30° and Clear
Today we continue postings dedicated to the Franklin Town Council election. We contacted all 15 candidates by email and asked each of them the same questions and also asked for a response on our proposed “pledge.” [Could you also include whether you would support/agree to the Pledge we have proposed? (see: https://franklinobserver.town.news/g/franklin-town-ma/n/335372/editoria… ). Five candidates responded by the Oct.4 deadline: Jane Callaway-Tripp, Caroline Griffith, Stephen Malloy, Joe McGann, and Max Morongiello, were presented a few days ago. Today, we share three additional candidate submissions, namely Ken Ojukwu, Tom Mercer, and Gene Grella.
Candidate Questions – Gene Grella
To start, I fully accept the pledge. "I will accept no outside funding and no promotion by external sources or political machines.”
A) Briefly discuss ‘who you are’ in no more than 150 words.
My most important and favorite role is as a dad. But I have to pay the bills, so to that, I am an IT/Technology expert and amazing problem solver. I’ve spent the last 39 years designing systems, managing technology teams and completing technology projects. I am amazing at bringing in projects on time and within budget.
B) Briefly state why you are running for TC and why someone should vote for you (75 words max)
I feel that the current Town Council and the Town Administration no longer reflect the desires and values of the people in the Town of Franklin. I am running to represent the people of this town and get our government back.
1. Personal Impact of Tax Increases
We’ve heard arguments for and against a tax override, including what’s needed to maintain current services and suggestions to ask for even more. My question is:
How would a tax increase affect you personally and financially?
Would the increase be manageable for you, a financial strain, or have no impact?
I pay taxes on my primary residence, which is the only home or property I own in Franklin. As has happened with everyone else, I've seen my taxes go up. They go up because the value of my home has increased, because they automatically go up by 2.5% every year and also because we have approved debt exclusion overrides for our schools. The impact is that I have less money to spend on other things but they are not a personal hardship for me. If I retire and I’m on a fixed income, an increase in taxes may eventually become a burden.
An override of the size proposed in the last override election would have been manageable. But what are the Town's plans for overrides in the future? They can’t build a $40m police station without a debt exclusion override. Two overrides would be a problem for me and a lot of people here in Franklin.
2. New Growth and Affordable Housing
A) What is your position on new growth in Franklin, in particular with regard to the town accepting of encouraging more so-called affordable housing?
Affordable housing, especially as it is used in Franklin is, to be frank, a scam. First off, it’s not affordable. The affordable rent is 80% of the market rate. In the 444 East Central Street proposal, the affordable 1-bedroom apartment is just under $2k.
Secondly, the developer only has to make 25% of their units affordable.
Third, the 40b law is just being used by developers to work their way around the Town's planning committee and conservation committee. They can call their project affordable and they just have to get 2 votes from the ZBA to get the project approved. The fact that the Town Council would set up a process to invite builders in to develop these apartment buildings, the “Friendly 40b” process, is the most egregious and concerning thing I’ve seen in this town in years and it is why people are so upset. We need to end this process and stop any apartment projects that are in the approval process or earlier.
B) How do you view the role of affordable housing in our town's future—both its benefits and its challenges?
If elected, I would only seek out projects that create affordable housing that residents can own. I don’t to see any more new rental projects in this town. We have enough apartments right now and unless I see that there is a shortage of apartments in the town, I would not ok one more.
3. Senior Center and Revenue Shortfalls
The Town Administrator has projected potential closures—including the Senior Center—if revenue doesn’t increase. What is your position on closing the Senior Center?
I would oppose any closure of the senior center. I worked 6 years in the Senior Living industry and I understand how important socialization is to our elderly. It's especially needed to avoid loneliness which is major threat to a person’s wellbeing.
4. Rebuilding Trust and a Sense of Community
Franklin has become divided. Many residents have expressed frustration with each other and mistrust in town leadership. If elected (or re-elected), how would you work to rebuild trust and help mend the divide in our community?
The Town is divided because various groups have divided it. They look to define people in binary terms like “for override” and “against override”. Most people want good services in town and most people want good schools. Just because someone can’t afford to pay more in taxes doesn’t make them anti-School.
In my opinion, the current Town Council hasn’t done anything to help this division because in their role, they should be asking the tough questions, seeking out the data and answers and holding the Town Administrator and the Superintendent accountable. The lack of transparency and push back has led to a lot of distrust with the people.
For example, I watched the Town Administrator’s performance review. The person who led it put on a show for the community by bringing up department heads to praise him. It wasn’t a serious exercise. It was a publicity exercise. People know when they are being fed BS and they don’t like it.
5. Budget Deficit and Future Overrides
We are facing a budget deficit, and two override attempts have failed.
How would you approach this challenge going forward?
I would like to set up a citizen’s committee made of experts in town to delve into the town's administrative and facilities areas to look for inefficiency in all departments and in Schools. We need to look at places where we can share services or even outsource services. For example, for most small companies, they can’t afford to hire and purchase the tools and people to have adequate cybersecurity. But they can purchase that service at a much lower cost from a company that does nothing but cybersecurity and has economies of scale. They purchase a fraction of a cybersecurity team which is all they really need.
When and if, after exploring these things we cannot close the gap, that is when I would consider supporting an override.
Would you support another override or special election—and under what conditions?
No, I would support neither without delving into the town and schools’ budgets to look for waste. If I’m on a council that doesn’t not want to do this exercise, I will oppose any override.
6. What other initiatives or directions do you believe the town should undertake to address its fiscal problems?
The town needs to conduct an analysis of open space and existing commercial rental space. I believe there should be an effort to market to companies to move to Franklin in whatever unused space we have available. Commercial and Industrial businesses pay taxes without creating a burden on services.
We have so much to offer businesses in the form of train and highway access as well as some of the lowest taxes around. The focus should not be on more residential developments but it should be on commercial/industrial development and in some cases, maybe we need to re-develop land to make it work for a company to move to Franklin.
