Seeking Effective Management in Weston

Weston Town Crier, April 29, 2021
The following was submitted by John Sallay

A few weeks ago, a Weston Select Board member published a Town Crier article, “Are All Towns Created Equally?” That article offhandedly dismissed the many recent fact-based articles showing that, by any relevant metric, Weston’s taxes are much higher, with mostly average performance metrics among comparable affluent Boston-area communities.

The diagram in that article from Winnipeg, Canada was offered as proof that, given Weston’s current population density, it would be impossible to improve our town services and schools while also reducing our property tax burden. The article went on to say that making comparisons to Wellesley, Wayland, and the other towns used by the Finance Committee is useless because Weston is unique!

The truth is that Weston faces several significant financial challenges. Property appreciation has been stagnant for 15 years, lagging both comparable towns and inflation. Our property taxes are far higher than comparable towns by all relevant measures – average household, median household, and per capita.

School spending, which represents over 60% of the town budget, exceeds comparable town spending per pupil by 26%, despite performance metrics which are similar within this group. Our debt and unfunded liabilities exceed $200 million, or about $54,000 per household, nearly twice that of comparable towns. Sooner or later, this will all come home to roost, with property taxes that continue to rise and property values that continue to languish.

Management Mindset Required
Even more disturbing than this financial picture is the Select Board attitude that nothing can be done to address these challenges, since a solution “does not exist”. Imagine a company telling you to forget about better products or services or pricing, or your child’s teacher telling you to “just get used to poor performance.”

Perhaps because so many of Weston’s elected town officials do not have operational management experience, the town is undermanaged. This year’s Finance Committee report points out the need for: 1) benchmarked measures of success for all town departments, 2) long range planning using a framework to test the financial impact of budgeting decisions, 3) budget guidelines for departments, balancing services and affordability, 4) clear, far-sighted strategies, especially for the schools to deal with the decline in student enrollment, 5) cost control and tightly managed union negotiations, and 6) tougher decision-making, especially on “needs” versus “wants”.

In a town like Weston, so dedicated to excellence, one might assume these basic building blocks of sound management are already in place, or at least that the Select Board is on it, rather than resisting constructive criticism as seems to be the case.

Using Accurate and Relevant Numbers
A Town Crier article last month from the same Select Board member asked, “Are Property Taxes Too High?” A Focus on Weston article responded, “Yes, Weston Taxes Are Too High.” The follow-up article corrected the fundamental factual and analytical errors, showing that our property taxes are far higher than comparable towns by all relevant measures, not just on average.

In addition to such factual, analytical errors, the problem with this more recent article is a focus on irrelevant metrics. For example, higher costs related to population density account for only 2-3% of the 26% higher taxes per capita relative to comparable towns. Rather, the town’s costs are driven by the number of town and school employees and what we pay them. If managed well, our people costs would better track to Weston’s population without compromising the quality of services or a Weston education.

Or, consider the reference to state aid, which is “approximately 19% less…as a percent of the budget compared to comparable towns.” The reason it is 19% less as a percent of our budget is that Weston’s budget – our spending and taxes – is so much higher. State aid is almost entirely formulaic, related primarily to population and school enrollment. Since our budgets per resident and per pupil are so much higher than comparable towns (both 26% higher), our share of state aid as a percent of our outsized budget is smaller, mathematically about 19%.

Shouldn’t we be able to rely on our elected officials to use accurate numbers and focus on factors that matter?

The Significance of Comparisons
Before moving to Weston, you may have considered nearby towns such as Wellesley, Wayland, Dover, Concord, or similar communities. To some extent, excellence – and certainly value for money – is relative. Are we getting what we are paying for? How do we know if our town services and schools are excellent, relative to what? And how do we know if our taxes are appropriate for a given level of performance, relative to what?

The nine towns chosen for financial and related comparisons are Wellesley, Wayland, Lincoln, Sudbury, Dover, Sherborn, Concord, Carlisle, and Lexington. They were identified using public data based on dozens of factors, including size and location, level of development, demographic and economic characteristics, similarity of the public schools, and municipal finance statistics. The goal was to select a single set of towns that could be used broadly, rather than cherry picking different towns for different departments.

Since schools represent two-thirds of our budget, choosing towns with both comparable demographics and comparable school districts is key. This group of nine towns represents three towns with their own school system and three pairs of two towns with a joint school district at the high school level. While each town has its idiosyncrasies, as a group they are the most comparable to Weston.

Using these neighboring communities, considerable analysis has been done over the last few years, of both town and school costs and services. Much of it is available at www.FocusOnWeston.org, where you can also sign up for regular e-mail updates.

Weston needs and deserves more effective and efficient town management. Please vote in the May 8 town elections and then also attend the May 15 town meeting. If you believe we need some fresh perspectives and new ideas, consider voting for change.