and parking study that we can build on. If the traffic flow can be reconfigured to allow for better access and unimpeded flow through the business district and if convenient parking spaces could be developed the revitalization of East Milton would be a real possibility.
I think that we have to face the reality that Milton does not have the geography to support any large scale commercial development. We do not have a long stretch of major highway that flows through the Town as does Dedham or Norwood that would attract major commercial tenants. Furthermore Milton has always been a town that offers a quite resident setting with open space and in some parts of Town almost a rural setting. People are attracted to this Town in part because of that enviroment. I think that we should be very careful with any proposal that would expand commercial growth outside of the current business districts. In general I believe that the Town has been careful to consider the ramifications of commercial development outside of the business districts. There have obviously been two proposals, the Randolph Ave shopping plaza and the Temple property that was met with considerable opposition from the residents. Yet my personal opinion is that small and tasteful commercial establishments within residential districts can be both good for the town and the neighborhood in which they are located. In this crazy out of control times that we live in we don't always get to know our neighbors or have a sense of neighborhood. We are running around to get to work or to shuttle our kids from this event to that event. A neighborhood store could be a focal point that would allow people from the neighborhood to meet and interact.
So much for my fifty cents on sociology. In the end it is not should not be my decision on what is best for your neighborhood. It should be your decision. It is for that reason that I support the development of a comprehensive master plan. Such a plan would be developed by the Planning Board and would be a blue print for all future development from commercial to residential to affordable as well as traffic flows and parking issues. It would be a plan that would be carefully thought out and developed with considerable feed back from all of the residents of the Town. I believe that development without such a plan tends to be haphazard and reactionary rater than visionary and in the end may not prove to be in the best interest of the Town as a whole.
New growth allows the Town to collect more revenue from property taxes. It does not really matter much from a revenue perspective if that new growth is residential or commercial. The increase in revenue is strictly based on the value of the new growth. On the expenditure side commercial growth is theoretically less costly since it will generally not add costs to education, general town government and public works that would be associated with residential development. On the other hand commercial growth could add more cost to public safety when compared to residential growth.
The mix of commercial and residential property does help town residents with their real estate taxes. The State allows municipalities to set different tax rates for residential and commercial. In Milton the residential rate is approximately $14 and the commercial rate is approximately $21. This allows for a disproportionate shifting of the real estate tax burden from residential to commercial. There are however legal limits on how much that shift can be. In Milton with so many people on fixed incomes and with the current state of the economy the ability to shift some of the property tax is no small matter.
Does that mean that we need more commercial growth in order to shift the property tax burden? Not necessarily. The allocation of property taxes between residential and commercial is based on relative values of the two types of property. If we do thing or encourage things that increase commercial property values an increase in shifting could occur without new growth as most people think of it.
I do favor any initiatives that would enhance our two business districts, East Milton and Lower Mills, and encourage development and revitalization of those districts. Parking and traffic flow are clearly a problem more so in East Milton. I am hopeful that something positive will come of the East Milton traffic and parking study that we can build on. If the traffic flow can be reconfigured to allow for better access and unimpeded flow through the business district and if convenient parking spaces could be developed the revitalization of East Milton would be a real possibility.
I think that we have to face the reality that Milton does not have the geography to support any large scale commercial development. We do not have a long stretch of major highway that flows through the Town as does Dedham or Norwood that would attract major commercial tenants. Furthermore Milton has always been a town that offers a quite resident setting with open space and in some parts of Town almost a rural setting. People are attracted to this Town in part because of that enviroment. I think that we should be very careful with any proposal that would expand commercial growth outside of the current business districts. In general I believe that the Town has been careful to consider the ramifications of commercial development outside of the business districts. There have obviously been two proposals, the Randolph Ave shopping plaza and the Temple property that was met with considerable opposition from the residents. Yet my personal opinion is that small and tasteful commercial establishments within residential districts can be both good for the town and the neighborhood in which they are located. In this crazy out of control times that we live in we don't always get to know our neighbors or have a sense of neighborhood. We are running around to get to work or to shuttle our kids from this event to that event. A neighborhood store could be a focal point that would allow people from the neighborhood to meet and interact.
So much for my fifty cents on sociology. In the end it is not should not be my decision on what is best for your neighborhood. It should be your decision. It is for that reason that I support the development of a comprehensive master plan. Such a plan would be developed by the Planning Board and would be a blue print for all future development from commercial to residential to affordable as well as traffic flows and parking issues. It would be a plan that would be carefully thought out and developed with considerable feed back from all of the residents of the Town. I believe that development without such a plan tends to be haphazard and reactionary rater than visionary and in the end may not prove to be in the best interest of the Town as a whole.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Chapter 40 B Housing
Does anyone have any thoughts on the proposed 40B development off of Randolph Ave near between Highland and Reed Street? 96 units of rental housing on I believe 7 acres. That is pretty dense. I am not against affordable housing in Milton. I am not sure if the developer has a project eligibility letter from the State. If he does and if the developer applies for a comprehensive permit the ZBA could reject it. The Problem is that the rejection can be appealed to the State. Leaving the ultimate outcome out of the Town's hands. I would like to find ways for the Town to plan sensible development of affordable housing so that projects do not get forced on us that are undesirable. It is my understanding that if the Town has an approved affordable housing plan and can demonstrate that it increased affordable housing by 3/4 of 1% during the year that an application for a comprehesive permit would not be appealable to the State. I would support studing the feasability of such a plan.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Tough Day
I am a CPA in the middle of tax season trying to run a practice and run a campaign. Sometimes I wonder if I am out of my mind. But I know in the end it will all be worth. The day started about 6am at the gym. To the office by 7:30. In between tax returns and business clients I have spent a good portion of the day setting up a campaign checking account. Not as easy as you might think. I also spent an hour or two fine tuning my announcement letter to the Milton Times and a mailing that I intend to send to town meeting members. I am also planning a kick off party & fund raising event at the Hoosic Club in Milton (More details to come).
As I deal with the campaign details, tax returns and my audit clients issues keep running through my head. How do I feel about the wind turbine project? How do I feel about the Town Farm? What is my position on commercial growth in the Town? What ideas do I have to improve efficiencies in the operation of Town government? What are my thoughts on Consolidated Facilities? Over the next few weeks I will try to provide some insight into my thoughts and ideas. Right now its Thursday night date night with my wife.
More to come.
As I deal with the campaign details, tax returns and my audit clients issues keep running through my head. How do I feel about the wind turbine project? How do I feel about the Town Farm? What is my position on commercial growth in the Town? What ideas do I have to improve efficiencies in the operation of Town government? What are my thoughts on Consolidated Facilities? Over the next few weeks I will try to provide some insight into my thoughts and ideas. Right now its Thursday night date night with my wife.
More to come.
I am running for selectman in Milton
I am reaching out to you as Milton residents to ask for you support and help. As you may be aware I am a candidate for the open Selectman's seat in the April 26th Town election. Who am I?
For those of you who do not know me here is some background information:
· Lifelong resident of Milton. Raised in East Milton
· Attended Milton Public Schools
· Graduated from Northeastern University with a bachelor's degree in accounting.
· Master's degree in taxation from Bentley College.
· Reside with my wife of 37 years on Blue Hill Avenue near the Fire Station.
· Two grown children attended Milton public schools and graduated from Milton High School.
· Certified Public Accountant
· President of the firm Hurley O'Neill & Associates Certified Public Accountants.
· Town Meeting member
· Warrant Committee for six years. Chairman for two years.
Why do I want to run?
I have lived in Milton all of my life and I am proud to call it home. I am running becasue I think that I am qualified and I want to contribute to my community.
· Thorough understanding of Municipal Finance
· Years of experience auditing state & local government entities
· Awareness of the various rules & regulation under which governments operate
· Small business owner and employer of 20 people.
· Led Warrant Committee served the Town through some of the most difficult financial times in Town history.
· Problem solver.
· Ability to unite people to focus on a common cause.
Follow me in this blog as I seek election.
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