Get to Know: Bob O'Regan, Candidate for Stoughton Board of Selectmen

In an effort to give residents a last chance to hear from the candidates before the April 10 Town Election, Stoughton Patch sent a questionnaire to each of the candidates running in a contested race.

The questions are printed as they were presented to the candidates and their answers are printed as they were received (unedited).

The following responses are from Board of Selectmen Candidate Bob O'Regan:

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• Background information (how long you've served or your prior service on various town boards) and any other pertinent info you would like readers to know about you.

Stoughton resident and homeowner for 27 years

Married 28 years to Carol (Rajala) O’Regan.  We have a son (Peter) and daughter (Lindsey), both products of the Stoughton public schools.    

Occupation:  Attorney and partner with Burns & Levinson LLP, Boston.

Education

J.D. - Georgetown University Law Center

          Law Review – Managing Editor

A.M. - Tufts University (Economics)

A.B. - Tufts University magna cum laude

Member, Zoning Board of Appeals (currently secretary) 2005-present

Town Meeting Representative

        Municipal Regulations Committee   

        Intergovernmental Relations Committee

Capital Planning Committee (newly formed 2011)

Housing Policy Committee, 2006 & 2009

South Coast Rail Advisory Committee (2008-present)

        Planning Subcommittee

Member, Stoughton Chamber of Commerce

Member, South Shore Chamber of Commerce

Member, Boston Bar Association and other professional organizations

Speaker and author for continuing professional education

• Why are you running for this position?

We need to develop a new approach to problems and issue in town, because the old “business as usual” is not working.  As a community, we do not have a set of goals and policies to achieve them, so the town drifts along.  And while drifting, the town is changing in many undesirable ways.  The Selectmen have a responsibility to direct the town toward a brighter future, not along the deteriorating course we now find ourselves in.

Especially for seniors and families living from paycheck to paycheck, the cruelest and stiffest tax to pay is the continuing drastic drop in property values resulting from the way town government deals (or does not deal) with the town’s problems and its future.  I believe one reason that Stoughton’s property values have dropped by 11 % over the past year, and 30 % over the past three years – more than twice the state average of decline in this recession -- is the lack of vision and direction.  We need to reverse this trend, and to do it requires a change in leadership for the town.  The lack of an overall direction for Stoughton encourages the kinds of budget disputes we have seen recently, which creates uncertainty for people looking to buy homes and businesses looking to expand. Uncertainty translates to higher risk, and higher risk discourages investment in homes and business sites, so property values decline.

A key factor to ensure a better future is financial planning and land use planning.  In this, the Board of Selectmen should comply with the Town Charter and establish the 3-year financial plan that it requires and work to get our zoning updated.  We should be able to meet our town’s needs and avoid tax overrides with a financial plan and by attracting new businesses to Stoughton.  That process will prompt us to spell out goals, what the town will look like (through zoning), and how we will accomplish these goals so that we choose the future of the town rather than letting the future just happen to us.  To see how this plays out, consider how many town buildings are in disrepair and that we need a new high school.  There has been no plan adopted to revive the downtown or build our commercial tax base along a great economic engine – Route 24.   Downtowns in neighboring communities have been brought back, or are in the process of doing so, because those communities created and followed a plan.

• What separates you from your opponents? Why should residents vote for you?

It is up to each voter to compare the candidates and our positions.  All of the other candidates are either incumbents or only 1-year removed, so one question for voters is which candidate presents an approach to move the town forward and which candidates see the future of the town through a rear-view mirror.  None of the candidates who have been selectmen offers a credible explanation for having not complied with the town charter requirement that the Selectmen create a 3-year financial plan or why, as a community, we lack direction.  

• What is the most important issue facing the town?

I see it as a three-part issue

1. Directing how Stoughton changes.  Residents are frustrated that town government is passive about how the town is changing.  We have not been setting priorities and goals for Stoughton, and the consequences are visible all around us.  Property values have dropped 30% in the past 3 years, 11 percent last year.  This is more than twice the state average and much more than neighboring towns.  We should set real goals such as reviving the downtown, relocating the fire department out of the structurally failing Freeman Street station, and building a new high school. As part of a long-term plan we must attract new business to town in areas like a new economic development zone along Route 24 to support strong town services and excellent schools without raising residential taxes.  Setting goals and polices to achieve them will be a new way of doing business for town government, so it will not be easy, but the town will not move in the direction we would like without this change.

2. Developing a financial plan.  The lack of a financial plan for the town is being used by some to scare residents into believing that improving the town will require tax hikes that no one wants.  In our homes and workplaces, we know that planning and saving lead to success, and that not planning and not saving leads to waste and lost opportunity.  Town government is no different.  With our many assets, including our location and the abilities of our residents, we should be able to achieve our goals and broaden our tax base with new or expanding businesses. A financial plan should incorporate our goals, so that we use new revenues to achieve them rather than backing ourselves into a corner.

3. Turning frustration into motivation.  Residents truly care about the town, with the decaying downtown being the most visible symbol of their high level of frustration.  We see other communities, similar to Stoughton, that have turned around their downtown areas.  Many of us are believe that town government just does not seem to care about getting anything accomplished or know what to do.  Residents have told me about their frustrating experiences serving on boards and committees where they believe their time has been wasted and they felt mistreated because, after a lot of work, nothing was accomplished with their efforts.  Turning this frustration into motivation requires leadership from the Board of Selectmen to get things done.  A key ingredient will be recruiting new volunteers into town government, with the energy and talents that come with it.  

• What is your take on the procurement issue between the town and the schools? How can the relationship between the town side and schools be improved in general?

There is no procurement issue left, because on his first day on the job the new interim town manager resolved the problem.  This reveals that the “issue” was not about whether and how to efficiently comply with state procurement law, but a power struggle that did not recognize that all town departments serve the same community.  We need to elect leadership that will work to prevent this mistake from recurring, and work to change the perspective in town government that there are “two sides”.  We all pay one tax bill, and live in the same town.  We have a right to expect those in government – especially the highly paid professionals in top management – to work together regardless of personalities (and perhaps in spite of them). 

The school department and municipal departments need to see one another as partners, and not competitors.  Much of the problem can be traced to poor communication, evident in claims that the School Committee and Board of Selectmen could not agree on a time to meet together.  We need to move past this sort of distraction and stop viewing the different departments as “sides”.  To promote better relations between the Board of Selectmen and School Committee – and so the departments and personnel under their respective jurisdictions – each body should designate one member to be the liaison person responsible to meet monthly with his/her counterpart, with the town manager and superintendent.  To help address concerns that municipal departments are shortchanged and that the school department is overfunded, I would favor an open forum among all department heads, who should be free to speak candidly (but respectfully), as one technique to clear the air and develop a better appreciation for the contributions by various departments and how to allocate resources better so all departments can serve the same public more effectively.

And since the role of the Board of Selectmen is to develop a 3-year financial plan for the Town (which must by definition include the School Department), although the School Department is responsible for its own budget requests to Town Meeting, working together on the financial plan will encourage the municipal and school departments to view one another cooperatively.  After all, one of the most important factors on where businesses locate (and so how to generate revenue to support municipal services, too) is the school system that will serve the employees’ families; but the school system has no ability to recruit new business or generate the new tax revenue needed to sustain even the current levels of service. 

• What should the Board of Selectmen (and the town) be looking for in a Town Manager?

The next town manager should possess proven management skills particularly in the areas of economic development and bargaining with public employee unions, long-term financial planning and budgeting, a good temperament, and a healthy sense of responsibility to serve the public.  Town employees, perhaps especially department heads, need to expect clear direction from the town manager for how they perform, and that the town manager will work to ensure that they receive the resources to perform well.