Tufts and Curatone administration discuss town-gown relations

Just as Rick and Louis made it work in Casablanca, Tufts and Somerville are beginning what they hope will be beautiful friendship after several tumultuous incidents.

Somerville Mayor Joe Curtatone said that his new administration is working toward forging a cooperative relationship.

Director of Community Relations Barbara Rubel said that University officials have had three meetings with Curtatone that, so far, have been "positive."

Rubel said that they are also considering new grant opportunities for the City. Curtatone echoed the same sentiment. "The City will always be here. We were here first, but Tufts will always be here as well," he said.

One of the issues brought to attention was Payments In Lieu Of Taxes (PILOTs). As a non-profit organization, Tufts is not subject to property taxes. Therefore, PILOTS would cover the costs of necessary University municipal services.

"Tufts does not do enough for the community, if you compare it to other universities in the Boston area. It's high time something happened," said Bob Trane, Alderman for Ward 7, in which Tufts is located.

Curtatone agreed, calling PILOTs a "logical expectation" on the part of the City.

Somerville is struggling with its budget after a $12 million cut in state aid last year. Trane predicts that PILOTs will be a "front issue for this administration."

The lack of funding may lead to serious shortfalls in the next fiscal year, Chief Assessor Richard Brescia said. "We don't have an endowment like Tufts," he said. "We're facing layoffs which could spell shortages in city services. Should we experience more cutbacks in state funding, we're going to have to be more aggressive in other areas."

According to Rubel, the University cannot afford to pay PILOTs and such additional expenses would lead to increased costs to students.

Curtatone said that financial contributions by the University to the City of Somerville have already been discussed. "We have talked about the categories for now and we're getting to the terms," he said

The proposed construction of a dorm on Professor's Row, at the current site of the Music Department building, is also of concern to the Somerville-Tufts relationship. The project was stalled last spring due to opposition from the Somerville Historic Preservation Committee, and as for the outcome of discussions on this subject, much like the others, "it is too soon to say," Rubel said.

Both groups continue to explore the dynamics of their relationship. Rubel said that this situation is entirely new, as Tufts "didn't have a lot of interaction with Curtatone before he became mayor. [It is] much too soon to predict where this will go," she said.

These discussions are leading towards several new initiatives such as further development of "Shape Up, Somerville", a grant program run by the School of Nutrition that aims to prevent obesity among children in Somerville.

Brescia said he "is sure every issue will be treated fairly and expeditiously" and that Curtatone is the right man for the job.

"The Mayor is very regimented and aggressive in many areas, but also very fair. We just want to be sure everybody will be treated well education-wise and civil service-wise," Brescia said.

Curtatone is looking forward to developing a bridge between the University and the City, in an effort to take advantage of each others' potential as business partners.

"For too long there has been a negative connotation about Tufts as a good business partner for us and about the city as a good business partner for Tufts. But Tufts is a great resource," he said.

These discussions are meant in part to foster "clarity and predictability" about issues such as PILOTs, Curtatone said. University president Bacow said that "both [Curtatone and I] would like to see the relationship evolve as a partnership. We believe we can get more done working together than against each other."