City Councilor Ottaviani Joins King and Cannon in Their Plan To Make Framingham Government Dumber

In amidst the myriad items examined by the City Council Finance Subcommittee as it completed its line by line review of departmental spending, was a member subscription to the Massachusetts Municipal Association (MMA).

The MMA is an invaluable resource for all cities and towns across the Commonwealth and is best described in the following from its website:

"The MMA is the professional trade association for the municipal officials of Massachusetts.

We are nonpartisan policy experts, advocates, and connectors; we are collaborative and responsive.

We bring local leaders together to:
• Articulate a clear and united municipal message
• Develop and advocate for shared policy goals
• Share information and best practices
• Work together to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of municipal service delivery

Through shared learning, shared ideas and one shared voice on Beacon Hill, we work to help municipal officials improve the lives of the people they serve.

In short, the MMA is the voice of cities and towns in Massachusetts."

All 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts belong to the MMA.

For a period, a few years ago, Framingham was not a member, due to the lobbying of King, Cannon and Stefanini against membership. However, especially due to arguments from younger City Councilors, who appreciated the value of the MMA, Framingham rejoined.

Now this ‘old guard’ opposition to MMA membership has resurfaced, and provides a good calibration of how City Councilors King, Cannon and now Ottaviani view city government.

Especially, King and Cannon have had a long vendetta against the MMA, for no sound reason, and a prior article made the case against their position:

Framingham City Councilors King & Cannon Oppose Smarter Government (Feb 23, 2024)

While another article provided more insight into the value of the MMA:

Breaking News from the Massachusetts Municipal Association (Jan 19, 2024)

In the context of the FY27 budget review, the MMA membership fee of $25,000 is a small item, but the move by King, Cannon and Ottaviani to withdraw from membership is a symptom of a much deeper problem, which is plaguing the City Council.

We seem to suffer from City Councilors in leadership positions who have little interest in improving government in Framingham. Their priority is low taxes and that attitude dominates everything.

We see a budget process, which excludes a majority of the City Council and is devoid of planning or goals for the city.

It delivers major damage to the Framingham Public Schools, and disrupts a soundly run Senior Services operation, in a manner which runs rough shod over city charter requirements for proper review of organizational changes.

The entire annual budget approach could not be more broken.

The MMA fiasco is the tip of an iceberg of bad practices.

It shows exactly what the problem is.

It is hard to imagine another budget cycle a year from now, in which all the tired, old voices on the City Council and the Mayor foresee a similar round of trouble.

Never has it been more apparent that Framingham needs to make big changes in how its city government operates.

We need fresh ideas, new energy, and a boatload of planning to finally set goals and light a sound path to the future.

And Framingham should stay a member of the MMA, whose mission is to totally support such an effort.