2022 Natick Candidate Profile: Bruce Evans For Select Board

NATICK, MA — Voters in Natick will have a rare chance to elect two new members to the Select Board.

Longtime Select Board members Sue Salamoff and Richard Jennett are not seeking reelection this year. Three candidates have stepped up to run for the two open seats: Kathryn Coughlin, Bruce Evans and Cody Jacobs.

To help voters get to know each candidate, Natick Patch sent all three a questionnaire to probe their thoughts on municipal issues. Here's what Evans had to say:

Age: 66
Occupation: Project manager (retired)
Experience as an elected/appointed official: 12 years on Natick Finance Committee (appointed), including last seven years as Secretary; 11 years as Town Meeting Member.

What do you think is the biggest issue facing Natick and what would you do about it?

Addressing the budget deficit, since funding drives so many things we want to accomplish as a town, such as affordability. Natick’s rising home prices and rental rates show no signs of stopping. I’ll do all I can to keep taxes and other housing costs from driving residents away and to diversify housing options. For example, I’ll ensure that through consistent funding, the Affordable Housing Trust has sufficient funds to assist families facing eviction to pay their rent or mortgage, and to help with down payments/closing costs for qualified first-time buyers. Rising property values often mean higher tax bills, making seniors and others on limited incomes afraid of depleting their savings and being forced to move. Programs focused mostly on seniors, such tax deferral, tax work-off, tax exemptions, and state tax refunds exist, but we need to improve communication and outreach to increase awareness. I’ll also investigate a means-tested property tax exemption for owner-occupied residences. Recent changes to zoning bylaws require some developers to either include below-market rate units in their projects or pay specified fees into the Affordable Housing Trust, both of which help with diversifying housing options.

Natick may have to decide later this year whether to adopt the CPA. Where do you stand on that issue?

I support the CPA and its proposed 1% property tax surcharge and as a Town Meeting member will vote to put it on the ballot. Under the proposal, the average property owner will pay an extra $68.15 annually. The first $100,000 of assessed property value would be exempt from the surcharge, and low-income and senior housing units would be fully exempt. The CPA provides funding for community priorities related to outdoor recreation, affordable housing, open space protection, and historic preservation. For more than 20 years, Natick property owners who buy or sell real estate have paid transaction fees that go into the state’s CPA Trust Fund, but Natick receives none of that money. By adopting the CPA, we will receive not only 100% of the surcharge on each local tax bill, but also a sizable match from the state’s CPA Trust Fund. It’s currently estimated that Natick will raise $1.1 million from the surcharge, with another $300,000 from the Trust Fund. These funds can leverage grants, Town appropriations, and private funds, and will roll over from year to year if unspent. Five percent of the money the Town receives can be used to cover administrative expenses if necessary.

Natick in 2022 will form a governance committee to study town strengths and weaknesses. What do you think the town's strengths and weaknesses are, and what changes would you want in any charter review?

Written 40 years ago, the Charter doesn’t reflect the realities of life today. Though it has been altered since, it doesn’t reflect the accelerated pace of life and the pressures of competing priorities.

It’s time to reexamine how we conduct Town Meeting, including how we use a “hybrid” in-person and online model. Today, we struggle to have a full complement of 180 members. When Town Meeting met virtually during COVID, we saw increased participation by younger residents, while some older members missed the in-person tradition. We may also want to consider reducing the number of Town Meeting members to reflect typical turnout.

The Town Meeting model can make it difficult for Natick to respond nimbly to business opportunities, as we’ve seen on more than one occasion. Might there be more responsive models of government to consider? For example, would a Town Manager and/or Town Council form of government serve us better? I expect the Town Governance Committee to learn from other communities’ experiences, provide a range of options, and offer thoughtful recommendations, which I would study in depth before voting to support changes. Should it advocate for creation of a Charter Commission, I expect to support doing so.

Due to rising school and town costs, the Select Board may have to decide whether to put a Prop 2 1/2 override on the ballot. Where do you stand on this issue?

I will support an operational override if it is determined to be necessary, but will fight to appropriately size it so that it’s neither too onerous nor so small that we have to return too soon to ask taxpayers for more. Since the last operating override in 2008, budget pressure has gradually risen as expenses outstripped revenues; this has worsened during the pandemic due to a $6 million reduction in local receipts. For the proposed FY23 budget, the gap was plugged using non-recurring money. This is not sustainable, and I will work hard to make sure that the Select Board takes the lead on fixing this structural budget deficit and moves Natick toward fiscal sustainability. One way to get on better financial footing is through commercial growth, which provides tax revenues yet uses fewer town services than residents. I’ll work with Town administration, Natick Center Associates, the Economic Development Committee and others to remove barriers to businesses locating in Natick.

If you could snap your fingers and make it happen, what's one thing you would change or fix in Natick?

If only it were that easy! I would want to resolve the budget deficit issue so that we could advance
some of the initiatives I’ve touched on here and another one I haven’t: environmental sustainability. Natick must limit its environmental impact through transition to clean energy, waste reduction and open space preservation. I’ve been committed to advancing sustainable practices and policies throughout my tenure on the Finance Committee and would consider it a priority as a member of the Select Board. If elected, I’ll support getting us on the path to carbon neutrality, including accelerating the transition to 100% renewable electric supply, promoting standards to phase out fossil fuel, and replacing obsolete systems with all-electric ones.

We can do many things as a town; others when we partner with other communities; and still more when we work with state agencies and the Legislature. I will lead on all of these approaches, as demonstrated by my work on the Finance Committee, where I championed projects ranging from solar array installation and LED retrofits for all municipal buildings to the transition to hybrid police cruisers and two critical water quality projects (PFAS water filtration and the reduction of fertilizer runoff).