Position on the key social service issue:

The questions we all must address are:

●          Has Framingham lived up to its reputation as the “community with a heart"?

●          How can Framingham become a stakeholder in its own future and address the

issue of being an unfunded regional center for State services?

I am proud to be a resident of Framingham.  Our community has long recognized the need to provide services to others. The community and residents have acted on that belief with their hearts, time and pocketbooks.  The proof can be found in the multitude of services we provide in neighborhoods all over town.

As clerk of the PILOT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) Study Committee, I was responsible for the data collection and analysis of our committee and communications with Town Departments, Social Service Agencies, State Agencies and the 25 comparative communities involved in our work.   In addition, I was the author of the PILOT report.

The PILOT report shows that Framingham’s interests have not been represented in the state social service delivery system for the 15- year period that we studied. Framingham government has not been a stakeholder in the delivery system.   This has led to the development of a large and unregulated social service industry based in Framingham that primarily serves the needs of the state and other communities, making Framingham the unfunded regional center for State services.

Going forward, our officials need to continue efforts to gain oversight over services in Framingham. Our community should have an active hand in assessing our needs, and we should have a say in addressing those needs.   Worcester and Hyannis are already doing this, and we can, too.   It has been my position that the government of Framingham needs to become engaged in the state social service process – to become a stakeholder in this system. 

The PILOT report, which was offered and accepted by Town Meeting and the Board of Selectman, included several recommendations to start this process. The Board adopted these recommendations and has been actively pursuing them over the past 18 months, making significant headway.

These accomplishments include:

• Hiring a Human Service Coordinator to oversee Social Services in Framingham and represent the interests of Framingham residents in this process
• Focusing on development of social policy: Review our local bylaws and strengthen them where appropriate, applying these to all Framingham residents
• Building  relationships and working with State and Federal legislators to address the inequities of this system and other grant funding
• Building  relationships and working with the State agencies involved in the funding and delivery of social services
• Building relationships with the social service agencies in Framingham
• Collaborating with other host communities and their officials to address  the state delivery process with a focus on siting of services, advance notification and reimbursement through the Cherry Sheet
• Working with the Massachusetts Municipal Association (MMA), their liaison to the legislature and the organization of Human Service Coordinators (LOHSC) which includes over 50 communities, to address these issues together
• Developing a PILOT Program for all charitable organizations
• Being actively involved in statewide and regional plans to address social service issues,–such as the state plan to address homelessness as reported in the 2007 report by the Commission to End Homelessness

Together these steps are addressing the fundamental changes recommended by the PILOT report to enable us to determine what we want Framingham to be.  By becoming a stakeholder in the process we can bring this vision to fruition.   I have been integral to this change, and I have made a difference.  As Selectman, I will contribute my experience, skills and understanding of this issue and build upon the relationships I have already created with our town officials, state agencies, social service agencies and other community officials.  I can continue to make a difference.