Sisitsky Talks Rail Trail, Rate Hike, Dennison Cleanup In Speech

FRAMINGHAM, MA — Framingham Mayor Charlie Sisitsky's first state-of-the-city speech came just 31 days into his term — but the speech was not light on news.

Sisitsky covered a wide range of topics in a virtual speech on Monday night, from the ongoing pandemic to the ongoing budget troubles in the city's water and sewer funds. The former City Councilor also talked about a major rail trail initiative and environmental cleanups at two major sites in Framingham.

Here are some of the highlights from Sisitsky's speech on Monday night. You can watch the speech here.

Water, Sewer Funds

Trouble in Framingham's water and sewer funds came to a head in late 2020 when Mayor Yvonne Spicer announced the state would not certify the tax rate due to deficits in the utility accounts. That led to weeks of bargaining with the City Council and School Committee over a temporary fix, and then a hike in water and sewer rates over the summer.

Sisitsky said residents will see a "significant" rate hike again this year. In 2021, the city used about $6 million in federal stimulus funds to prevent a bigger increase, but those stimulus funds aren't available again this year, he said.

"I have pledged to be transparent and will always be honest with you. The only way to fix this situation is to institute a rate increase. We are in the process of hiring a rate consultant to advise us, but the increase will likely be significant," he said.

Bruce Freeman Rail Trail

Framingham is the last community in line to complete 25-mile Bruce Freeman Rail Trail, which one day will stretch from near Route 3 in Lowell to Route 9 near Maynard Road. With Sudbury closing in on a final deals to begin construction to the city line, Framingham's piece has been uncertain for about a year. Sisitsky said he has restarted negotiations with property owner CSX.

"Which I intend will lead to an agreement to purchase the rail trail property," he said.

Chemical Cleanup

Sisitsky announced that Framingham, with help from Senate President Karen Spilka, will get $12 million from the state to begin phase two of the cleanup at the General Chemical site along Leland Street. Sisitsky also said he is working with the city solicitor on a way to move ahead with plans to revitalize Mary Dennison Park, where heavy metal contamination was discovered nearly a decade ago.

Budget Planning

Sisitsky will present his first annual municipal budget to the City Council later this spring. He said the budget will be "challenging to craft" this year due to a lower free cash balance left after the fiscal 2022 budget cycle.

He hinted at changes coming to key areas that were a point of contention under former mayor Yvonne Spicer: the cost of having a city solicitor on retainer, and the structure of the economic development department. The City Council effectively fired the previous economic development director by cutting his salary, partially due to his failure to restructure the planning and community development department.

"In order to develop a balanced budget, as we are required to do, we will take a close look at making our operations more efficient and effective so we can balance our revenues with expenses," Sisitsky said. "We will look at new approaches in many areas of our government, including the way we communicate with constituents, the way we procure legal services and the operation of our planning and economic development department, to name a few."

Mayoral Team

The new mayor also announced some new staff members on Monday.

Sisitsky intends to hire Kez Franca as the new Citizen Participation Officer. And a candidate for the open human resources director job, Kathy O'Leary, an administrator with Dedham Public Schools, will go to the City Council on Tuesday for confirmation. Former Wayland chief administrator Louise Miller started last week as the new chief financial officer. Sisitsky had previously announced Susan Nicholl as his chief of staff and Mike Tusino as the chief operating officer.

In closing his first state-of-the-city speech, Sisitsky hinted at more challenges to come, but also optimism about the future of the city.

"In the past four weeks, my preliminary review of the status of the City indicated a number of challenges and concerns," he said. "However, in my discussions with division heads and members of their staff, I have sensed a new feeling of optimism and excitement to work together to solve these issues. I look forward with enthusiasm to working with everyone to achieve our goal of making Framingham better."