My
Vision for Attleboro
I am extremely proud of the accomplishments and direction of the City since I took office in 2004. In fact, Attleboro has now been recognized as one of the best places to live and raise children in the Commonwealth. My vision is to continue making Attleboro one of the best places for you to live, work, and raise your family. I believe that my approach to core elements of government such as, fiscal stability, schools, public safety and quality of life services, have all contributed to the City’s success.
Fiscal Stability As
Mayor, I have a proven record of financial stability that has
allowed Attleboro to successfully weather the worst economic
recession since the 1930’s. My vision here is very simple. The
City needed to increase its cash reserves and decrease its debt.
Through careful management of City funds under my
administration, Attleboro now has over $2.4 million dollars in
its Stabilization (Rainy Day) Fund, the most in the City’s
history. In addition, since taking office in 2004, my
administration has lowered our General Government Debt payments
by over $1.1 million dollars. I continue to feel strongly that
government needs to live within its means. In fact, my fiscal
management has been recognized and applauded by the agency that
rates our bonds. In my next term, I will continue to be prudent
with taxpayers’ funds and make sure that Attleboro remains
financially stable during these difficult economic times.
Schools I continue to believe that schools remain a cornerstone to every successful community. In Attleboro, we have made great strides district-wide in our school system and I remain committed to working closely with Dr. Durkin to continue this progress. Under her leadership, Attleboro High School has received its full accreditation and recognized a significant increase in the number of students participating in the advanced placement courses. At the same time, I strongly believe in maintaining and improving our school buildings so that your children have a safe and productive learning environment. By utilizing the Massachusetts School Building Authority grant program over the last two years, my administration has been able to secure over $4 million dollars in school facility repairs and improvements.
Public Safety
When I first took office in 2004, I made a promise to never close a fire station in the City which would have put the public in jeopardy. I have kept that promise and will continue to do so. In fact, I am proud to have expanded paramedic service at the Brander (Briggs) Corner Station for the first time in the City’s history.
In the Police Department, there will be more police officers on the street this year than when I took office in 2004. In addition, we will continue our downtown police patrol, community policing program as well as the DARE program in our schools.
Going forward, I look forward to working with both Chiefs to improving both public safety departments by bringing additional services to you along with improving our fleet of equipment. At a time when many cities and towns are losing police officers and firefighters due to budgetary cuts, Attleboro is not. I am extremely proud of Chief Lachance and Chief Heagney for their progressive vision and their commitment to putting the public’s needs first.
Public Works
As I travel to other communities, I have become keenly aware of how well our City streets are maintained as compared to others. In the winter months, our snow operations are second to none. I remain committed to these services and putting our Chapter 90 roadway funds to good use.
For Attleboro to succeed, we must continue to revitalize our City. In addition to our Streetscape Improvements in the downtown, revitalization also includes our sidewalk rehabilitation program in all areas of the City. We also leverage our Community Development Block Grant toward housing rehabilitation which helps improve housing conditions and neighborhoods.
Quality of Life Services
Not many communities these days have been able sustain services such as public pools, public library, senior center, beautiful park & recreation facilities as well as a nationally recognized zoo. As your Mayor, I will continue to support these quality of life services that make Attleboro so special.
Rates
As your Mayor, I will continue to make every effort to keep your water and wastewater rates as low as possible while providing reliable, high-quality service you expect and deserve. I believe it is sound fiscal practice to constantly monitor Attleboro’s water and wastewater rate structure to ensure that revenues are sufficient to meet costs. I also believe our enterprise facilities should be operated in a businesslike manner, cutting waste and maintaining self-sufficiency. In applying this philosophy, I am proud of the fact that has been NO increase in the sewer rate for 3 fiscal years.
I am also proud of the fact that there has been NO increase in the rubbish rate for 4 fiscal years.
