Town of Carver cuts Town Planner salary to fund fire fighter raises, rejects MBTA zoning
"This is not what my parents lived for, for this Town, thank you"
In a double rebuke against the permanent bureaucracy the Town of Carver voted Tuesday night to divert $9200 from the Town Planner’s salary to pay for fire fighter cost of living raises while also defeating a “multi-family overlay district” conceived to comply with the pro-suburban sprawl legislation commonly known as the MBTA Communities Act.
“I’m clearly making a point here,” said Dan Forand sporting a bright red “Charlie” t-shirt, as he explained the justification for cutting the Town Planner’s salary in direct connection with the Town Planner’s performance on the MBTA overlay district.
Statewide the MBTA Communities Act has drawn opposition especially from suburban and rural towns. The state Attorney General sued the Town of Milton for compliance. Gubernatorial candidate Mike Kennealy has received criticism for his role in the birth of the Act during the Baker administration.
“There is a disconnect when the Planning Board gives direction to the Planner and the Planner gives direction to the person he recommended to hire, an absolute complete failure, from what the Planning Board has asked for and what makes it to that person and back to the Planner,” Forand explained.
The motion passed to cut the Planners pay to fund the fire fighter raises 221 to 172, while the Town Planner Tom Bolt was said to be present in the hall.
Later the special town meeting defeated a motion that had been the partial work product of Mr. Bolt, the multi-family overlay district to comply with the MBTA Communities Act.
“If the Planning Board wants to come back to you with the proper plans and not working with this Town Planner, that is another story,” said a woman speaking in opposition to the overlay district, “This is not what my parents lived for, for this Town, thank you.”
Full meeting:
Bravo to the Town of Carver citizens who stood up to governmental overreach. There is no need for multi-family housing - especially for towns without MBTA stations or transit system. Massachusetts is actually losing population, when illegal immigration is taken out of the equation, as more people are migrating out of the state.