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David Bedard, Keith Amato, Patricia Benatti and Ted Meyer answer questions April 24 at Candidates Night. |
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Special election candidates weigh in
By Pru Sowers
Banner Staff
[Editor’s note: The four candidates running for the open selectman’s seat in the June 3 special election participated in a candidate’s forum on April 24. Below are their responses to the questions from the forum. Individual interviews of the candidates will appear in the May 29 edition of the Banner.]
PROVINCETOWN — There are a variety of reasons the four candidates vying to replace former selectman Pam Parmakian, who resigned from the board in March, are running in the June 3 special election.
Ted Meyer, who was Provincetown’s police chief from 2002 to 2007, said he is concerned with the financial stability and long-term well being of the town.
“The real interest I have is I want to continue providing the utmost of public service. There are so many issues and you have to address each and every one of them,” he told a crowd of approximately 75 at the April 24 candidates forum.
Patricia Benatti, currently the town’s parking department administrator, said her main concern was to help the board of selectmen prioritize the issues it believes are challenging the town’s economic health.
“The number one reason [she is running] was a desire to work with the board of selectmen and town manager to get our financial affairs in order so we can move on,” Benatti said.
Keith Amato, an alternate on the zoning board of appeals, said the town needs “bold leadership” because it is becoming too homogenized and officials sometimes pander to the few at the expense of the many.
“Provincetown is a fragmented community and it is only a matter of time until it falls,” he said. “I feel I would be able to come up with some sort of program or services to bring people together.”
David Bedard, a member of the finance committee, said that the town’s financial stability is his primary concern, including developing a five-year plan for the economic and social development of the town.
“A five-year plan is essential to the town. And we need to include all capital projects in it,” Bedard said at the forum last month. “When you’re talking about the budget, you’re talking about quality of life.”
Bedard said he believes the finance committee should be more involved in budget planning and tracking. He also said he would support a one percent real estate transfer tax on home sales, excepting homes owned for 20 years or more, as a way to raise revenues for the town beyond property taxes. The other three candidates did not respond to the question posed by Barbara Rushmore on whether they would support a transfer tax.
Another question posed by resident Peter Cook at the forum asked the candidates to weigh in on whether they believed one or both of the town’s schools should be closed as a way to cut expenses. Meyer said he liked the idea of the school committee looking at alternatives to the current elementary and high school system. Amato said the town might consider turning the high school into a vocational school. Bedard said the current two-school system can’t continue as a traditional school district but he did not want to see either school closed. Benatti did not respond to the question.
Another question posed to candidates asked them to give one idea on how to increase revenue to the town and one idea of where to cut expenses. Bedard took the microphone first and outlined several options he would like to explore to improve the town’s financial health. On the revenue-increasing side, he would consider imposing the real estate transfer tax, petitioning state officials for the right to charge a tax on meals purchased in local restaurants, and applying the existing room tax to condominiums rented out for short-term stays.
“That’s a loophole that needs to be closed,” he said about the 9.7 percent room tax, which hotels, inns and guesthouse are required to charge their guests but not condo owners renting their property to tourists.
On the cost-cutting side, Bedard proposed reducing the town’s 80 percent contribution towards its employees’ health care insurance.
Amato said he would “cut back fat” in the town’s budget but did not give specifics on how he would do that.
Meyer said he would work towards regionalizing purchasing among Outer Cape towns in order to save money by combining their purchasing power. He would also explore what other towns have done to shore up their revenues. As for reducing expenses, Meyer said it would be difficult to reduce employee insurance costs via negotiation but had no other suggestions on where to cut spending.
Benatti did not respond to the question.
psowers@provincetownbanner.com
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May 22nd, 2008