By Paul Tennant ptennant@eagletribune.com

The Amirian children celebrate Independence Day

We are about one week into our new budget year and I have to say I am reasonably pleased with what the collective council voted to accept last Tuesday. As with any budget there are things I wish could have been changed. There never seems to be enough money to fund our city departments completely or to include all the life enriching programs and services that we want, especially in difficult economic times like these. One of the shortfalls of this year’s budget that bothered me the most was the inability to begin funding our free all day kindergarten program which I believe is essential for the development of our students. But, despite this major shortcoming I feel that the successes of this budget outweigh the failures. For example, unlike last year we have avoided any layoffs, furloughs or reduction in services. In fact, in this budget we were actually able to add elements and benefits, some of the most notable being funds to upgrade the safety equipment of our firefighters and the ability to keep water and sewer rates level and among the lowest in the region.

Lots of people deserve credit for making this budget a success–from our employees and department heads for making necessary sacrifices, to the mayor and my fellow Councillors for their in depth review and analysis of the city’s income and expenditures. There is one person, however, who played a critical role in this year’s budget and unfortunately due to an oversight was not properly acknowledged and thanked during the council’s final budget discussion and vote on June 28th. State Representative and Chairman Brian Dempsey, in my opinion, is the unsung hero of this year’s city budget. The 2.4 million dollars he secured to supplement our budget and off-set a portion of our Hale Hospital debt was the major reason why, unlike so many towns and cities in the Commonwealth, we avoided the need to slash our services, lay off employees, and raise fees. The running total of the free state money Dempsey has negotiated for Haverhill has exceeded 9 million dollars over the past several years. Without his continued support and the funds he was able to negotiate for us, our budget would have been crippled and we would have been making the excruciating decisions of how to cut school, library, police, and fire budgets instead of only lamenting our inability to add everything we would have wished.

But as much as Dempsey deserves our gratitude, an equally large share of the credit for this successful budget must go to you, our taxpaying citizens. For without your property tax dollars Dempsey would not have been able to convince state officials that Haverhill had a true and honest financial hardship. It’s no secret. Property taxes went up the maximum 2.5% allowable by law just as they have for years in previous budgets. I’m not proud of it and it’s an unfortunate fact of life someday I hope may change. But consider for a moment, if during this budget process, we decided not to increase property taxes to the full allowable amount or even decided not to increase them at all. There is no way the state would have approved any money at all, let alone 2.4 million dollars, if it believed that Haverhill was not fully exhausting its own ability to raise money independently.

Again, thank you to Representative Dempsey for securing supplemental funding, but thank you, the citizens of Haverhill even more for helping your city avoid a budget deficit of over 4 million dollars! I for one appreciate all your efforts and sacrifices and I relish the opportunity to continue to serve with and for you.

Sven Amirian
Haverhill City Council

I have selected portions of an article which appears in its entirety here: http://tinyurl.com/yducxw9

Check out these important spreadsheets for understanding meals tax data.

Projection for expected meals tax revenue by municipality: http://tinyurl.com/mealstax

Actual meals tax revenue for FY10 Q2 for early adopters: http://tinyurl.com/mealstaxrevenue

Lisa Juszkiewicz, Director of the Municipal Databank

Of the communities who initially adopted the local option meals excise, the City of Boston is the largest by population (and likely by relevant dining establishments). Of the approximately $2.7 million collected in October, $1,493,154.22 million came from and went back to Boston.

The City of Cambridge had the second highest meals revenue collections in October with $256,811.97. Worcester, our second largest city by population, came in with the third highest collections ($152,737.62) in October and the City of Springfield followed in fourth ($113,323.74). Of the 30 initial communities, the small, western Massachusetts Town of Sunderland collected the least at $2,640.08.

That said, even in small communities, collections may amount to noteworthy new monthly revenue. Cities like Taunton, Northampton, and Somerville ranged from $42,138.59 to $45,874.59 to $60,854.69. The new local option excise of .75 percent on the sale of restaurant meals originating within the municipality was created within the FY2010 state budget.

To implement the new local option excise the municipality must accept MGL Ch 64L, section 2(a) by a majority vote of the local legislative body, subject to local charter. For the local option excise to be effective October 1 a municipality needed to vote to accept the local option by August 31. As mentioned above, 30 municipalities accepted by the August 31 deadline and they received their first distribution on December 31. The December distribution was based on revenues generated on the sale of restaurant meals in October and reported to the Department of Revenue in November. The next deadline for accepting the local option excise was December 1 with an effective date of January 1. Thirty-six municipalities adopted the local option to become effective January 1. These 36 municipalities will receive their first distribution on March 31 based on revenue generated in January and reported to the Department in February.

To date, four additional municipalities have accepted the local option, three with effective dates of April 1 and one effective July 1 bringing the total to 70 municipalities (or approximately 20 percent of cities and towns) within the local options’ first six months.

Did you know that, on average, a Haverhill household has been disposing of 50 pounds of trash per week? Most of us have no idea how much garbage we throw away because other than hauling it to the curb each week, that’s the only time we have to deal with it. And how about recycling? How much of an impact are we having by diverting our current level of recyclable materials from the trash? The key to changing our habits for the better is to become aware of what we do and how it affects our quality of life and that of our fellow citizens.

Sven Amirian Recycles.

Now that the first phase of Haverhill’s curbside single stream recycling program is underway, City Council Candidate Sven Amirian wants to know how it’s going and how we can make it better.

“I’m encouraging all citizens. . .

. . .currently receiving single stream curbside pickup to participate in a voluntary study to gauge the amount of materials we are diverting from the waste stream and subsequently the amount that Haverhill is saving on tipping fees,” says Amirian.

The goal of this study is not only to identify the economic benefits of our new recycling program but also to look closer at our individual roles as consumers in the cycle of waste production and reduction.

But this study is not just for those who are fortunate enough to currently receive the curbside service. “I also want the rest of Haverhill to participate and show the untapped potential savings we could be realizing if the curbside recycling program was currently in effect city wide.” continues Amirian. As an added component to this study, Amirian also wants concerned citizens to become aware of their trash production. He asks, “Can the weekly weight of household trash be brought down to 30 pounds?”

According to Amirian, all one needs to participate is some type of scale and a 2 week commitment to see the experiment through. Interested citizens are asked to separate recyclables from trash for a 2 week period and then weigh both parts prior to trash and recycling pickup or drop-off at the DPW yard. Amirian says he will be collecting the data at his website www.SvenAmirian.com and that he will also be accepting phone calls and mail submission as well.

For those truly dedicated to the study, Amirian has suggested an extra credit component.  “I believe that there is an incredible opportunity for savings in diverting compostable materials as well. Not only would there be reduction in trash disposal costs but there is also the potential for a marketable or at least very useful product in the form of nutrient rich compost. So, for those hard-core recyclers out there, I’d like you to separate and weigh all your compostable food waste as well!”

To participate in the study or for more information, just go to www.SvenAmirian.com/Recycle, call Sven at 978-769-3781 or send inquiries to Sven Amirian, 45 Talmouth Ave, Haverhill, MA 01830.

Amirian will be posting all data on his website and will be sharing any information gathered with the City of Haverhill, Team Haverhill Recycling Committee, and all interested parties.

Letter to the Editor, The Haverhill Gazette

These are extremely challenging times for our country, our state and for the City of Haverhill. Every day we read the newspapers, there are more stories of layoffs, cuts in state aid and federal stimulus money that may or may not arrive. Here in Haverhill, the flagship school of our education system is nearing completion of its $29 million renovation. However, Mayor Fiorentini has ordered a halt to the completion of the project while awaiting word on whether or not federal stimulus money can be used for the City of Haverhill’s share ($1.8M). While it was prudent to explore this option, the reality is that Haverhill needs to finish the renovations whether or not we can use the federal funds.

Our state legislators, led by State Representative Brian Dempsey, were able to secure $3.6M towards these necessary improvements. With the state’s current financial woes, this offer to pay 67% of the bill will not happen again any time soon. Early indications from Massachusetts “stimulus czar” Jeffrey Simon, are that using the federal funds will not be a reality. Despite Haverhill’s own financial troubles, the education of Haverhill’s students is too important to leave the renovation incomplete. Included in the remaining $5.4M of work to be done is completion of the interior electrical wiring, construction of an emergency perimeter road, resurfacing of roads and parking areas, and a reworking of the existing traffic pattern.

Haverhill High School has taken several steps to improve its image and its reputation. The Classical Academy is helping the high school retain Haverhill’s best and brightest students, who might otherwise attend area private schools or opt for school choice outside the district. The International Baccalaureate program is another great example of fairly unique offerings that help separate HHS from other area high schools. The relationship between Haverhill High and Northern Essex Community College allows high school students to earn college credits while still in high school is a wonderful opportunity for our students.

Haverhill needs to invest the $1.8 million to realize a $5.4 million completion to this project. As the school year winds down we need to seize the opportunity and restart work on the renovations immediately. Completion while school is out of session will insure that learning is not interrupted and students are not displaced by the construction process. This will also help to insulate against construction cost overruns due to scheduling conflicts and delays while contractors try to get their work completed around the students.

Let’s give our high school students the best chance at success and deliver a fully completed facility for the 2009-2010 school year.

Sven Amirian