Board of Aldermen 10-22-2019 Page 2
The bottom line is that unless R-19-184 is enacted tonight, there will be no City aid, no City aid will be
freed up and no school aid will be freed up either and none of the money could be used for those
purposes.
So what R-19-184 proposes, is that we increase the amount of surplus that gets applied to the tax rate
from $4.5 million to $6.2 million. This will have the effect of reducing the projected tax rate from around
the 3% we are talking about to more like 2.6% so we will have a lower tax rate than we had expected. It
will enable us to apply $2.9 million dollars of money to various needs, city and school. R-19-184 needs
to be enacted tonight because the tax rate is going to be set in a few days or in a couple of days. There
is no necessity to act on R-19-185 which proposes an allocation of the money; it is just one of many
ways that it could be allocated. Once the money is freed up, there is no necessity to immediately decide
exactly how to allocate it. In fact, based upon | believe the opinion of Attorney Bolton, because R-19-
185 would involve a supplemental appropriation, we actually need to hold a Public Hearing with respect
to this item. So acting on it now would really not be the legal way to proceed.
So what | am suggesting is we really need to act on R-19-184 tonight; 185 will go to the Budget
Committee and they will deliberate, Public Hearing and it will come back to the Board. Now | met with
the Budget Committee last night on both of these items in anticipation that we would have this issue
before us tonight. As | am sure Chairman Dowd will confirm, the Budget Committee recommended R-
19-184 unanimously for passage tonight. With respect to 185 simply said that their intention would be to
be to accept the referral and hold discussions and hearings and the Public Hearing regarding that when
the time comes. So again, R-19-184 will increase the amount of surplus applied to the tax rate, it will
help us reduce the projected tax rate to 2.6% increase and will free up $2.9 million dollars of the aid that
we are receiving from the State so that we can use it for the purposes for which the Legislature intended
it.
Now of course, | am available for any questions on any of this. But | think | have summarized it, we
discussed things in a little more detail last night and | am sure we will discuss these issues with the
Budget Committee again when the referral is made.
Also, Madam Chair, on a less detailed note, we have Friday night, the opening of the basketball court
behind the Community Center on Arlington Street. We have been very generously donated this court or
the funds for this court, you’ve accepted those funds by Dick Anagnost, the developer of the Marshall
Street Housing at the corner of Marshall and East Hollis Street. Many of the kids that have moved into
that project are, and that’s workforce housing; affordable housing, 150 some units. Many of the kids
who have moved into those apartments have begun to attend Dr. Crisp School and, of course, the
Community Center is right there. They have been attending and working very closely, the families and
the kids, with Megan Caron and the other people at the Community Center. The owner of the
apartments that is Dick Anagnost felt that he should make a contribution to the Community Center and
in talking with Megan the thing that they thought would be most useful would be to convert this asphalt
area in back of the Community Center to the basketball court. So Friday we are going to open the court,
and we are going to have a shooting contest, | have agreed to be outshot by some of the kids in the
neighborhood which | am sure will happen in free throws. | know possibly Alderman O’Brien is going to
be there.
Alderman O’Brien
I’ve been practicing.
Mayor Donchess
We will see who prevails there, Alderwoman Wilshire is going to be there, | think Alderman Clemons,
Alderwoman Caron, Matt Plante who is the Police Commissioner, he said he’d come as well and try to
shoot some baskets, free throws. We will see if any of us can beat the kids in the neighborhood. There
will be some prizes awarded, so we expect to have a good time.
