09/24/2021
On behalf of the Ipswich Finance Committee, it is with great pleasure that I write to express our support of article 9 on the 2021 Special Town Meeting warrant “Public Safety Building Appropriation for Design and Construction Costs”.
On Tuesday, September 14, the Ipswich Finance Committee held a public hearing to vote on this year’s warrant articles for the upcoming Special Town Meeting. After much deliberation and consideration of past discussions, the Finance Committee supported article 9 with an 8-1 vote. Our supermajority vote is in line with votes taken by our colleagues on the Select Board and School Committee confirming the need for a new facility.
To say the conditions of our separate police and fire stations are “unsatisfactory” is an understatement. As a committee, we believe it is the best financial practice to combine facility resources and join police and fire under one roof. We also believe it is in the best financial interest of the town to shield ourselves from future liabilities by providing our first responders and those who visit with a facility that is ADA compliant and welcoming to the community.
Public safety is a service that extends to every man, woman, and child of Ipswich. We owe it to the taxpayer, our neighboring communities, and to the brave men and women who carry out these critical services to provide a state-of-the-art facility containing modern technology that represents the character of Ipswich. Coming together as a community to support such an endeavor and agreeing on this investment is a necessity that will continue to move Ipswich in the right direction.
Support for this funding is a principal next step in accomplishing the capital projects outlined by our strategic plan working group. The days of kicking the proverbial can down the road are behind us. We as a community need to stay focused on our municipal capital improvements and must do so in a fiscally responsible way that does not overburden our senior citizen and low-income populations. As a committee, we believe that this project meets those standards.
I look forward to lending my personal support and expressing the support of my committee of this article at the upcoming Special Town Meeting on October 16.
Respectfully,
Michael S. Dougherty, Chairman
Ipswich Finance Committee
