2011 Report of BOS

2011 Report of the Board of Selectmen

The Board of Selectmen had a productive and busy year. Joe O’Brien stepped aside at the end of May to cap a six year commitment to the town as a Selectman. Stan Moss commenced his second tour of duty as a selectman in May.   

The town voted through the ballot and at Annual Town Meeting to begin a green repair project on the Thomas Prince Elementary School during the 2011 Annual Town Meeting. The program was offered by the Commonwealth and provided partial reimbursement to the Town for the replacement of boilers, windows and the roof. The Town had been looking at the roof replacement for several years. By all accounts the roof was in serious need of replacement with or without the financial participation from the state. The Commonwealth program administered by the Massachusetts School Building Authority reimbursed Princeton 52.8% of the expenses to replace these systems. The beginning of the project brought to our attention a problem with PCB’s found in window caulking located around windows in the older portion of the building. In response, the EPA was contacted and a portion of the building was closed for nearly a year. TPS students in grades 3, 4 and 5 were relocated to Glenwood Elementary School in Rutland in September while their classrooms were being cleaned and the Green Repair project moved forward. We are grateful to the Town of Rutland for their hospitality in hosting TPS students and the Wachusett Regional School District for their logistical support in this unique challenge. As we move toward the summer months all three projects are reaching a conclusion in addition to the cleanup of the contaminated rooms. We anticipate that the project will be complete and the school will be fully operational as of the start of school in September 2012.  

The budget situation in the Commonwealth has stabilized but many towns, including Princeton have felt the sharp pain of the poor economy. The Selectmen continued to exhibit fiscal constraint in the budgeting process. Revenues for the Town and State continue to be down because of the prolonged fiscal crisis throughout the state and national economies. Municipal budgeting has been somewhat of a challenge because the limited available tax revenues. Department heads should be credited for keeping level budgets despite sharply rising fuel costs. Benefits like health insurance contributions by employees and their coverage have been adjusted to help control these rapidly escalating costs. The expectation is that this type of restraint continues to be necessary for the time being.

A Public Safety Committee had been set up by a prior Board of Selectmen. This committee was charged with several responsibilities relative to public safety. One of their responsibilities is to understand the need for a full time fire chief.  With the growth in the town over the last 20 years coupled with the increase in responsibilities caused by regulations and other issues the committee recommended that the Town consider hiring its first full time fire chief. The selectmen put together a Full Time Fire Chief Screening Committee to look at advertising, screening and recommending finalists for the position to the Selectmen. This committee took their charge seriously and after review of thirty-four resumes from interested parties qualified applicants to the Selectman for further consideration. After a public interview process the Board of Selectmen were proud to have found Mr. David F. Cobb of Princeton, a current firefighter and paramedic for the town. As the result of his experience and vision he was offered the job of Princeton’s first full time Fire Chief. Chief Cobb was appointed on a night that saw many public safety officials from Princeton and surrounding communities in a standing room only ceremony on January 17,2012.  We are proud that Chief Cobb is on board. The selectmen believe that he will be instrumental in professionalizing the Fire Department, Ambulance service and emergency management for the Town of Princeton   

The public safety committee has also been looking at exploring the possible regionalization of dispatch, advanced life support ambulance, and other topics associated with the provision of emergency services in the town. This is a complex area of decision making. We continue to explore opportunities to regionalize dispatch with other communities. The Board of Selectmen also has concluded successful negotiations for a three year contract with the Police and Dispatch unions. As part of the negotiations with the Police Union, Officer Ricky Thebeau was promoted to Sergeant. Officer Thebeau has been with the Princeton Police Department for eighteen years, beginning his service as a part-time dispatcher, working his way through the ranks.  He has been a loyal and valuable member of the team.    

It is not by chance that Princeton’s highways have been well taken care of over the years. Our Road Advisory Committee has made great progress in pursuing state and federal funding to reconstruct roads correctly.  Princeton has been very fortunate to receive a significant amount of federal and state assistance. This year, Princeton was the beneficiary of a $450,000 STRAP grant to reconstruct Mirick Road from Route 31 northeast to Beaman Road.  Additionally, a portion of Worcester Road was repaved and Greene Road is slated to be reconstructed.  We thank the Road Advisory Committee for their continued efforts in the pursuit of funds from grants and other governmental sources.

From a fiscal perspective Princeton remains in reasonably good shape. By the end of fiscal 2011 much of the Town’s debt was repaid. The bond rating for the town continues to be very healthy. While State aid to our community has declined prudent local budgeting has helped the town to maintain the limited number of services provided with no decreases in staff.  As a result of responsible budgeting and a strong bond rating we are able to borrow money at low rates for unexpected expenses such as the PCB clean up at Thomas Prince School. The tax rate and average residential tax bill decreased in fiscal 2011 due to the large final reimbursement for the 1990 Thomas Prince School project. Though those figures increased in fiscal 2012, the fiscal 2012 average residential tax bill is slightly less than that of fiscal 2010. The explanation is that though assessed values continue to decline with the current market conditions so has the amount of money necessary to cover expenses and especially debt. Because of the constrained fiscal environment, Princeton has deferred some items which will necessarily need to be addressed in the coming years.

In closing, the Select Board would like to thank all the department heads and employees who have dedicated themselves to the Town of Princeton. A large part of the Town’s success in keeping budgets reasonable is because our department heads are diligent in seeking efficiencies. Turnover in employees is minimal and most department heads have graduated through the ranks of their department. As a result, our employees are creative and efficient in the way the town is operated. All of our employees have done a great job with limited resources. The Town and Board of Selectmen are fortunate to have Mr. John Lebeaux as the Town Administrator. John has been attentive to details and a strong advocate for the Town.    

We thank all who volunteer and serve on the numerous town committees. Princeton is fortunate to have many volunteers who bring their professional expertise to our committees. Princeton volunteers give our town the flavor and perspective we enjoy and minimize financial demands to the taxpayers for the services they provide.

Respectfully submitted,
Princeton Board of Selectmen
2011