Town of Braintree

See, your Evaluation is

Correct to a point. The frustration level with this town's runaway government has a tendency to make normally kind and rational, to some extent, people of this town more sensitive to issues related to town expenses!

Working a little harder for the town for the most part will not help the average town employee
to earn more money! It is a different work environment, it is purely service based, there is no goal of increased profits and their associate rewards to those involved.

The frustrations, hatred and jealously is obvious in both posts 1,2, a simplistic response would be to go and get a job in the private sector and earn more money, but there are many possible reasons for their not having such a job, they may not possess the skills or education required and thus the hatred!

The constant clamor for more and more will bankrupt the town soon, and so like any business faced with excessive expenses and the possibility of bankruptcy we, the town, must cut expenses!

If the budget isn?’t brought under control we, the town, will have far fewer employees in the future!!

By We need Much Much more Money

Apology to Town Empl. l,2,3

I am sorry for my less than kind retort to your posts, I was way out of line. 2, you really pushed me over the brink, but I was wrong to respond that way. It probably hurt me, saying something nasty, more than it hurt you. I guess there is frustration on both sides of this issue but, I hope you will always keep in mind that most of us are not measuring your worth to the giving of raises; rather, we feel the money isn't in the till to give. Again, I am sorry and hope you will accept my apology.

By a resident

Unions are the problem

Because of the unions the employees are guaranteed increases each year even if they don't perform. In private industry you can work your butt off and still not get a raise if there is no money, but not in the public sector with union contracts. Not only do they get percentage increases but their pay increases in steps over a certain period of time according to the contract. If you don't have to perform to get more pay, what is the reason except for personal pride. I'm not saying that all public employees lack pride in their performance but there certainly are a number who do.

The Enemy is the School Comm.

Last year there was a genuine effort to get everyone working together to address our budget woes. For the most part it worked better than it has in years past until the school committee sent a nasty gram to the selectmen.

BELD has nothing to do with the financial woes of the town and the selectmen have been working with them to get more services for the town to help us.

The problem really is that the schools continue to come to the FinCom meetings and tug at all of the heart strings to get the money that they need. They've been out of control for years and that's the way they like it. It works well for them and they know it.

Until the school committee understands that it is not all about them and that they need to be responsible in funding their programs and not rely on one time funding sources like our chairman and Finance Director have stated, then the problem will never get corrected.

Its one thing to take votes for what you truly believe in but it's another to craft a vote that benefits your teachers and hurts the rest of the town departments.



By Former FINCON member