Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone has named Professor of Economics Daniel Richards to a committee that will explore how the city can best meet budgetary constraints during the recession.
Organized late last month, the five-person Financial Advisory Committee (FAC), which also has representation from local business leaders, will meet for the first time on Feb. 17. Lesley Delaney Hawkins, a spokesperson for the City of Somerville, called the committee's members "some of the best and the brightest" minds in the field.
The committee is part of an ongoing effort to address the national financial crisis. "We are looking at every opportunity to create more efficiency," Curtatone told the Daily. "I do not believe that you cut your way to success. Every state and every town has revenue problems. The harder we look for opportunities, the better this issue will get. We need to find out what new revenue opportunities exist."
The Somerville mayor said the city's strong relationship with Tufts led him to look to the Hill for a possible committee member.
"We needed someone with a strong economic background that could act critically and decisively," he said. "We were looking for someone that could think outside the box."
Richards said he was chosen for his previous involvement with a similar committee in Newton and for his field of research.
"I think I bring the discipline of an economist, which will be critical," he said.
The FAC's main purpose will be to provide a critical look at city operations, according to Curtatone.
"We are not relying solely on the committee," he said. "My staff will be doing a lot of the background work in developing these opportunities. What we are looking for is critical commentary on what we have done and our approach to the issue. We are looking for third-party expert analysis that can identify further opportunities or confirm ones that we have identified to create a recovery plan for this fiscal year and upcoming years."
The FAC will make recommendations in a number of areas, including cost recovery, cost savings and the city's broader finances.
"We do not have local taxing authority aside from property taxes, so we want to make sure we are spending our money wisely so that our service level does not decline," Curtatone said. "Public works, public safety and public education are the main services we cannot let decline."
The creation of the FAC came on the heels of Gov. Deval Patrick's announcement on Jan. 23 that he will be cutting local aid to towns by $128 million.
The committee, however, has been in the works for much longer than that. "We've been working on this for months, analyzing opportunities to create more efficiency," Curtatone said, adding that Somerville started bracing itself for budget cuts as far back as when former Governor Mitt Romney sat in the corner office.
Curtatone emphasized that Somerville's situation is not unique and that the city may in fact be in a better position than many surrounding localities.
"We have one of the highest bond ratings in the area. As such, we are in a position to absorb many of these cuts without reducing our core services," he said. "We need to be smart. We need to be balanced. It is not just a matter of a cut in local aid. Our local revenues are down. Investment revenues are down. It is the same story you see with [other places]. We are in a difficult time, but we are hopeful that the state will help us."
The goals of the Newton committee that Richards served on are similar to those of Somerville's FAC.
According to Newton City Clerk David Olson, the Citizens Advisory Group, which was convened there last May, has been covering "everything from school cost structure to capital infrastructure" to assist the city in improving its efficiency.
Richards is still unsure, however, of how that process will work in Somerville. "As of right now, I don't have any real suggestions as I have not seen enough data yet," he said. "[We are] trying to put together some sense of where the municipality can find ways to stretch the budget."
