Posted by Ed on March 30, 2007, 1:35 pm Capobianco seeks to earn money with composting Correnti: 'I'm not afraid to ask tough questions'
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I will be posting the views from two candidates running for selectmen at a time from the Sun article. If you do have any questions you wish to submit but do not wish to post them you can send them to my individual mail on this site. Many of the issues we have been discussing and others will be vital to the future of Billerica and need to be asked before the election. Choosing the right elected officials to represent all of us at this time is more crucial at this point of Billerica’s History than in recent years. I will post the candidates in alphabetical order.
The Lowell Sun
Article Last Updated: 03/28/2007 12:04:43 PM EDT
BILLERICA -- Rome Capobianco said he is tired of watching the town pay to dispose of a potential revenue source. He is talking about leaves and dirt.
"The town of Lexington turned back a quarter of a million dollars to the town by selling its composted leaves and wood chips, and we are paying to have this stuff trucked away," he said.
Capobianco, known around town for the juicy, homegrown tomatoes he sells in front of his Andover Street home in the summer, says all the town needs to do to tap into this cash cow is pick out a piece of land and use a front loader or back hoe to turn the leaves over as they break down.
"The town has an excellent group of machine operators," he added.
A 17-year Town Meeting representative, Capobianco submitted an article at last spring's Town Meeting to set up a compost study committee.
"It is a year later and the town manager hasn't done anything, that is why I am running," he said. "If I get in, I will get this going myself."
"A composting facility eliminates the cost of
getting rid of leaves, brush, wood chips and fill while giving residents access to wood chips, top soil and fire wood," he added.
Capobianco champions both the sale of compost to lower the residential tax burden, and the re-use or sale of sand used to coat the roads in the winter. He also wants to boost efficiency by building windmills to generate low-cost electricity.
"I will fight to lower taxes by analyzing all expenditures and municipal operations to eliminate wasteful spending," he vowed.
The Lowell Sun
Article: 03/28/2007
BILLERICA -- If you are interested in maintaining the status quo, Bob Correnti says he is "not your guy."
The former selectman admits that watching town government from the audience for the past two years has been "frustrating."
"There needs to be stronger direction from a policy point of view, more accountability, more dialogue," he said. "I am not afraid to ask tough questions."
He said he would like to see better long-term planning, including a capital improvement plan that projects the town's needs by five, 10 or even 15 years, which can be updated each year.
"This town manager has been here for 18 months and we are just now seeing a capital plan," he said. "It is required by our charter and we need it done every year, as a planning tool."
Correnti said he is proud of his stance on Town Meeting floor in the fall of 2005 when the majority of town officials were supporting the establishment of a water enterprise fund, a system by which all costs to operate and provide water are identified and rates are then set to cover those costs.
He made a motion to establish a study committee, a move to prevent the town from jumping into something new with its eyes closed. His motion passed and a study committee was formed.
"How could we approve a fund without all of the facts, impact on water rates or the costs?" he asked.
With demands on the budget increasing, Correnti calls for the town to remain within the limitations of Proposition 2 1/2 through fiscal efficiencies and continued economic development programs, such tax incentives and bold marketing campaigns aimed the business community.
"The success in our meeting this challenge is measured by new growth tax revenue -- revenue that lessens the reliance on residential property taxes," he said.
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