Government

Fire Chief: Adding Paramedics to Department is a Quality of Life Issue

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The move to have the Watertown Fire Department handle paramedic service in-house is a matter of quality of life, said Fire Chief Mario Orangio. The Fire Department will hire four paramedics with a grant from FEMA, and some current members of the Fire Department will train to in advanced life support so the Watertown can provide its own paramedic service (read more here). Right now the town uses Armstrong Ambulance, which is based in Waltham. When Watertown runs its own ambulances the response time will be cut down. “The best thing is it will save time,” Orangio said.

Government

Watertown Class Sizes May Not Shrink Under Proposed Budget

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Keeping class sizes small is one of the School Committee’s goals each year, but Superintendent Jean Fitzgerald said the budget may prevent lowering class sizes. The School Committee requested a $42 million budget, which would be $6 million more than Fiscal 2014 and would pay for 22 new teachers. The budget proposed by Town Manager Michael Driscoll  last week gave the schools a $2.267 million, or 6.18 percent, increase. Fitzgerald said the first priority will be filling the positions that will keep Watertown in compliance with state and federal mandates, including special education and English as a second language. After that, class size and other needs “may go unresolved,” Fitzgerald said Monday night.

Government

See What Concerns and Ideas Residents Have About the MBTA

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Crowded buses and new ways to pay bus fares came up as issues facing users of public transportation at the first Watertown Task Force on Public Transit meeting. Forty people came out to the meeting on May 1 at the Watertown Free Public Library, which was organized by Sustainable Watertown. Frequent MBTA bus riders run into over-crowded buses – to the point that buses cannot pick up passengers – and bunching of buses so they come one right after another, said Joe Levendusky, an East End resident, who moderated the first meeting. “The solutions that were most commonly suggested were a) more buses on the routes and  b) better real time management of the route,” Levendusky said. People would like to see easier access to the Charlie Cards.

Government

School Committee Chair Hears Parents Loud and Clear

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The message at Tuesday’s Town Council meeting where the budget was revealed was clear from Watertown parents, said School Committee Chairwoman Eileen Hsu-Balzer. The budget presented by Town Manager Michael Driscoll which included $38.9 million for education is a $2.267 million or 6.18 percent increase over Fiscal 2014. But it came in below the $6 million, 16 percent increase requested from the School Committee. Parents were upset and let the Town Council know they wanted the full request from the School Committee. Hsu-Balzer said that the budget is not done yet, and will not be voted until June 10.

Government

Budget Calls for More Police and Firefighters in Watertown

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Watertown will have more police officers and firefighters on duty with the Fiscal 2015 budget getting a boost from federal grants. The budget presented by Town Manger Michael Driscoll on Tuesday includes funding for a new police officer, as well as funding to cover the town’s matching portion for three positions funded by a grant. In May the Police Department will apply for the COPS (Community Oriented Policing Services) Hiring Program run by the U.S. Department of Justice. The federal grant covers 75 percent of the salary for a police officer for three years. The town covers the rest and must keep the officer on for at least a year after the program ends, Driscoll said.

Around Town

New Group Seeks Watertown’s Input on Public Transit

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Watertown residents concerned about how the town is served by public transportation are invited to join a discussion this week. The newly formed Watertown Task Force on Public Transit will meet for the first time on Thursday, May 1 at the Watertown Free Public Library in the Trustee’s Room at 7 p.m.

The town has officially requested the MBTA to engage in dialog about the state of public transit in town, and the task force is gathering comments from residents. “We are going to set up a permanent body of citizens to debate and talk about public transit issues, and bring up ideas and propose solutions to the state representatives and the MBTA,” said Joe Levendusky, a resident who helped start the task force. ”

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The meeting will help lay out the comments that will be presented to Beverly Scott, general manager of the MBTA, who is expected to attend a Town Council meeting on May 27, Levendusky said. The task force is an initiative of Sustainable Watertown.

Around Town

Watertown Budget Will Be Revealed This Week

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Details about the Fiscal 2015 budget – including how much money the schools will receive – will be made public on Tuesday evening. Town Manager Michael Driscoll will present his budget to the Town Council on Tuesday at 6 p.m. in Town Hall. The School Committee approved Superintendent Jean Fitzgerald’s request for $42 million from the town, which would be $6 million  or 16 percent more than the funding received in Fiscal 2014 (click here for more details). When Driscoll presented his preliminary budget in October he said all departments, including the schools, should expect a 3 percent increase. Two weeks ago, Driscoll said the school budget request, which included more than 30 new jobs (including 22 new teachers), would actually cost the town $341,ooo more than requested because of health care and other benefits.

Business

Three Groups Pledge Money for Community Path Extension

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The extension of Watertown’s Community Path could soon become a reality thanks to a pledge from three local businesses. The owners of the Arsenal Project (formerly the Arsenal Mall), athenahealth and Tufts Health Plan have teamed up to offer $25,000 to go toward designing the new section of path from Arlington Street in Watertown to Fresh Pond in Cambridge, said Bill McQuillan, principal with Boylston Properties – which bought the Arsenal Mall last year. The money will cover half the cost, with the Department of Conservation and Recreation covering the rest. “If there are funds for projects like the Community Path they need to be shovel ready – they need to have plans drawn up,” McQuillan said Thursday night. “The DCR doesn’t have the money, so we co-funded the project.”