You Probably Think This Blog Is About You

Most people remember Carly Simon's hit song "You're So Vain" and to this day she has not revealed who she wrote the song about. Many have asked and many have speculated, but no one knows for sure...except Carly, of course... and perhaps the person about whom she wrote it.

Below are some new lyrics to the same tune.

Who were they written about?

I'll tell....as soon as Carly does!


**********************************


You walked into the meeting
Like the queen of the debutantes

You had your speech so carefully prepared

And typed with the proper fonts

You had one eye on the camera

And one eye on the crowd

And then you dreamed

That you'd be convincing

But you're not convincing, and...

You're so vain

You probably think this blog is about you

You're so vain

I'll bet you think this blog is about you

Don't you? Don't you?

Well you fooled us several years ago

When we were still quite naive

And you said that we needed more overrides

Or else we should simply leave

And you took away the dough we need

And called it just a "cup of joe"

We had some dreams

They were clouds in our coffee

"Just another cup of coffee", and...

You're so vain
You probably think this blog is about you
You're so vain
I'll bet you think this blog is about you
Don't you? Don't you?

Well we hear you're going to negotiate now

Against a union with enormous clout

And you say that it's all under control

And in you we should have no doubt

But you don't inspire our confidence

With the things that you say and you do

To earn some respect

You need to change your demeanor

Change your demeanor, and...

You're so vain
You probably think this blog is about you
You're so vain
I'll bet you think this blog is about you
Don't you? Don't you?

Questionable Arrogance

Unlike Barbara Anderson’s well-known Citizens For Limited Taxation (CLT), that has been in existence for 30 years, the Hamilton/Wenham fiscal watchdog group Enough Is Enough (EiE) has been around for just under two years. But during that short period of time the group has been enormously successful in achieving its agenda of fiscal responsibility in the two towns. Membership has swelled to 400+ and supporters come from diverse backgrounds, age and income levels and family size.

Just before the two most recent town meetings in Hamilton the organization published and distributed what is known as the EiE Yellow Sheet, a voting guide with the group's recommendations for voting on key issues on the town warrants. Eleven recommendations on the two published Yellow Sheets resulted in ten wins for the group, an astonishing accomplishment for such a young organization.*

The reason?

Well surely there are many, but perhaps the group’s name serves as the best explanation: Enough Is Enough. Taxpayers in Hamilton and Wenham finally reached the tipping point after the 10 years of “budgeting by override” that has earned the towns a place in the Taxpayers’ Book of World Records. Those overrides cost the taxpayers over $39 million and counting since override costs are not one time events. They are added to the tax levy and you pay the override amount again every single year - year after year after year – forever...or for as long as you live in town.

In the past, the School Committee had displayed no small measure of arrogance regarding their requests for overrides (Remember their "only a cup of coffee" justification?). In a sense, they can almost be forgiven their arrogance and sense of entitlement. After all, if a bully takes advantage of another person, and year after year the weaker person allows that to happen, can you really blame the bully for his arrogance? Or sense of entitlement? On the other hand, if the weaker person finally and firmly says ENOUGH is ENOUGH and makes it perfectly clear that they will no longer be bullied, you’d expect the arrogance to dissolve, wouldn’t you?

Well, apparently not if you are the School Committee for the HWRSD. This group of elected individuals seems to believe that they are autonomous and unencumbered by the will of the people they represent. Here’s what their chairman has said about EiE and its members and supporters:

“We’re going to be contending with this group of people in the future and this is their tactic…They don’t care what the truth is.”

Actually, EiE does care what the truth is. The truth is that the residents of Hamilton and Wenham were promised more openness and transparency and that promise has not been kept. The truth is, EiE’s efforts to determine exactly what budgeted maintenance funding was spent on over the past three years have been stonewalled by a clever game of semantics and deliberate refusals of repeated requests for the information. The truth is that by publicly making statements like the above, the School Committee is declaring that their arrogance remains intact.

Recently, when EiE offered the School Committee suggestions and recommendations regarding the current negotiations with the teacher’s union over the contract that expires next year, the chairman had this to say:

“We will not be directed or distracted by a community group that seeks to undermine the process. We know what we are doing in this area.”

Well, we certainly hope they do since they are going up against one of the strongest unions in the state with what appears to be, by comparison, extremely limited strength in the area of contract negotiation.

Just a thought…Do you think the School Committee would consider hiring an expert contract negotiator with a proven track record of success representing other towns in similar negotiations? What if EiE was willing to pay the expert’s fee? Or would that be considered an attempt by EiE, as also stated by the chairman, to “compromise what we intend to be a successful negotiation process”?

These statements and others represent the kind of ARROGANCE that most would agree the committee is no longer entitled to.


* The one loss was the motion to permit secret or private balloting on articles requiring large expenditures or appropriations, such as overrides and capital debt exclusions, over $250k.

Town Meeting Is Over...Now Back To My Real Job

Now that the Hamilton Special Town Meeting is over, my wife has advised me that I need to spend more of my newly freed up time concentrating on advising my readers about real estate issues. That is, after all, what I do for a living as a Realtor...as opposed to what I do as a volunteer.

So a tip of the hat to all who worked so hard on the many articles and motions, some passed and some not, at our recent Saturday Town Meeting. I promise to pick the discussion up again as we get closer to next spring's annual Town Meeting.

But right now, let's talk real estate. And let's begin with the topic:

SHOULD I TAKE MY HOUSE OFF THE MARKET DURING THE HOLIDAYS?

When you look at your calendar you may find the months already overloaded with seasonal obligations -- shopping, entertaining, children's pageants, charity work, decorating the house, and so much more. If you are also trying to sell your home, you are under extra pressure to keep your home in "showtime" condition. And that could be the last thing you need before the holiday spirit is broken.

It is understandable why you would be tempted to take your home off the market during the holidays. The list of justifications is long. If you are too busy, buyers may be also, and you may find your efforts unrewarded with not enough showings. And what if you do get an offer? You may be faced with the possibility of packing and moving during the busiest time of the year. Besides, you can give your house a rest, and it will have better momentum after the holidays. Better to just pack it in and start fresh in January, right?

Wrong!

Most smart Realtors agree that taking your home off the market during the Holiday season is a mistake. The house isn't going to sell while it's off the market! What is the advantage of that? So you're busy... let me do the work. You can leave in the morning, go to work, go shopping, and let me take care of showing and selling your home.

The holidays are actually a wonderful selling period. Why? Because most people take off work sometime during the season. The husband and wife are both off and want to see houses. Most agents like the holidays because the buyers have more time, and they can look at homes together.

So before you take your home off the market, consider the following points:

1. Although buyer activity may appear to slow down, the buyers who are actively looking during the holidays are that much more serious. The home market is no more affected at Thanksgiviing or Christmas than during other "busy" periods. If that were so, the market would shut down throughout the year as families concentrate on spring weddings, June graduations, summer vacations, and autumn back-to-school activities.


2. Many buyers deliberately choose to shop for a home after the busy spring and summer rush. They know that it will be easier to look, and that negotiations will be less stressful. They may not have children, or they may have grown children, so moving to accommodate the school year isn't a consideration. Finding the right home at the right price, however, is.


3. Relocating families often don't have a choice when they can leave for their new destination. Although 68% of transferring families have children, many families have to transfer during the middle of the school year. These families are that much more motivated to get their families settled in before either the January semester begins, or to arrange for the move during spring break in March. If you sign a contract by New Year's Eve, the timing couldn't be more perfect.


4. During the holidays, our culture focuses on family and the home. Preparing for the indoor activities of winter is one of the most enjoyable periods of family life. Allowing buyers to view your home during this most hospitable of seasons lets them better picture their own family life in the attractive environment you have created. When is your home ever more beautiful and inviting? You have cleaned and decorated, and your home looks like a picture postcard. If the results are good enough for family and friends, they will surely be good enough to impress your buyers. Get the family team on board to do a five-minute blitz pick-up every morning to keep holiday messes to a minimum.


5. With reduced inventories and motivated buyers, you will have all the members of the MLS on your team. You may find you have more showings than you would if you marketed your home during a busier time of the year.

Here's a testimonial from one of my clients regarding selling during the holiday season:

"Jay - The article in your newsletter caught my eye: Should I Take My House Off The Market During The Holidays. How well I remember our buyers coming to our door the first week of January 2004, temperature at 4 degrees, smoke coming off the ocean waves, when the doorbell rang and the couple said they wanted to buy our oceanfront home! You had set the stage with an earlier listing and showing. We're enjoying sunshine and palm trees because we did not take our home off the market during the holidays! Warmest regards - Jerry and Mary Anne Greely"

Thinking of selling in the next few months? Give me a call and we can schedule a confidential meeting without obligation to discuss the benefits of my services and Coldwell Banker's marketing and worldwide reach. Thank you!

Democracy in Hamilton...There's an App for That

On October 17th Hamilton held it's first Saturday Town Meeting since a motion to hold it on that day was approved by the voters at spring Annual Town Meeting. The special Town Meeting commenced at 9:00 AM sharp with a quorum in attendance. As I glanced around the room at the Winthrop School, I noticed that the majority of residents seated and ready to begin the meeting were (dare I say it) aged 50+. The room was about half full.

By 9:30, the room was about 3/4 full and the age composition had clearly shifted with many more voters under age 50 meandering in. If I had to guess, Id' say it was close to 50/50.

It was a sight to make even the biggest skeptic proud...nearly 400 residents in attendance at a fall Town Meeting. And opponents to the Saturday morning meetings said it couldn't be done! Special thanks to all in who came and for the organizers and donors of refreshments and child care.

The meeting progressed well through nearly 20 articles and motions and then there was a brief break, after which Moderator Bruce Ramsey continued the meeting by taking up the motion for funding a debt exclusion override for the Cutler School HVAC.

Then I noticed something unusual.

The room was now completly full...with standing room only. Residents were lined up all around the room. I'm told that there were over 500 people present at that point.

Wow! Small town democracy at it's best! Fantastic!

But wait a minute...how did it happen that so many voters suddenly appeared at just that point in the meeting?

Well it turns out, as they say in the iphone commercials, that "there's an app (application) for that". It's called TWITTER. You've heard of TWITTER right? It's a messaging app that allows you to send and receive short messages (called TWEETS) instantly over your mobile phone or PDA.

It seems that the group Support Our Schools (SOS) set up a TWITTER account recently as a way of notifying their supporters exactly when to come to the meeting to support their cause, in this case the debt exclusion override. No less that 24 TWEETS (as the instant messages are known) were sent advising their "followers" of the status of the meeting and when to come down to vote.

Now I'm not saying there is anything wrong or unlawful about what was done. In fact I applaud SOS on their ingenuity.

What bothers me is what I observed immediately following the Cutler HVAC vote, which was overwhelmingly supported by nearly everyone - including Enough Is Enough.

Immediately following the vote, about half the voters left the hall, even though other town business remained to be completed. And guess who were still in their seats at the end, having taken part and listened and voted on ALL the items on the agenda for the day?

That's right...the same people that arrived and were seated and ready to partake in the process at 9:00 AM.

A tip of the hat and special thanks to them for their COMPLETE participation in the Town Meeting process.

Read a Salem News editorial about the same subject: http://www.salemnews.com/archivesearch/local_story_291231239.html

Surprise Endorsement From Enough Is Enough

Enough Is Enough surprised a packed Hamilton Special Town Meeting today when they endorsed the motion made on behalf of the School Committee and Administration for a capital debt exclusion override for replacement of the Cutler School boilers and HVAC.

At their last meeting (10/15/09) members of the School Committee specifically asked members of EiE in attendance what the group's recommendation would be. They were told simply that the recommendation would be made at Town Meeting, not before.

Strategically, it was a very good move by Enough Is Enough and probably resulted in greater attendance at the meeting by voters. By not knowing the position EiE would take on the motion, it's likely that many more made the effort to attend so as to support their choice, whichever way they were voting. And that was good for the democratic town meeting process in Hamilton. I will have some more observations about the meeting in the next few days.

The following is the statement that was read in SUPPORT of the motion by EiE:

Enough Is Enough regrets that we find ourselves in the position where the School Department has come before us to ask, once again, for additional funding above and beyond the $27 million approved at the ATM, $592,000 of which was approved as a line item for maintenance in this year’s budget. EiE believes that if the maintenance funding approved each year was properly managed and not directed away from maintenance to other sources, we might not have to be addressing this issue today. Soon perhaps, but not today.

Today we are told we have a crisis that needs immediate attention and funding. Rest assured that no other group or entity, save the School Committee and Administration, has spent more time meeting, researching, discussing and debating this issue than Enough Is Enough.

We have broken the question of whether to approve or not approve the motion into 2 major parts. There are other issues to be considered, to be sure, but we think these are the underlying ones.

First, the condition of the existing boilers. It is clear to us that the boilers at the Cutler School appear to have met their life expectancy and should be replaced.

Second, the reimbursement funding from the MSBA. Jack OKeefe has made the case that if we do not move forward with the motion before us, the window of opportunity with respect to MSBA’s reimbursement will close. We believe this to be true.

As previously mentioned, we now find ourselves in crisis mode. The residents and taxpayers of Hamilton deserve to see better long range school budget planning in an effort to avoid this kind of crisis management in the future.

That said, and given the condition of the current heating system, the availability of guaranteed reimbursement of 42.58% by the MSBA - resulting in reducing the impact and burden of the additional tax we would each have to pay - EiE supports the motion before us.

The motion was then approved by about 500 voters in attendance. The only thing lost in the approval of this article was Enough Is Enough's reputation (held by a select few) as a "knee-jerk, anti-school group". Sadly, a statement made about Enough Is Enough by the Chairman of the School Committee at their 10/15/09 meeting was, "We're going to be contending with this group of people in the future and this is their tactic: They don't care what the truth is."

Ouch.

I wonder how they will choose to brand Enough Is Enough now. We can only hope that they learned something positive from the group today.

To read the Salem News coverage of the vote and several comments, go to: http://www.salemnews.com/punews/local_story_290163855.html

To read the Hamilton/Wenham Chronicle coverage of the vote, go to: http://tinyurl.com/yjwacom

Let The Dead, Beaten Horse Rest In Peace

DEFEATED...The Special Town Meeting warrant article calling for (yet) another study of combined services and/or merger of the Wenham and Hamilton police departments was defeated last night in Wenham. Considering the numerous studies already conducted over the years, this defeat should finally put the issue to rest.

Guess again. According to a report in the Salem News, after the meeting petition supporter Deb Evans said "The issue isn't going to go away."

Does that kind of thinking sound familiar? It should. It's the same attitude that override supporters have used in the past to reverse votes defeating their overrides. They just keep coming back for revotes as many times as it takes until their agenda finally is approved. All it takes is filling the hall with your own special interest supporters and then wearing down the opposition with revote after revote.

Selectman Harriet Davis framed the issue best at the Town Meeting and had clearly given it serious thought and had researched thoroughly the reasons NOT to approve the study. Anyone questioning the reasoning for the defeat should read her statement.

Now please... let the poor dead, beaten horse rest in peace.

Hamilton Town Meeting - The Yellow Sheet

On Saturday, October 17th, the Town of Hamilton will vote on numerous warrant articles at a Special Town Meeting, including a debt exclusion override. As they did at the spring Annual Town Meeting, Enough Is Enough (EiE) is distributing its Yellow Sheet with recommendations and a short explanation of why they are taking their positions for your consideration.

EiE is a tax watchdog group with many educated members, including Teachers, Architects, Planners, Real Estate Professionals, Active as well as Retired Business Leaders, Nurses, Members of Town Boards, Accountants, Engineers, Town Employees, Writers and Bloggers, Attorneys and others, as well as parents with school-age children. They collectively researched, met, and discussed the impact of the warrant articles in order to recommend to you what is on their Yellow Sheet. EiE's goal remains to balance an excellent education with the taxpayer's ability to pay and to support changes they feel are in the best interest of our communities.

EiE will continue to scrutinize and help stabilize the operating budgets of our towns and school district debt through recommendations on a Yellow Sheet of the warrant articles presented at all future Town Meetings. The $39 million that taxpayers have paid as a result of the previous 12 year’s overrides is a burden the group was formed to help alleviate.

Your attendance and votes at the October 17th Special Town Meeting are vitally important.

Below are the recommendations from EiE on the warrant articles they feel are most important to the taxpayers and citizens of Hamilton. Please refer to the Warrant book that you received from the town for the specifics of each article/motion.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

• Article 4-3 – Vote NO – This motion appears to be an attempt to draw attention away from the maintenance funding (already a line item every year in the school budget) that has been misappropriated or directed elsewhere each year. The school department does not need TWO maintenance accounts…they need to properly manage the existing account.
Read a Salem News letter detailing maintenance funding mismanagement: http://tinyurl.com/yf4dev2

• Article 4-4 – Vote YES – Extensive research has shown that many other communities - including Essex, Andover, North Andover, Middleton, Wakefield, North Reading, Stoneham, and Manchester, to name only a few – have enacted similar voting standards, particularly regarding motions requiring large expenditures or appropriations.

Read another blog supporting this measure: http://tinyurl.com/ydum5gp

• Article 5-2 – Vote NO – At least three other studies have taken place regarding this issue in the past six years. Two found no significant savings. The most recent study (2009) by the Department of Revenue (DOR) found savings that came primarily from a reduction in the number of police officers. It seems unnecessary to conduct yet another study and waste valuable time and talent on the issue.
Read a letter from Wenham Selectmen supporting our position: http://tinyurl.com/yl72pxo

Read a letter from a Wenham resident in the Salem News: http://tinyurl.com/ykf5q2b

Read an editorial by the Salem News supporting our position: http://tinyurl.com/yh4e8kg

• Article 5-7 – Vote YES – This is essentially the same motion that was overwhelmingly approved at last spring’s Town Meeting. Increasing the number of Selectmen will help distribute the work load and allow more time for strategic long term planning, policy decisions and revenue generation.

• Article 5-8 – Vote NO – Times are tough enough without burdening our local business owners with additional taxes. They are already experiencing reduced business and should not have to support yet another tax, aka: a cut in pay.
Read another Hamilton blog supporting our recommendation: http://tinyurl.com/ygt2dpz

• Special Town Meeting, Part II – Debt Exclusion Override for the Cutler School Boiler – EiE will make a recommendation at the Town Meeting.

At the time of publication of this blog two major questions regarding this motion by the schools remain unanswered: (1) Exactly how will the reimbursement portion ($652,206.00 from the MSBA) of the debt ($1,531,720.00) be credited to the taxpayers?...and (2) what will be the effect upon the property tax rate and for how long?

Unless and until these questions are answered, taxpayers are prevented from making a properly informed decision about whether to approve or deny the school's request.