The end of May marks the end of the political season in Burlington. This November, we not only have a national election but we have a new candidate, Walter Zenkin, running for state representative on the Republican ticket. Republicans have growing support in our area - 3 years ago this town supported Scott Brown for the Senate and Charlie Baker for the Governors seat. Zenkin, a a two-term Selectman and a popular candidate, has moved forward many stalled projects over his tenure. He’s running against Charlie Murphy, who has not been contested in years. I’m supporting Walter Zenkin.
The May Town Meeting, with our new larger format of 126 members, has completed. I would like to thank TM for their “no” vote on the Canyon rezoning. Many who spoke on the matter had good things to say about the Gutierrez company but felt this approach to fix the traffic issue was a stretch. The traffic in that area will be a problem until our state rep can get some attention from the speaker and the Department of Transportation to mitigate the traffic. Burlington is doing its share to keep our local economy moving and we should get some consideration from the state.
I would have supported the treasure position to be an appointment rather than elected office. The treasure collector is likely the most powerful elected position in town. That person oversees $110 million in cash as well as an $83 million payroll. Because the position is an elected position and not an appointment, that person may sit on other boards, oversee committees, and hire as they wish for their department. That person is the trustee of the $11 million heath insurance budget and may hire consultants as needed. They also bid out most of the towns other non-health insurance - for example, the $600 thousand stop-loss insurance for our self funded health insurance program as well as our liability coverage. The town would do better with the executive branch overseeing this position the same way it oversees the police chief, fire chief, and the town administrator, all extremely important positions in a healthy and financially viable community.
Thank you again for allowing me to serve you as your Selectman for the last three years.
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Vote Saturday, April 14, 2012
My name is Dan DiTucci and I am a candidate for re-election to the Burlington Board of Selectmen.
In 1959, I moved to Burlington with my parents. My wife, Mary, and I raised 3 sons here and currently reside on Lisa St. I’m the proud grandfather of six grandchildren, one who will attend Burlington Schools in the upcoming years. I’m a volunteer for People Helping People & the Burlington Food Pantry.
I am currently Vice Chairman of the Board of Selectmen and serve on 12 different subcommittees. As the liaison to the Department of Public works, I work with the largest town-side budget of $9m. I am staunchly committed to making sure our tax revenue goes into long-term investments and infrastructure projects. For example, I restarted the stalled Terrace Hall Forced Sewer Main project, which will ultimately
take 7,000 feet of sewer line out of the Great Meadow Aquifer. This year, the DPW brought forward a plan to expand the Pine Haven cemetery, which will meet our cemetery needs for next 25 years. We’re also looking at repairing the Council on Aging building. My newest initiative is restarting dialogue on the state-owned Grant Ave Salt facility. This 2.5 acres was promised to the town of Burlington as part of a tif agreement with Sun Microsystems and remains an open issue I’d like to resolve.
On the Economic Development subcommittee, I have worked with the Town Administrator to bring the right new business into the town that will increase our tax revenue. Burlington is fiscally stable. Our financial statements show we currently have approximately 4.3M in free cash, part of which can be used to fund warrant articles at the May Town Meeting. Our Stabilization fund has a balance of approximately $5M. I
support smart development that converts unused and low tax-revenue properties into tax-generating properties for our town yet does not cause a toll on town resources and traffic. For example, we are currently working with the Keurig Corporation to relocate their corporate headquarters from Reading to Burlington.
Prior to my time as a member of the Board of Selectmen, I was an active member of Town Meeting for 12 years and a Ways and Means Committee Member for over 2 years.
I believe we need to keep our town affordable and attractive to young families. We must continue to upgrade our school facilities, as we have done with the new Memorial School and renovated Middle School, and fund the school budget appropriately. I have played an active role in the completion of the Wildwood Park and license agreement of the Mary Cummings property, which will give us additional playing fields for the Recreation Department. I continue to be an advocate for open
space and protection of the Land Locked Forest.
If re-elected to the Board of Selectmen, I will be persistent in keeping our community as a place we can be proud to live for many years to come. We must keep a balance between commercial development and our quality of life for residential neighborhoods. I have owned Spencer Cleaners in Burlington for 25 years. As a business owner who has survived three recessions, I understand the critical need to make wise financial decisions and be fiscally responsible with the taxpayers’ money. I promise to continue to keep the quality of our town government as high and as transparent as possible. I respectfully ask you for one of your two votes for the Burlington Board of Selectmen on Saturday, April 14.
In 1959, I moved to Burlington with my parents. My wife, Mary, and I raised 3 sons here and currently reside on Lisa St. I’m the proud grandfather of six grandchildren, one who will attend Burlington Schools in the upcoming years. I’m a volunteer for People Helping People & the Burlington Food Pantry.
I am currently Vice Chairman of the Board of Selectmen and serve on 12 different subcommittees. As the liaison to the Department of Public works, I work with the largest town-side budget of $9m. I am staunchly committed to making sure our tax revenue goes into long-term investments and infrastructure projects. For example, I restarted the stalled Terrace Hall Forced Sewer Main project, which will ultimately
take 7,000 feet of sewer line out of the Great Meadow Aquifer. This year, the DPW brought forward a plan to expand the Pine Haven cemetery, which will meet our cemetery needs for next 25 years. We’re also looking at repairing the Council on Aging building. My newest initiative is restarting dialogue on the state-owned Grant Ave Salt facility. This 2.5 acres was promised to the town of Burlington as part of a tif agreement with Sun Microsystems and remains an open issue I’d like to resolve.
On the Economic Development subcommittee, I have worked with the Town Administrator to bring the right new business into the town that will increase our tax revenue. Burlington is fiscally stable. Our financial statements show we currently have approximately 4.3M in free cash, part of which can be used to fund warrant articles at the May Town Meeting. Our Stabilization fund has a balance of approximately $5M. I
support smart development that converts unused and low tax-revenue properties into tax-generating properties for our town yet does not cause a toll on town resources and traffic. For example, we are currently working with the Keurig Corporation to relocate their corporate headquarters from Reading to Burlington.
Prior to my time as a member of the Board of Selectmen, I was an active member of Town Meeting for 12 years and a Ways and Means Committee Member for over 2 years.
I believe we need to keep our town affordable and attractive to young families. We must continue to upgrade our school facilities, as we have done with the new Memorial School and renovated Middle School, and fund the school budget appropriately. I have played an active role in the completion of the Wildwood Park and license agreement of the Mary Cummings property, which will give us additional playing fields for the Recreation Department. I continue to be an advocate for open
space and protection of the Land Locked Forest.
If re-elected to the Board of Selectmen, I will be persistent in keeping our community as a place we can be proud to live for many years to come. We must keep a balance between commercial development and our quality of life for residential neighborhoods. I have owned Spencer Cleaners in Burlington for 25 years. As a business owner who has survived three recessions, I understand the critical need to make wise financial decisions and be fiscally responsible with the taxpayers’ money. I promise to continue to keep the quality of our town government as high and as transparent as possible. I respectfully ask you for one of your two votes for the Burlington Board of Selectmen on Saturday, April 14.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Committed to the job
I believe the most challenging aspect of serving as a member of the
Board of Selectmen is balancing decisions to satisfy the residents,
employees and business community. I’m committed to ensuring our
residents continue to have the town services we are used to, a
comfortable low tax rate, and low water & sewer rates. At the same
time, I know that the commercial sector pays 65% of the tax revenue
that funds these services as well as the many infrastructure or
projects, new schools, etc. The Board of Selectmen must be very
selective in choosing what commercial development occurs in our town
to balance increasing the tax revenue as much as possible without
having a negative impact on our community. As a business owner, I know
that the income stream and cash in the bank is vital. Burlington has
$7.5 million in cash and an AAA credit rating. I have worked hard to
achieve this financial balance by being a fiscal conservative and
voting to spend our budget on continuing our town services along with
long-term infrastructure projects.
In my last three years proudly serving as a member of the Board of
Selectmen, I know first-hand that this job requires a full time
commitment. Part of the job I enjoy most is talking to residents about
their issues & needs and helping to resolve them. As always, I welcome
phone calls and emails (danditucci@yahoo.com) anytime from Burlington
residents to discuss issues and matters for our town.
Board of Selectmen is balancing decisions to satisfy the residents,
employees and business community. I’m committed to ensuring our
residents continue to have the town services we are used to, a
comfortable low tax rate, and low water & sewer rates. At the same
time, I know that the commercial sector pays 65% of the tax revenue
that funds these services as well as the many infrastructure or
projects, new schools, etc. The Board of Selectmen must be very
selective in choosing what commercial development occurs in our town
to balance increasing the tax revenue as much as possible without
having a negative impact on our community. As a business owner, I know
that the income stream and cash in the bank is vital. Burlington has
$7.5 million in cash and an AAA credit rating. I have worked hard to
achieve this financial balance by being a fiscal conservative and
voting to spend our budget on continuing our town services along with
long-term infrastructure projects.
In my last three years proudly serving as a member of the Board of
Selectmen, I know first-hand that this job requires a full time
commitment. Part of the job I enjoy most is talking to residents about
their issues & needs and helping to resolve them. As always, I welcome
phone calls and emails (danditucci@yahoo.com) anytime from Burlington
residents to discuss issues and matters for our town.
Friday, March 23, 2012
Q&A from Burlington Patch
Q&A from Burlington Patch asking me about the upcoming Board of Selectmen election.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Issues facing Burlington
One of the largest issues facing Burlington is continuing to keep the town in sound financial condition during these tough economic times. Through our Capital Improvement Plan, we have been making solid investments in the future of Burlington via new schools, sewer projects, parks and playgrounds. I’m proud to say we currently have approximately 4.3M in free cash, part of which can be used to fund warrant articles at the May Town Meeting. Our Stabilization fund has a balance of approximately $5M.
Further to the point above, we also need to keep Burlington’s tax rates low for residents to ensure our community remains an affordable place to live. By maintaining a competitive tax rate for commercial property, Burlington will be attractive to businesses and their taxes will be a revenue stream that will contribute to keeping our residential tax rate low.
Another important issue is maintaining a superior level of public safety as our town grows. This is something we cannot take for granted. Just as we have done recently with two of our schools, we must ensure fire and police have the proper facilities in the right locations in our town to respond to public safely needs.
There are many other important issues for our town on topics such as schools, cemetery availability, smart & controlled development, and protecting our open space. I welcome emails and calls from residents to discuss further. danditucci@yahoo.com
Further to the point above, we also need to keep Burlington’s tax rates low for residents to ensure our community remains an affordable place to live. By maintaining a competitive tax rate for commercial property, Burlington will be attractive to businesses and their taxes will be a revenue stream that will contribute to keeping our residential tax rate low.
Another important issue is maintaining a superior level of public safety as our town grows. This is something we cannot take for granted. Just as we have done recently with two of our schools, we must ensure fire and police have the proper facilities in the right locations in our town to respond to public safely needs.
There are many other important issues for our town on topics such as schools, cemetery availability, smart & controlled development, and protecting our open space. I welcome emails and calls from residents to discuss further. danditucci@yahoo.com
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Why am I running for re-election to the Board of Selectmen?
I'm running for re-election to the Burlington Board of Selectmen. Doing my part to keep Burlington a great place to live is why I am inspired to run again.
In 1959, I moved to Burlington with my parents and siblings. Shortly after getting married, I moved to my current residence on Lisa Street. My wife, Mary, and I raised 3 sons who attended Burlington schools K-12. In a few years, my youngest grandchild will enter Burlington schools. I was involved in Burlington Youth Soccer for 12 years and coached little league. Most recently, I’m a volunteer for People Helping People & the Burlington Food Pantry.
I want to make sure our town remains fiscally and structurally stable, which is why I’m committed to making sure our tax revenue goes into long-term investments, such as the Forced Sewer Main infrastructure project, expansion of the Pine Haven cemetery, and new/remodeled schools. I continue to be an advocate for open space and protection of
the Land Locked Forest. I support smart development that converts low tax-revenue properties into tax-generating properties for our town yet does not cause a toll on our resources and traffic.
As a member of the board over the last three years, I’m proud to have served the residents and made a difference. The Board of Selectmen is a part time job that requires a full time commitment and I see it as one of the ways I can give back to this town I enjoy so much.
In 1959, I moved to Burlington with my parents and siblings. Shortly after getting married, I moved to my current residence on Lisa Street. My wife, Mary, and I raised 3 sons who attended Burlington schools K-12. In a few years, my youngest grandchild will enter Burlington schools. I was involved in Burlington Youth Soccer for 12 years and coached little league. Most recently, I’m a volunteer for People Helping People & the Burlington Food Pantry.
I want to make sure our town remains fiscally and structurally stable, which is why I’m committed to making sure our tax revenue goes into long-term investments, such as the Forced Sewer Main infrastructure project, expansion of the Pine Haven cemetery, and new/remodeled schools. I continue to be an advocate for open space and protection of
the Land Locked Forest. I support smart development that converts low tax-revenue properties into tax-generating properties for our town yet does not cause a toll on our resources and traffic.
As a member of the board over the last three years, I’m proud to have served the residents and made a difference. The Board of Selectmen is a part time job that requires a full time commitment and I see it as one of the ways I can give back to this town I enjoy so much.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Successful People Helping People Fundraiser
On Sunday, Feb 27th, Cafe Escadrille hosted a wine tasting fundraiser to benefit People Helping People and the Burlington Food Pantry. We raised $13,000, thanks to the generosity of Bob Murray, owner of Café Escadrille, who donated the venue, food, and wine, local business owners, who donated items for the auction, and the attendees of the event, who gave generously. There was plenty to good food to eat and a great assortment of wines for tasting. The live auction during the event was fun and raised $8,000, with each item donated being sold for full value. It was an event that exceeded our fundraising expectations and I hope to see even more folks attending next year.
More information on Burlington People Helping People
More information on Burlington People Helping People
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