Senior Center as a Core Service?Title

Every tax is a pay cut. Every tax cut is a pay raise.
Citizens for Limited Taxation

Is a senior center a core service? Friday, October 3, 2003

Rob Haneisen Metrowest Daily News

When budget cuts forced the town to start eliminating positions, the criteria used by Town Manager George King was to eliminate jobs that were not part of the core services to the town.
Some, of course, took exception to be labeled 'non-essential' which if you cut out all the niceties, that's exactly what being cut under these terms means.
I bring this up because the seniors want the town to chip in $1.8 million for a new senior center in the former RCN Building. I won't argue the fact that the Callahan Senior Center is a maze of hallways and rooms in a dilapidated building with minimal parking. It would be great for the seniors to get a new center. But what I'm not sure about is whether a senior center, particularly one for $3 million, is essential to the town during tough fiscal times.
Now before every senior in town starts sending me hate mail let me explain my position, or more accurately, lack thereof.
Many seniors advocating for a new center resort to one central argument, "It's about time the town does something for the seniors." The insinuation is that taxes and increases in school funding are something the seniors look at as a burden and an unfair one at that.
The senior center is a great place where seniors can get information and services, socialize and participate in activities. In some communities, this service is provided solely by churches and non-profit organizations. Why? And why doesn't that happen in Framingham?
The new senior center will cost $3 million to buy. The town has already received some $1.8 million in donations. The extra $600,000 would go toward renovations.
Seniors in town tend to be the most fiscally conservative group so I find it strange that given the tight fiscal times the seniors are not questioning the additional tax burden a new senior center would bring. Is this because their criticism wanes when they are the beneficiaries? I'm not being smarmy here, I think it is a question that deserves some answers: Is the senior center a core service to the town?
What are core services? Well, you would have to include, police, fire, public works (roads, water and sewer), the Board of Health, schools and maybe libraries since everybody uses them. And there are other areas that local governments could not do without such as planning, fiscal management, engineering, parks, tax office, and town clerk's office.
With the exception of schools, seniors use all these services and if they grew up in Framingham or had kids grow up in Framingham, they used schools as well.
At Town Meeting next week, a legislative body made up mostly of seniors, a vote will be taken on purchasing the RCN building. It will likely pass and the cost will be born by taxpayers. There won't be any override because the present line of thought is that funding will be bonded.
If you are of the opinion that a senior center is not a core service than funding for the RCN building purchase should be an override decided by the voters. It's their tax dollars, too.
But if the senior center is a core service, no different than water and sewer service, it should be funded as a capital expenditure, no different than buying a million dollars of pipe.
Senior citizens are valued members of our community and they need services others in town don't. But I'm not sure if the town should pay for this. I do think it's nice of the town to pay for this.
In case you can't tell, I'm not really sure what my position is on this but I'm positive there is an issue here to debate. Please send me a note saying what side you fall on or whether you think this is preposterous to even question. Try to stick to the topic of a senior scenter being a core service since that appears to be the measuring stick of town financing these days.

Is a senior center a core service?	Friday, October 3, 2003
Rob Haneisen	Metrowest Daily News
When budget cuts forced the town to start eliminating positions, the criteria used by Town Manager George King was to eliminate jobs that were not part of the core services to the town. Some, of course, took exception to be labeled 'non-essential' which if you cut out all the niceties, that's exactly what being cut under these terms means. I bring this up because the seniors want the town to chip in $1.8 million for a new senior center in the former RCN Building. I won't argue the fact that the Callahan Senior Center is a maze of hallways and rooms in a dilapidated building with minimal parking. It would be great for the seniors to get a new center. But what I'm not sure about is whether a senior center, particularly one for $3 million, is essential to the town during tough fiscal times. Now before every senior in town starts sending me hate mail let me explain my position, or more accurately, lack thereof. Many seniors advocating for a new center resort to one central argument, "It's about time the town does something for the seniors." The insinuation is that taxes and increases in school funding are something the seniors look at as a burden and an unfair one at that. The senior center is a great place where seniors can get information and services, socialize and participate in activities. In some communities, this service is provided solely by churches and non-profit organizations. Why? And why doesn't that happen in Framingham? The new senior center will cost $3 million to buy. The town has already received some $1.8 million in donations. The extra $600,000 would go toward renovations. Seniors in town tend to be the most fiscally conservative group so I find it strange that given the tight fiscal times the seniors are not questioning the additional tax burden a new senior center would bring. Is this because their criticism wanes when they are the beneficiaries? I'm not being smarmy here, I think it is a question that deserves some answers: Is the senior center a core service to the town? What are core services? Well, you would have to include, police, fire, public works (roads, water and sewer), the Board of Health, schools and maybe libraries since everybody uses them. And there are other areas that local governments could not do without such as planning, fiscal management, engineering, parks, tax office, and town clerk's office. With the exception of schools, seniors use all these services and if they grew up in Framingham or had kids grow up in Framingham, they used schools as well. At Town Meeting next week, a legislative body made up mostly of seniors, a vote will be taken on purchasing the RCN building. It will likely pass and the cost will be born by taxpayers. There won't be any override because the present line of thought is that funding will be bonded. If you are of the opinion that a senior center is not a core service than funding for the RCN building purchase should be an override decided by the voters. It's their tax dollars, too. But if the senior center is a core service, no different than water and sewer service, it should be funded as a capital expenditure, no different than buying a million dollars of pipe. Senior citizens are valued members of our community and they need services others in town don't. But I'm not sure if the town should pay for this. I do think it's nice of the town to pay for this. In case you can't tell, I'm not really sure what my position is on this but I'm positive there is an issue here to debate. Please send me a note saying what side you fall on or whether you think this is preposterous to even question. Try to stick to the topic of a senior scenter being a core service since that appears to be the measuring stick of town financing these days.

Send comments to: hjw2001@gmail.com