2010 Ad-Hoc Committee: What It Was and What It Wasn't

In early 2010, the Amesbury Municipal Council established a temporary 'ad-hoc' committee of nine Amesbury residents for the purpose of "discussing among themselves, and providing the opportunity for other residents of Amesbury to communicate information and ideas relative to the manner in which excellent municipal services could best be provided in a cost-effective manner at an expense level affordable to the residents of Amesbury...and to issue a report to the Municipal Council as soon as possible prior to April 1, 2010."

I chaired the Committee. Information produced by the Committee can be found here:

https://sites.google.com/site/2010amesburyadvisorygroup/

The Committee did a lot of work in that short period and everyone involved pitched in.  It was a great example of engaged residents citizens responding to a specific and limited task.  

Our report still gets mentioned and I am asked about it, so here's my point of view.

We focused on the question of 'affordability.'  We quickly settled on a basic method: we looked at data from the MA Department of Revenue for twelve communities - the next six larger in population from Amesbury, and the next six smaller.  

While this was one way to look at it, it is a flat view of a very complex picture. Making apt comparisons among disparate communities is challenging.  Comparing communities based solely on population is a bit like comparing houses solely on the basis of square footage.  Is it near the ocean?  Does it have a failing septic system? Or does it have a pool?  Is it 150 years old or brand new? Is it in a safe neighborhood, etc.  You get the point.  There is no such thing as a generic 1,500 sq/ft house and there is no such thing as a generic town with generic needs.  Our comparative data was helpful, but limited in what it can reveal.

We came to a handful of conclusions, which can be read in the report.  And while it was a great exercise, it was limited in scope and I do not agree with some of the broad assertions some are making about its results. 

At least one of the recommendations has been implemented (regionalizing emergency dispatch) and two more, I am particularly interested in pursuing, if elected: exploring with the School Committee more cost-effective ways of providing services to special needs students in our schools and re-invigorating the Master Plan committee (if not updating the Plan itself).  I will be posting more about those issues in the future.