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Blandford’s Police Resignation Could Shed Light on Underlying Issues
/0 Comments/in Blog, Blog: Better Government, Blog: Economy /by Amy TournasLast week, the Town of Blandford’s police force resigned en masse, leaving the community without local police, and increasing the presence of state police. All four members of the Town of Blandford’s police, including the interim Chief Roberta Sarnacki, resigned last week, claiming they were working in unsafe conditions for unfair wages. Sarnacki said these unsafe conditions included ill-fitting and expired bullet-proof vests, radios that did not work in most parts of the town, and a number of issues with their police vehicles, including air conditioning, brake, and seat problems. The officers also claimed they were paid less than they deserved for putting their lives in danger. “They are asking us to do this with no radio coverage, no real […]
So what will Commissioner Evans’ Pension Be?
/0 Comments/in Blog, Blog: Pensions /by Amy TournasA few weeks ago, Boston Police commissioner William B. Evans announced his retirement, and just this week William Gross was sworn in as the new Boston Police Department Commissioner at a ceremony held at the Morning Star Baptist Church in Mattapan. After 38 years on the Boston police force and four years as commissioner, William Evans decided to end his career of constant on-the-clock service. By all accounts, his service to the city was exceptional. Commissioner Evans was noted for rising through the ranks of the Boston police force. He joined as a cadet, and since has served every position. As a captain, Evans was first stationed in Boston’s most densely populated region. As superintendent, he peacefully mitigated Occupy Boston, which […]
Questions Surrounding Recreational Marijuana on Cape Cod
/0 Comments/in Blog /by Harris FoulkesThrough a 2016 ballot initiative, Massachusetts joined a small group of states that allow the sale of recreational marijuana. However, as the state gets closer to the opening of its first recreational pot shop, many regions in the Commonwealth are second guessing the sale of cannabis within their boundaries. In fact, about 70 communities have a recreational marijuana ban in place, and about 160 more cities and towns have a moratorium of some sort. Cape Cod’s towns have similar feelings, as many questions have arisen over the future of pot shops in the region. Residents on Cape Cod have been hesitant to introduce any type of legalized marijuana, primarily because of the concern that easier access could lead to increased […]
Under Pending Bill, Punishment could Fit the Crime
/0 Comments/in Blog, Blog: Pensions /by Amy TournasIn light of recent turmoil in the Department of State Police (DSP), Governor Baker has called for not only revoking the pensions of the troopers involved in the overtime scandal, but to be harder on the forfeiture of pensions. In recent months, troopers who are under investigation have rushed to retire to keep their pensions safe; some have even begun to receive benefits. According to the Boston Globe, since the investigation began, at least 17 troopers have retired, many of whom have received hefty buyouts for unused vacation and sick days. However, these pensions might not be safe if state lawmakers pass Bill S2074 in time. The legislative session ended on July 31st, but the investigation is ongoing, so there […]
National Park Service Attracts Cape Cod Summer Visitors
/in Blog /by Harris FoulkesThe Cape Cod National Seashore (CCNS), located in the towns of Chatham, Eastham, Orleans, Wellfleet, Truro, and Provincetown, was created by President John F. Kennedy in 1961. The land encompasses over 43,000 acres and nearly 40 miles of seashore. The National Park Service (an agency of the Department of Interior) is responsible for maintaining the Seashore’s pristine condition. The Department’s work is critical to the all-important Cape Cod tourism industry as there were two million National Seashore visits last summer. The importance of Cape Cod’s beaches is reflected in the number of Department of Interior employees located on the Cape who work to adhere to the Department’s mission of “Protecting and managing the Nation’s natural resources and cultural heritage.” In […]
Stonewalled at City Hall
/0 Comments/in Blog, Blog: Better Government, Blog: Pensions, Blog: Transparency /by Amy Tournas and Kaila WebbPioneer Institute interns often visit government offices to obtain or confirm information we may use in a blog. In this capacity, we made a trip to Boston’s City Hall to determine which retirement group Commissioner William Evans would fall into. Public retirees in Massachusetts are broken into four groups that use different calculations to determine pension benefits. Group 1, which includes most employees, gets the least generous benefit, while members of Group 3 (the State Police) receive the richest. While one would think the public could get an answer to the question online, it simply wasn’t that easy. The classification for group numbers on the City of Boston’s “Your Retirement Options” page is unclear and vague when it comes […]
Making Troopers Transparent: At What Cost?
/0 Comments/in Blog, Blog: Transparency /by Amy TournasIn May 2018, The Boston Globe reported on its effort to gain access to information about troopers through a lawsuit aimed at the Massachusetts Department of State Police (DSP) as part of an overall effort to hold the DSP more accountable. In light of various scandals, increased transparency in the beleaguered agency is critical to restore public trust. However, too much transparency may put troopers at risk in some cases. The key is finding the appropriate balance between privacy and transparency. After all, how can we hold the agency accountable if we have no insight into what its employees are doing on the state’s dime? A compromise is in order. As an example, California discloses the names and area where […]
Got Milk? The Answer Might Soon Be No in Massachusetts
/0 Comments/in Blog, Blog: Better Government, Blog: Economy, Blog: Transparency /by Kaila WebbIt’s not a good time to be a dairy farmer in Massachusetts, and it hasn’t been for years. As of 2016, 90 percent of the Commonwealth’s dairy farmers reported enrollment in federal aid programs. Their economic situation became especially critical in 2009, when the recession pushed milk prices to record lows, and farmers sold their product for about half its production cost. Since then Massachusetts’ legislature and federal politicians have supported several other dairy subsidies (including MILC, Dairy-MPP, and DFTC), with no sign of the industry stabilizing. “The situation for dairy farmers is about as bad as it’s been,” Sunderland farmer Bob Williams told the Greenfield Recorder. The Milk Income Contract Loss Program (MILC) was established in 2002 to compensate […]
A Public Transit that Neglects Its Public
/0 Comments/in Blog, Blog: Better Government, Blog: Economy, Blog: MBTA, Blog: Transportation /by Kaila WebbTwo of a community’s most important hubs are its colleges and hospitals. Higher education keeps a population vibrant and upwardly mobile, while access to health care keeps them well. Pioneer Institute’s municipal website, MassAnalysis, classifies Lowell, Lawrence and New Bedford as peers based on population density and size. For these cities, each with over 20 percent of their populations living below the poverty line, public transit is a necessity. Yet the doesn’t even offer Sunday service. In Lowell, service to these community hubs is significantly slower than in its peer cities. On average, the Lowell Regional Transit Authority’s (LRTA’s) service is 1.7 times slower than similar service in Lawrence and 1.2 times slower than in New Bedford. This is because […]
Cape Cod’s Battle Against the Opioid Epidemic
/0 Comments/in Blog /by Harris FoulkesIn recent years, opioid-related deaths in Massachusetts have increased much faster than the national average. While steps are being taken to combat the problem, the crisis has challenged all the Commonwealth’s communities. Cape Cod has especially struggled. Of Massachusetts’ 14 counties, Barnstable had the fourth highest opioid overdose death rate of 31.39 per 100,000 people in 2017. One of the main factors contributing to the development of Cape Cod’s opioid problem was a high opiate prescription rate. In 2012 Cape Cod had an opiate prescription rate about 24 percent higher than the state average. While opioid-related overdose deaths decreased by nearly 19 percent on the Cape from 2016 to 2017, rescuers responded to 15 percent more overdose calls last year […]
Falsified Records & Shady Human Resources Policies: The Latest Scandal in the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner
/0 Comments/in Blog, Blog: Better Government, Blog: Transparency /by Jay AndersonThe Office of the Medical Examiner for Massachusetts is a taxpayer-funded agency that employs 93 people and is responsible for investigating violent and unexplained deaths in Massachusetts. Last year, Dr. Mindy J. Hull was chosen to lead the agency as chief medical examiner, a position with a salary that was recently increased by nearly $100,000 to $375,000 to lure a qualified candidate. After accepting the position, Hull elevated Lisa Riccobene, who has been with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (CME) since 2005, to chief of staff in late spring, 2018. This high-ranking position directly oversees 17 employees and has a salary of $112,000. While this may appear to be a run-of-the-mill promotion of a veteran employee, it became […]
School Choice Booming on Cape Cod
/0 Comments/in Blog, News /by Harris FoulkesEach year, millions of dollars flow from one school system to another thanks to a 1991 Massachusetts law that created inter-district school choice, which offers parents the option of enrolling their children in the public-school district of a community other than their hometown. While the law allows each district to decide whether to accept out-of-district students, no district can deny its students the right to leave. Parents on Cape Cod are taking full advantage of the law. Preliminary estimates for the current school year from the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education show Cape schools are educating 2,595 school choice students, 1,127 more than nine years ago. In fact, Cape Cod students who take advantage of school choice make […]
Top Methuen Police Officials Poised to Earn Far More than State Police (even including the State Police Overtime)
/0 Comments/in Blog /by Amy TournasThe city of Methuen is currently facing a budget crisis primarily due to school system debt and newly negotiated police contracts. Top police officials are poised to be the highest-paid officers in the state. According to the Boston Globe, a new contract will result in five Methuen police captains making an average of $432,295 annually. Seven lieutenants will make $269,823, and 12 sergeants will earn $160,018. City Police Chief Joseph Solomon will pull in $371,520. These pay hikes resulted from new contracts negotiated by the previous mayor, Stephen Zanni. The agreements hike certain salaries to sky-high levels due to required pay percentage differentials among the various ranks. The percentages of their wages will now be derived from base […]
Not signed, sealed, delivered
/0 Comments/in Blog, Blog: Better Government, Blog: Transparency, News, Transparency /by Helen ChinEven the casual observer has probably heard that Massachusetts is the only state without a signed annual budget. The start of July signals the beginning of a new fiscal year for all but four state governments. But now, more than halfway through the month, Massachusetts is operating on a stopgap budget to ensure that state government continues to function and provide services. However, this practice cannot go on indefinitely and the Commonwealth is well into the new fiscal year. So where’s the fire? Due to the nature of budget negotiations, which take place in closed-door meetings, it’s difficult to pinpoint the cause of the prolonged delay. The budget holdup is yet another example of the need for more transparency on […]
Should Boston want to be the home of Amazon’s second headquarters?
/0 Comments/in Better Government, Blog, Blog: Better Government, Blog: Economy, Blog: Transparency, Economic Opportunity, Middle Cities/ Urban, Transparency /by Andrew MikulaAmazon is the kind of company whose mere presence is enough to transform a city. Billions of dollars in investment, tens of thousands of high-paying jobs, and a major impact on transportation and land use have characterized Amazon’s relationship with its primary home of Seattle. As the company continues to grow, its process to determine the location for its second headquarters has attracted momentous attention. Amazon finished site visits of proposed locations in May, and the so-called “HQ2” project continues to garner media attention from both local outlets and nationally renowned think tanks. At first glance, whichever city Amazon chooses seems to have won a kind of lottery. Infrastructure upgrades, all-but-guaranteed job growth, and a stage for international connections all […]