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bbpolitical
Forum Admin
265 Posts |
 Posted - 11/12/2005 : 12:54:04 PM
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Poll Question:
Now that John Hanlon has been elected as Everett's new mayor, he has made a number of election promises. What do you think will be the first that he will deliver on?
1.) He has promised to establish a "fact-finding" team to determine if the construction of the new high school was properly planned and if the current school buildings are being maintained and used properly.
2.) He promised to check the current rising tax bills for Everett homeowners
3.) He promised to establish a permanent street and sidewalk repair program
4.) He has promised to stop outsourcing of jobs to non-city employess that could be done by city workers.
5.) Improve the efficiency in city hall.
Sources: John Hanlon's website http://www.hanlonformayor.com/ and a mailer he sent out to my home. Many/All of these were also in the ads in the Everett Leader-Herald.
(PS: Please add any promises I may have missed or make any comments by replying to this poll)
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| Results: |
| Lay out his Public School Agenda |
 [0%] |
0 votes |
| Lower R.E. assessments |
[0%] |
0 votes |
| Lower the housing tax rate |
[0%] |
0 votes |
| Establish street/sidewalk repair program |
[0%] |
0 votes |
| Re-commission outsourced jobs to city workers |
[27%] |
4 votes |
| Re-configure city hall offices and responsibilities |
[73%] |
11 votes |
| Something else |
[0%] |
0 votes |
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Poll Status:
Locked »» |
Total Votes: 15 counted »» |
Last Vote:
11/17/2005 1:51:40 PM |
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H1ghCh4r1ty
Advanced Member
967 Posts |
Posted - 11/12/2005 : 7:14:55 PM
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It is my understanding that the property evaluations will be 100% this year. This is mandated by the State.
How will Mr. Hanlon lower property taxes? The tax rate is already the lowest in the region.
Perhaps he will take money from the stabilization fund?
That would make him a hero with the general public.
Emile Schoeffhausen |
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bbpolitical
Forum Admin
265 Posts |
Posted - 11/13/2005 : 11:36:31 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by H1ghCh4r1ty
It is my understanding that the property evaluations will be 100% this year. This is mandated by the State.
How will Mr. Hanlon lower property taxes? The tax rate is already the lowest in the region.
Perhaps he will take money from the stabilization fund?
That would make him a hero with the general public.
Emile Schoeffhausen
Yeah, I agree with you on the tax ussue and the evaluation of homes. I guess I don't understand it that well, but Mr. Hanlon came out pretty strong against Mr. Ragucci on the tax front and I'm really curious to see what he will do about it. If you read through the hanlonformayor website, it seems to claim Ragucci succeeded in lowering the tax rate although housing assessmnets went up. So, if the overall assessments when up faster than the tax rates went down, the tax bills would still be higher. This means that Hanlon must intend to cut taxes even more than Ragucci did, unless he knows some magical way to lower the rising RE assessments. Since he also called Ragucci on the stabilization fund and it was a big election issue, all eyes are going to be on how Hanlon manages it himself. If he were to spend a chunk of it to protect our tax bills and fund a tax rate cut, I don't know how well that would go over the long term. It should be interesting to see how it plays out. Hopefully for him, his efficiency measures will save as much money as he is hoping it will and the tax rate can come down without touching the fund. He has a difficult challenge ahead of him.
Michael
I am an average resident of Everett who would like to see more communication about anything and everything to do with Everett |
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H1ghCh4r1ty
Advanced Member
967 Posts |
Posted - 11/13/2005 : 11:50:52 AM
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I like your style, Michael. Your grasp of Everett politics is refreshing.
Emile Schoeffhausen |
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michael
Senior Member
195 Posts |
Posted - 11/13/2005 : 2:02:37 PM
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Hanlon to focus on funds
Mayor-elect calls for audit by state, quarterly tax bills
By Katheleen Conti, Globe Staff | November 13, 2005
Come January, Everett will need a new city clerk.
Everett voters promoted City Clerk John Hanlon last week, electing him mayor in his third attempt at unseating Mayor David Ragucci.
While Hanlon does not yet know whether he will resign his position before January's swearing-in ceremony to help with the transition, he said he is concentrating on his administration's first order of business -- something he's been preparing for the past four years.
''I'm looking forward to doing the job I wanted to do, making a few changes," Hanlon said the day after he was elected. ''The quarterly tax bill is the first thing I want to work on, giving taxpayers the option of paying quarterly or semiannually."
But before Hanlon, 70, was elevated to the city's top office with just 247 votes separating him and Ragucci, he promised voters he would seek City Council approval to fund a state audit of the city's finances and every department within City Hall.
''Not only do I want to know exactly where I'm starting, but where all the money is, what do we owe," Hanlon said. ''I don't expect the worst, I'm not on a witch hunt. If something pops up, it pops up. David did only selective departments, but I'll do all of them and give the auditor free rein."
A recent state audit of the School Department found about $1.2 million in mismanaged funds, while a separate independent audit led to the termination of a city employee accused of stealing between $25,000 and $50,000 from the Building Department.
Although Ragucci sought resignations from Superintendent Frederick Foresteire and the School Department's maintenance director, the School Committee did not agree with his request.
Fifty-two percent of Everett's registered voters turned out last Tuesday, giving Hanlon 51 percent of the vote to Ragucci's 48 percent. Hanlon received 4,867 votes, while Ragucci got 4,620. In his first attempt at mayor four years ago, Hanlon lost to Ragucci by 481 votes, but narrowed the margin to 305 two years later.
''The last two times I ran, I was hoping [to win]," Hanlon said. ''But this time, I knew."
Hanlon won 10 precincts, lost seven, and tied one.
Ragucci said he chose to focus his reelection campaign on his accomplishments as a four-term mayor, and his positive campaigning may have hurt him.
''I really didn't press [the School Department audit]. My administration has always run a positive campaign and stuck to the issues that were important to the people," Ragucci said.
Ward 3 Alderman Michael K. Marchese, who threw his hat into the mayoral ring this year, but lost in September's preliminary with 731 votes, also backed Hanlon's campaign. Ragucci, who had Marchese's support during his first term as mayor eight years ago, said Hanlon benefited from the alderman's backing this time around.
But Ragucci acknowledged that voters were probably most unhappy with their tax bills, as residential property valuations continue to increase.
''I think the taxes is a thing that really swayed the decision in this election," said Ragucci, who is confident he will leave the city ''in great shape," with about $14.5 million in the stabilization fund, as well as the construction of a new high school, soon to get underway. Ragucci said he has no immediate plans for the future, other than staying in Everett and updating his resume. He has not ruled out another run at politics.
Marchese said he is proud of Hanlon and hopes to help him during the transition process. In the meantime, Marchese said he plans on asking the Board of Aldermen at tomorrow night's meeting to approve money to fund Hanlon's planned audit, as well as asking the state to ''come in and do it immediately."
''The biggest problem we have is that money is spent and we don't know where that's going," said Marchese, who did not seek reelection for his ward seat, and said he hopes to be part of the Hanlon administration. ''We just want to find out where the bills are, this out-of-control spending, and lawsuits that haven't been settled."
Hanlon said he couldn't pinpoint one thing that finally got him out of the loss column, simply saying, ''I made it. I'm happy."
Katheleen Conti can be reached at kconti@globe.com
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H1ghCh4r1ty
Advanced Member
967 Posts |
Posted - 11/13/2005 : 2:31:58 PM
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Marchese will be the next city clerk. He will need a job.
John needs to start paying back his supporters. And Marchese helped a great deal. He split the votes so Hanlon could win.
Big payback time.
His brother Joe may actually be considered for the city solicitor psition. Or maybe bring back former solicitor John Kryzovik.
Emile Schoeffhausen |
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WICKED PISSA
Senior Member
115 Posts |
Posted - 11/13/2005 : 2:36:26 PM
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| I don't know if mike would be qualified for or would want it. Remember the clerk would need to be at the office more then michael is used to doing. i see him taking ralphies job. ore his style - besides he always made such a stink about the condition of the city and how filthy it was / is. |
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H1ghCh4r1ty
Advanced Member
967 Posts |
Posted - 11/13/2005 : 3:03:14 PM
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Good point, well taken. Now he can clean up this city.
Emile Schoeffhausen |
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Topic |
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What will John Hanlon's First act as Mayor Be?
