Metrowest Communities Unite For Stronger Voice

Local communities hope to seize the power in numbers by joining forces to work toward shared concerns.

Officials from several local communities, including Grafton, Marlborough, Shrewsbury and Westborough, attended a meeting last night at Shrewsbury Town Hall to talk about ways they could work together on issues of mutual interest.

Unfunded mandates—issues that the state requires town to put in place but does not support financially—were one concern raised at the meeting. Others included the levels of local aid, special education funding and affordable housing mandates.

Regionalization can be a way to save money, said Westborough selectman Denzil Drewry. Future town budgets will be lean, he said, and personnel cuts may be required.

“We can’t save enough money by cutting down on the number of paper clips,’’ he said. “We’re going to have to face the facts’’ that “drastic cuts’’ may be ahead, he said.

Shrewsbury is already taking one step toward regionalizing, Town Manager Daniel Morgado said. They have joined forces with Holden, Leicester, Millbury, West Boylston and Worcester to create a regional health department.

Morgado also urged the communities to unite as a voice to speak out to state legislators. By working together, he said, cities and towns can “join together to take our grievances to the state legislature and force the issue.’’

He said that “maybe the time has come for us to be less polite. Let’s press the issue and see what happens.’’

State Rep. Matthew Beaton, R-Shrewsbury, said getting the voters involved in issues of common concern is crucial.

Morgado agreed. “We’ve got to engage our voters’’ by educating them about the issues they face and potential ways to get the state involved, he said.

“Political power is key,’’ Drewry said. By joining forces, “we would have some power.’’

Officials from each community were asked to submit a list of their top concerns. Another meeting was discussed but no date has yet been set.