Meeting To Discuss Belmont's 'Difficult Decisions'

Residents and town officials of Belmont are convening a special meeting this month to, in their words, "confront financial and civic circumstances – just as New England towns have done for centuries."

Belmont's Vision 21 Implementation Committee – formed a decade ago to shepherd a set of aspirational goals for the Town – and the Belmont Board of Selectmen will be holding an open meeting called: Making Tough Choices: A community conversation about Belmont's future.

The meeting will be held on Sunday, Oct. 24, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Beech Street Center at 266 Beech St.

"All of Belmont's stakeholders and points-of-view – especially those not normally heard from – are invited to attend," said Belmont Vision 21 Implementation Committee Chairman Tim Bowman, in a press release.

"The format will be a constructive, non-partisan, solution-oriented conversation about our town's challenges, with both short- and long-term horizons in mind, he said.

The outcome will be a specific set of priorities about citizens' most important priorities, to help town leaders as they tackle complicated issues.

"We know that true solutions will take time and that consensus will be hard-won," said Belmont Selectman Mark Paolillo.

"But we have to start somewhere, and this meeting could be a constructive first step. It's also an important opportunity to strengthen civic dialogue in Belmont," he said.

 "The reality of living in a small town in which 93 percent of our taxable property is residential has caught up with us," said Bowman. 

"The budget shortfall and outcome of the override proposal are just the beginning," Bowman continued. "We are also experiencing a continuing decline in public engagement."

The Town traditionally relies on elected officials and a wide range of boards and committees to do the daily work of keeping its 'public structures' – its people, services, and public facilities – strong.

"But while many of the problems Belmont is facing are elements of larger trends, at this time our entire town is being called upon to make some particularly difficult choices," Bowman explained. 

"It's time for us to see ourselves as the "we" who determine the fate of our town."

More information is available at http://www.envision-belmont.org/