Questions & Answers - CJ Ferry

Question 1

Anonymous said...

I want to know where they stand on state aided public housing. What do they think of the current demolition plans for Watuppa Heights? In addition, Fall River has a disproportionate amount of public housing with more public housing than Boston when Section 8 is considered. The state has notoriously underfunded repairs for their sites, although Pleasant View has recently been renovated. Where do you see Maple Gardens and Corky Row in the future?

Federal and State subsidized housing here in Fall River is disproportionately high compared to other cities and towns within the Commonwealth. This has created a problem for Fall River in that due to this high amount of housing, Fall River becomes the magnet to many people looking for low cost or subsidized housing. Currently there are over 20,000 applications pending for assisted housing in Fall River. Approximately 10% of the applications are from Fall River residents.

Fall River for many years was the dumping ground for other parts of the State. I proved last year and several years prior that if you applied or requested to apply for housing in any other part of the State and let them know, up front, that you were a convicted drug dealer or sex offender they would say they could not help you. They then said that you should apply to Fall River as they do not do criminal background checks. Now supposedly the Fall River Housing Authority does these checks, but they also want to keep every unit filled.

I visited several of the Fall River Housing Authority’s properties at the invitation of the residents and I found in some cases deplorable living conditions. Windows that were unable to be opened, barely secured to the walls; doors and locks that did not work, plumbing that did not work properly or fixtures that were falling off the walls and floors. This is where your tax dollars go.

The Fall River Housing Authority receives money from the federal government for operation of their own police department. Instead, they provide that money to the city general fund so that the Fall River Police Department can provide those services. Instead of having full-time police officers at the housing projects we have vacant police sub-stations. Again money where no accounting is being made, money considered well spent.

The city fought for a home rule petition to demolish the Watuppa Heights Housing Project; that petition was granted. Yet we have not seen anything happen. They fought for the right to destroy this project, yet they expect someone else to pay for it. The original plan was to call for affordable single family homes for city residents and cleaning up that area to make a beautiful waterside development. Guess what - now the city wants to change it again.

I firmly believe that with the increasing rents throughout the city, due to the increased fees that Mayor Correia assesses, the increasing insurance rates on properties due to recent losses because of hurricanes and the increased costs to maintain a property, affordable housing must be maintained and provided but not to the extent that the Fall River Housing Authority wants to propose and maintain.

As a city, we must moderate the availability of public housing and subsidies to take care of our own and not be providing for the entire state and more especially the entire country. The stories of the Fall River Housing Authority advertising for tenants along the NJ turnpike are not exaggerated. We need to stop being the give away state and the give away city.

With the economy the way it is and with the alleged history of both the state and federal government not funding repairs and maintenance Corky Row housing and Maple Gardens will continue to deteriorate. I recently saw a couple of units at Maple Gardens and believe me; I think the roaches their have a great home, but I would not want to live there.

Much of the damage and destruction at Fall River Housing properties may be caused by tenants, but from what I have seen a lot of it is just negligence and disrepair. It is time to downsize the Fall River Housing Authority and be sure that the housing we provide as a city is clean, well maintained and cost effective. We do not need to provide housing for the entre country, just for the people of Fall River.

Question 2

Anonymous said...

What do the candidates think of resort casinos and economic growth in Massachusetts?

I believe that as usual, Massachusetts missed the boat. Seems we are always waiting at the bus terminal when the ships come in.

Casinos will not fix all the problems that Massachusetts has with its current economic situation. With the recent lay offs by Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, the current economy would not be beneficial to resort casinos.

I do believe that casinos benefit many industries and create many jobs for communities located around where they are located. Casinos use dealers, wait staff, accountants, food service, bakers, linen companies, and laundries and so on. The location of a resort casino in Middleboro or New Bedford or even Fall River would not solve every financial problem we have but I am sure they would make them that much easier.

Currently Massachusetts residents spend million and millions of dollars in Rhode Island at the VST and in Connecticut at Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun. As with every industry today, there are substantial down turns and this is why I said we missed the boat.

Today is not a time to start a new casino and I seriously doubt any developer would consider today is the day, but I do believe we need to act on this now so as the economy turns around and companies want to open a casino in Massachusetts we will be ready to assist our communities grow and become prosperous.

Question 3

Anonymous said...

State funding seems to go to other communities

What SPECIFICALLY will you as a candidate do to ensure funds for Fall River ?

New businesses in Fall River now receive tax incentives but only hire 3-10 people and not fall river residents. How will you ensure jobs in Fall River in larger numbers and better pay rates for Fall River residents?

How will you promote economic development for Fall River??

How will you?

Erin B

Fall River as well as all other cities and towns receive their state aid based upon a specific formula, set forth in the Massachusetts General Laws. After some discussion with the Governor’s office and the Office of Administrative finance, I find that there is input as well from the legislative delegations.

Chapter 70 dictates State Aid for Education to cities and towns. The intent of Chapter 70 is to provide equitable, fair and adequate minimum funding per student, subject to appropriations. Every city and town is striving to get every state and federal dollar that they can squeeze out of the administrations and who can blame them? Fall River needs a big mouth to get thing done. If the administration does not listen and it can be shown that Fall River is being treated unfairly or with equity then that needs to be brought to the people and the press.

Fall River’s interest will be aggressively represented at all levels of state government and the Fall River economy will always be first and foremost on my agenda. Currently and historically the state legislative delegation has not adequately represented the needs, nor the wants of the people and community of Fall River.

As the Representative, my web site, my office and the local media will be kept in touch with the happenings on Beacon Hill. I will be sure that everyone knows who gets more and why, who gets less and why and who failed to do their job. Fall River needs accountable representation and I will be it.

As for economic development, our Office of Economic Development in Fall River is a huge overpaid joke. A TIF, which is controlled by the City Council and the Mayor, is given to any business that locates in Fall River and contributes liberally to the campaign coffers of those individuals. A TIF should be treated as a gem and only offered when a business creates a large economic impact on Fall River. Saying I will create 20 jobs and when I open my doors, 14 of those jobs come from my previous location in another state is not creating 20 jobs, it is creating 6. A TIF should be given only when the economic impact on the city as a whole offsets the tax incentives that the business is receiving.

Question 4

Lefty asks...

What do you feel is the biggest challenge facing our city and our region is? If elected, what is your plan to address that challenge?

Fall River and the entire Southeastern Massachusetts region face many challenges. Some of those challenges include perception of the region, educational systems failing, failing of our infrastructures and more importantly the inadequately trained workforce.

The United States and more especially Fall River is no longer a manufacturing country or area. We had the best seamstresses and textile manufacturing employees in the world at one time. We have witnessed recently the effect that employees who are not trained for other industries experience. The programs that the state funds are not well paying careers, they are basic entry level and in most cases minimum wage jobs that our citizens can not survive on. Paying $6,000 for an out of work Quaker Fabric employee to be trained as a file clerk is ridiculous. Some of the programs that train nurse’s aides and phlebotomy and medical billing are starting to flood the market with these people and they will see lower pay scales, fewer vacancies and a more difficult time to find employment.

We need to be sure that our students are well educated, not just teach the test like we currently do, which is obviously a failure especially here in Fall River. Fall River has all these great plans for R&D parks and projects, yet when I speak to major companies across the country and especially her in Massachusetts regarding R&D they all have the same concerns; the poorly educated populaces in the Commonwealth.

We need to require that any training program offered to unemployed workers be cost effective, productive and relevant to the employment needs of the region and the Commonwealth. We need more bang for our buck and I will push for accountability for

any provider of educational or training services to our unemployed workers and our students.

I want the best for Fall River, I want the best for our citizens and children and I want to be your bull dog on Beacon Hill.

Bullying Tactics - Sharron Machamer, FREA President

We have a difficult situation to address in the Fall River Public School System. I am in the process of obtaining additional advice from the legal department of the Massachusetts Teachers Association. I have always attempted to be professional and courteous with people who treat me with respect and dignity, but I also do not shy away from telling the truth.

We have another example of the bullying and intimidation tactics used with teachers by some of the principals and administrators who are part of Nick Fischer's, ahem, leadership team. Here are some sketchy details of a situation that occurred on Friday, October 17, 2008 at a middle school in Fall River.

In my estimation, one of our principals violated Mass General Law Chapter 150-E on Friday. The law gives the union president visitation rights. I have the right to enter a school building, the teacher lounge, and common areas. I do not need an appointment in advance. I do not need to state the purpose of my visit or who specifically I am there to see.

It is interesting to note that administration is trying to keep me out during these volatile times. I have always been able to enter without a hassle along with every other past union president of the FREA. In fact, past practice in Fall River has been that the president is even able to go to classrooms if there is a specific purpose and no disruption is created. What is being hidden? Why was I verbally attacked by a principal? I definitely felt physically threatened when my comfort zone was being invaded. Why did the principal feel a need to yell at me and get into my personal space? Why did the superintendent tell the principal that I could not come back into that school until 2:30?

My basic human rights and my rights as the union president have been violated. All teachers, students, and individuals have a right to be treated with dignity and respect. I need to gain access to school buildings. Teachers may need my assistance as the FREA President. Another middle school principal wants to determine who the union representatives will be in her building. Again, this type of interference with union activities is a violation of the law. There are many other examples of the injustices that are happening in some of our schools. If I am at liberty to tell more in the future, I certainly will. Sharron Machamer, FREA President

School Mess - by HoneyBee

How did we get into this mess and does it even matter? So many fingers are being pointed around, but at this point we just need to fix it. On one hand, we have a Superintendent who has not proposed any meaningful cuts to get down to the number that we need to. On the other hand, we have a mayor that maybe out of frustration has proposed cuts that might be politically popular, but seem arbitrary and not entirely what is needed.

It has been the popular notion that administrators need to be cut. And while I agree with Facilities and Operations and many of the suggested cuts from Central Administration (i.e. that crazily overstaffed and overpaid Human Resources Department), I cannot believe that cutting adjustment counselors and leaving no vice-principals at our middle schools makes sense. I also question getting rid of directors of arts and athletics. To me these proposed cuts, are a political move made to appease all the people that have been crying for administrative cuts. Unfortunately, most people do not realize who in included in administration and what an adverse affect some of those cuts will have.

I realize that cuts need to be made, including cutting some important members of administration. One thing Dr. Fischer has done an exemplary job of, is hiring sound Principals. Principal Ralph Olsen from Durfee recommended $450,000 in cuts from Durfee (as asked) and was laughed out of the room (even though it sounded like good choices to me). Every teacher, parent, student and support staff at Durfee I have spoken with thinks he has done a tremendous job. Durfee has not had a more positive attitude in many years. How, in this time of despair, can we not trust his judgment on the best places to make cuts? How in the world can we believe that mayor knows better than him? Or the school committee for that matter? Ralph Olsen says the business department is not working. I believe him. It was not working 20 years ago. Get rid of it! Why would we rather lose VP’s at middle schools (and leave none) than get rid of a failed program?

Furthermore, the four principals had to come up with three tiers of cuts in the spring. At the time, not many cuts were made at that level because the school committee incorrectly thought they had gotten down to the number. Why aren’t they going back to those suggestions? Dr. Fischer should be going back to these proposals and recommending those suggestions that make sense. It would be a much better start then the Mayor being forced to recommend cuts that do not seem to make sense.

Last night’s meeting was a pissing match on how much really needs to be cut. Is it the 3.5M that the mayor and his staff believe or closer to 2M as Kevin Aguiar believes? Shawn Cadime made a motion to suspend the vote until Monday because he and Kevin Aguiar are not comfortable with the 3.5M and the administration has info that they will be giving them today that Cadime/Aguiar feel will back up the number that needs to be cut. Aguiar and Cadime seemed comfortable with the fact that there are 2M in cuts. Since every day makes things worse, why not make the 2M in cuts last night? Why not put the potentially laid off workers out of their misery? Why not slow the bleeding last night and meet on Monday and determine what else needs to be done?
This has been going on for weeks and the Superintendent has not really given a proposal to make the necessary cuts and the longer it goes on, the more cuts will be have to made because they are continuing to incur payroll. Fischer is not arguing the number. If anything he is encouraging the school committee not to count on cost savings, so why can't he and his staff come up with a proposal?

The school committee is always asking the leadership team for answers and then meetings are continued. Why can't the questions and answers come behind the scenes and decisions be made at meetings? The committee, leadership team and the Mayor’s office should be working much better together between meetings so decisions can be made effectively and efficiently during meetings, instead of all this silly bantering back and forth about numbers.

I can understand the mayor’s frustration. The longer the cuts take the worse shape we will be in. The more days that people work, the higher the deficit is, the more job cuts will need to be made in the end. Every day that goes by is costing us money. As all this is going on, Dr. Fischer is hiring and promoting people in clerk positions even though there is a hiring freeze and high paying administrators are receiving vacation payback. This is absolutely ridiculous. It makes it hard to suggest bargaining with the unions when administrators are asking for vacation buyback. On the other hand, some of the administration seems willing to take a 5% cut and people just love the thought of that, but I think it should be fair and equitable. If Dr. Fischer and Mrs. Mayo Brown are willing to take 5% cuts, the teachers, paraprofessionals, clerks and maintenance should be open to negotiating. It is many of their own losing jobs.

Most importantly….why not raise taxes? Yes, we are in tough times, but where are people without an education? The Mayor has made so many unpopular moves in 10 months. Why not this one? The fact of the matter is the amount of money in the school budget is simply not enough to provide what our children need for an enriching education. Why should we have to make choices between business programs and guidance counselors or class sizes of 30 or middle school vice principals? Bite the bullet. Raise taxes. Let’s put our money where our mouth is. If we raise taxes, we can pay teachers and administration a fair wage, reduce class room sizes, and give our children all that they need. Who is not willing to strap down a little tighter so we can provide a solid education for our children?