Finance Committee expresses concern over use
of L-S building "contingency funds"
In an e-mail sent from the Lincoln Finance Committee to
members of the Lincoln-Sudbury School Committee and L-S School
Building Committee, Lincoln's fincom wrote that it is "very concerned
about the adequacy of the bidding contingency, and about the financial
feasibility of this project as budgeted."
Lincoln voters will be asked at the November 3rd Special Town Meeting,
and again at the ballot box on Monday, November 5, to approve a
warrant article authorizing the spending of $73.9 million for the
construction of a new regional high school. In expressing its
concern, the Lincoln fincom asked the L-S committees to reaffirm their
commitment to agreed-upon spending limits and to provide timely update
reports on the use of any contingency funds.
CLICK HERE
to read the Lincoln Finance Committee's e-mail to the L-S committees.
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Finance Committee votes to support K-8 schools' override request
By a vote of 6-1, members of the Lincoln Finance Committee
voted at the tail end of their meeting last night (10/23) to endorse
the Lincoln School Committee's $283,000 override request at the
upcoming November Special Town Meeting. The dissenting
vote belonged to Paul Giese, who said he felt the
school committee could be doing more to take into consideration the
town's current budget situation.
CLICK HERE
to read the school committee's response to the finance committee's '3
Questions,' (see story below)
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School Committee reaches tentative consensus on '03 budget projection
One of the key questions the finance committee has asked the school
committee, in trying to decide whether to support the schools'
$283,000 override request, is: "How much more money than you projected
at last March's Town Meeting will you be asking for at next March's
Town Meeting?" The answer: another $300,000.
In March, 2001, the town appropriated $6.5 million and the school
administration projected, at that time, that it would need 4% more in
fiscal year '03, or roughly $6.77 million. After preliminary
review of its budget needs for next year, the school committee reached
tentative agreement at its meeting last night (10/18) to increase that
projection by $300,00, or roughly another 4%. This would
increase next year's budget request to the town to roughly $7.07
million, an overall 8% increase. Superintendent Mark McQuillan
called this projection "a realistic look at what needs to be done next
year."
Answering the rumors...
The Lincoln Independent
has received numerous inquiries, all asking a similar question: Has
Lincoln K-8 school superintendent Mark McQuillan received any sort of
"bonus" or a "severance package"? The answer is no, according to
McQuillan, and confirmed by school committee chairperson, Anne Doyle.
Rumors have been floating rampantly around town for more than a month
that the school committee granted McQuillan either a bonus for all the
effort he has put into solving the budget mess, or a severance package
to compensate him for his early departure. Neither rumor
is true. McQuillan, who recently bought a house and moved to
Lincoln, has received no bonus, no severance package, and no raise for
this year.
Another rumor floating around town is: Did the former business
manager, James Grimes, receive a severance package when he was fired
last June? The Lincoln Independent
can confirm, based upon information from impeccable sources, that the
answer to that one is yes. Apparently, there was some sort of
legal agreement reached between Grimes' legal representation and the
school committee, which included a severance payment to Grimes. The
terms of that agreement were not revealed at this time.
Fincom asks school committee to answer three questions; says its
override support "may hinge on your answers"
After long discussion at its meeting last week (10/9), the
finance committee sent the school committee an e-mail with three
questions which it still needed the answers to. In forwarding
the query, fincom liaison to the school committee, John Robinson,
notified the school committee that "the finance committee's support of
your November override may hinge on your answers to these questions."
Click on the image below to read Fincom's '3
Questions':
Lincoln League of Women Voters ask school committee to answer its
questions
The Lincoln LOWV also has some questions for the
school committee. It plans to publish the school
committee's responses in the October 25th edition of the Lincoln
Journal.
Click on the images below to read the League's
questions:
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Fincom chairperson miffed at publication of document by Lincoln
Independent
Some committees just don't like it
when their internal documents become public. In this e-mail exchange
with Town Administrator, Tim Higgins, finance committee chairperson,
Mary Cancian, bemoans the publication (on this website) of a fincom
document (see story below),
and seeks clarification of the Open Meeting Law. Why?
Apparently, so that she can keep fincom documents from interested town
residents in the future.
Fincom memo: 'we need answers from
school committee before supporting override'
An unusually frank draft memo, circulated among
Finance Committee members, outlines many of the issues the fincom is
weighing as it decides whether to support the K-8 public schools'
$283,000 override request, scheduled to be voted upon at the November
3 Special Town Meeting.
The memo asks some tough questions (for example: "why does the town of
Harvard, with a similar population and numbers of students, and the
highest MCAS scores in the state, spend 50% less per student" than
Lincoln?) and calls for the establishment of a "blue ribbon panel" to
"examine the best long term plan for Lincoln's K-8 education program."
Issues to be examined by that panel could include "class size,
comparative salary level, appropriate level of overhead and
administration, full day kindergarden [sic], etc."
According to fincom chairperson Mary Cancian, the finance committee
has asked the school committee for two things: a list of proposed cuts
if the override fails and a projected budget figure for its '03
budget. The finance committee has yet to receive a response to
either request.
Click on the images below to review the finance
committee's document:
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MMA report: Lincoln has state's 2nd highest tax
bills
According to documents from the Massachusetts Municipal
Association, an organization representing municipalities in the
commonwealth of Massachusetts, Lincoln has the second highest average
tax bill and has the highest average tax bill as a percentage of
median family income.
Click on the images below to review Lincoln's
standing on the lists of Massachusetts towns:
Shuttle America becoming part of US Air; adds Hanscom
flights
Click here to read the
latest AP news
Selectmen approve traffic calming measures
The selectmen voted unanimously at their meeting Monday
night (10/2) to place a speed table on Bedford Road, in front of Bemis
Hall, and to add a stop sign on the northbound side of Lincoln Road at
the Weston Road intersection. The stop sign will create,
in effect, a five-way stop, requiring all traffic entering the
intersection where Weston, Lincoln, Trapelo, Bedford and Sandy Pond
Roads meet to come to a stop first. The selectmen emphasized that
these measures are being taken on a trial basis and will be reviewed
in a few months.
The speed table between the First Parish Church parking area and Bemis
Hall will be large enough to accomodate an entire car and will be
thick enough to encourage traffic to slow to the speed limit in order
to go over it. Additional speed tables along Lincoln Road at
Todd Pond Road, St. Joseph's Church, the Old Town Hall Exchange and on
Bedford Road in North Lincoln were not approved at this time. A
four-way stop sign at the Codman Road/ Lincoln Road intersection was
also not approved.
School committee approves $283,000 override request; selectmen
sign warrant for STM
School committee members met with representatives from the
finance committee and board of selectmen this morning (9/29) to hammer
out a final figure to request at the November 3 Special Town Meeting.
They reached agreement on $283,000. This amount reflects the
projected operating budget deficit of $450,000 for FY02, minus unused
warrant articles that the school committee has voted to
relinquish.School committee members met with representatives from the
finance committee and board of selectmen this morning (9/29) to hammer
out a final figure to request at the November 3 Special Town Meeting.
They reached agreement on $283,000. This amount reflects the
projected operating budget deficit of $450,000 for FY02, minus unused
warrant articles that the school committee has voted to
relinquish.School committee members met with representatives from the
finance committee and board of selectmen this morning (9/29) to hammer
out a final figure to request at the November 3 Special Town Meeting.
They reached agreement on $283,000. This amount reflects the
projected operating budget deficit of $450,000 for FY02, minus unused
warrant articles that the school committee has voted to relinquish.
Long-time school crossing guard replaced; lauded for his service to
the town
For 28 years, Joe Cotoni, Sr., been a school crossing guard and
fixture at the crosswalk on Lincoln Road, in front of the Old Town
Hall building. But now he's being replaced, as part of a police
effort to step up enforcement.
Read more about it in the police chief's letter to the
selectmen:
 
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Lincoln's sister towns express condolences for
terrorist attacks
Representatives from Lincoln, England, Matadepera, Spain and the
Lincoln Cathedral wrote letters expressing sorrow and outrage over the
recent Pentagon and World Trade Center attacks.
Click on the images below to read the letters:
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