Community Compact agreement ‘an early Christmas present for Lynnfield’

Published in the December 7, 2016 edition

By DAN TOMASELLO

LYNNFIELD — The town officially signed the Community Compact agreement with Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito on Thursday, Dec. 1.

Community Compacts are one of the various tools Gov. Charlie Baker’s administration utilizes to strengthen the partnership between cities and towns and the commonwealth. By entering into a Community Compact agreement, a community agrees to implement self-selected “best practices.” As part of this partnership, the commonwealth agrees to fulfill a set of commitments and works to provide assistance for a specific community based on their chosen best practice.

Polito, the Board of Selectmen, State Rep. Brad Jones (R-North Reading), State Senator Tom McGee (D-Lynn), Town Administrator Jim Boudreau, Police Chief David Breen, Fire Chief Mark Tetreault and Town Accountant Julie McCarthy attended the ceremony. Polito noted Lynnfield is the 244th community to sign on to the Community Compact program out of the commonwealth’s 351 municipalities.

“There is something for every community in this program, which is what we love,” said Polito. “It spreads across the commonwealth.”

Selectmen Chairman Phil Crawford said the Community Compact agreement with the Baker administration will fund two initiatives. He said the town received a $22,000 grant that was used to hire a consultant to work with the Capital Facilities Advisory Committee (CFAC).

“The Capital Facilities Committee is going to be giving a presentation at April Town Meeting about all of the facilities in town,” said Crawford. “They are going to be giving recommendations on renovations and new facilities. The consultant is working with the committee on putting that presentation together and finalizing it for the town. The committee has been working with the consultant the past couple of months and they are thrilled to have him on board working with them.”

In addition to the $22,000 grant used to hire the consultant, Crawford said the state has awarded the town an additional $5,000 grant for Open Checkbook, a software program that will allow residents to access and obtain municipal finance information on the town’s webpage as part of an effort to increase transparency.

“(The grant) gave us the ability to not only purchase the software but to also bring in a consultant to work on implementing the software and best present it on the town website,” said Crawford. “We are going to use the Munis software that works directly with our Munis accounting program. That should get going very soon.”

According to Crawford, the Community Compact agreement will allow the town to apply for future grants to fund other initiatives down the road.

“They have a list of items we can look into and we are also going to adopt some additional practices for next year,” said Crawford.

“High achievers,” joked Polito.

Crawford thanked Polito and the Baker administration for funding the two grants.

“It’s much appreciated,” said Crawford. “It’s town dollars that we didn’t have to spend and it gives us the ability to work with some very knowledgeable consultants to help the town organize and work on our future.”

Polito said it was a pleasure to be at Town Hall and seeing “all of the work that is being done to serve the people” of Lynnfield. She thanked Breen, Tetreault and their respective departments “for what you do every day to keep this community safe.”

“The governor and I and our whole administration really appreciate it,” said Polito. “And to all of the elected officials here, it’s a lot to put your name out there and to serve. We appreciate what you do. The governor and I both served our first elected offices on our respective boards of selectmen in Shrewsbury and Swampscott, so we have a lot of appreciation for local elected officials across our commonwealth. The municipal employees here join a public workforce that really helps us across our commonwealth, and we are grateful for what you do.”

Polito said she served in the House of Representatives with Jones and McGee after she was elected to represent the 11th Worcester District. She said she has developed a positive working relationship with both legislators over the years.

“(The town) is fortunate to have two strong leaders in the legislature representing this community,” said Polito. “They work together and cross party lines and really peel back those layers to get things done. They are two extraordinary leaders and the governor and I have tremendous respect for them.”

Polito noted the Community Compact program was Baker’s first executive order.

“It was completely strategic,” said Polito. “We wanted to signal right out of the box that our administration values and supports the partnership between state and local government. We said the best thing we can do is to be a solid and reliable partner to the cities and towns. This executive order is all about that partnership. What we learned while sitting on our respective boards is it cannot be an unfunded mandate. This has to be a voluntary program and the state has to back it up with some resources.”

Polito said what she loves most about the Community Compact program is “all of the compacts signed with the cities and towns are unique.”

“It encourages local officials to gather together and decide what you want to work on,” said Polito. “And the state will provide the resources to get it done.”

Polito noted the Community Compact agreement includes “bonus points,” which can be used for the MassWorks Infrastructure Program, Complete Streets Program or the PARC grant if the town chooses to apply to be part of those programs.

“This was thought out in a way that incentivizes best practices,” said Polito.

Polito said the Baker administration believes the partnership between state and local government is a two-way street as opposed to a one-way street.

“We as an administration need to do our part as well,” said Polito. “When it comes to local aid, Chapter 90 and school aid, our administration will continue to place that at the top of the list in terms of priorities.”

Polito noted the Municipal Modernization Act will benefit Lynnfield as well. She thanked Jones and McGee for working together to pass the law.

“(Jones and McGee) took the lead in the legislature and really pushed hard on a very detailed bill,” said Polito. “It would have been very easy for the legislature to say to it’s too complicated and to put it off for another day, but they didn’t. They put it out front and kept working on it, and got the Municipal Modernization bill passed at the end of the legislative term. We are all very proud of that. It gives (local officials) the tools and resources to work with and peels back obsolete laws.”

Polito said there is “a lot of great work” being accomplished in state government as well as local government.

“Now that the election is over, its great to see government working here in Massachusetts,” said Polito. “The executive office and the legislature have a great working relationship and we are getting a lot of good stuff done. That is what the exactly what the people we all serve want to see more of.”

McGee said the two grants will benefit the town immensely.

“To see the investment we are making in the town’s resources focusing on both capital and IT is great,” said McGee. “It’s been a partnership between the administration and the legislature. I am glad to be here with the town and seeing the good work that is going to continue.”

Jones noted all four of the communities he serves in the 20th Middlesex District have signed a Community Compact agreement.

“We saved the best for last,” Jones joked.

Jones said the Community Compact agreement will make a positive impact on Lynnfield.

“(The Baker administration) devised a program that wasn’t one size fits all, so communities can focus on what they need to work on,” said Jones. “It’s an early Christmas present for Lynnfield.”