Area mayors share concerns with Lt. Gov. Murray

LYNN – Massachusetts officials led by Lt. Gov. Tim Murray visited Lynn Thursday to offer advice and assistance to local government leaders on how to economize and effectively take advantage of state programs designed to ease budgetary strains.”We are looking for efficiencies and new ways of conducting business,” Murray told the audience at City Hall, which included Mayor Edward J. Clancy Jr. and key department heads, Peabody Mayor Michael Bonfanti and Chelsea City Manager Jay Ash. “There are new urgencies and we are pushing legislation that will help our cities and towns.”The municipal cabinet meeting was meant to open the lines of communication between local governments and the various state agencies represented, particularly the Division of Capital Asset Management, the Department of Revenue (DOR), the Group Insurance Commission, the Civil Service Commission, Operational Services Commission, Human Resources Division and the Green Communities Program.Ellen Bickelman, director of the Operational Services Commission – essentially the state’s central procurement office – told the municipal leaders she can provide deep discounts on school and art supplies, bottled water, milk and dairy products, temporary help, moving services and furniture for offices, libraries and schools.”We give away surplus state property, everything from office cubicles to tugboats,” she said, noting that the state’s Compass system allows communities to request items or price quotes electronically. “People can go to our Web site and actually see what’s available.”Bickelman said the state is mulling a plan to create an online message board where communities could post legal notices and other important documents rather than publish them in newspapers or other venues. Doing so would save cities and towns in Massachusetts about $250,000 annually, she said.Robert Nunes, DOR deputy commissioner, said some communities are benefiting from the levying of the state’s optional meals and room taxes. Massachusetts has 30,000 restaurants, he said, noting that of the state’s 351 towns and cities, 33 have adopted a meals tax and about 30 have a room tax.Those taxes are collected by the state and returned to the respective city or town, said Nunes, clarifying that the funds are not included in the annual local aid or “cheery sheet” payments to each community.According to Nunes, the taxing of telephone switching equipment could soon become a source of revenue for the state, presuming the proposed legislation becomes law.Nunes also emphasized that many communities are exploring the potential economic benefits or pitfalls of regionalization, albeit it through merging police, fire or public works departments, or sharing public health services. He cited Melrose and Wakefield as an example of communities with a shared health facility.David Perini, commissioner of the Division of Capital Asset Management, said the state is interested in helping communities plan and build energy-efficient structures or other projects, including wind turbines, photo-voltaic and geo-thermal ventures.”We build buildings, not highways – courthouses, hospitals, education facilities and prisons,” he said, explaining the division’s involvement in the sprawling courthouse complex under construction in Salem, as well as the campus library at Salem State College.Perini’s division also oversees the leasing for state offices.Joanne Bissetta, northeast regional coordinator for the Green Communities Programs, works with 85 towns and cities, helping them with environmentally-friendly initiatives. To receive state funding, these communities must satisfy five criteria, she said, explaining that one goal is to reduce energy consumption by 20 percent within five years. Others are to switch to energy-efficient vehicles and construct so-called green buildings.Dolores Mitchell from the state’s Group Insurance Commission, Paul Dietl from the Human Resources Division, and Chris Bowman from the Civil Service Commission, w