No Musictown Parade? No Spirit of Somerset? Town administrator recommends canceling

SOMERSET — Town Administrator Richard Brown has made several recommendations to the Board of Selectmen in order to insure the health, safety and financial viability of Somerset as they await direction for the reopening of the community from the restrictions put in place because of the coronavirus pandemic.

In the memo that was dated April 27, Brown proposed that any vacant position that is filled should be necessary to the organization, but said he was not proposing a hiring freeze. He wrote in a memorandum to the the selectmen that during the pandemic, many employees cannot take a planned vacation. He recommends that the town adopt a liberal policy of time being carried forward over the next several years to allow that to work itself out.

Brown wrote in his memo to the selectmen that the town needs to invest more in its computer capabilities, cyber protection and portable equipment. He said that the town was not well prepared for remote working and needs to be for the next event.

Also in the memo, Brown says the structure of government in Somerset is cumbersome. He says the town needs to engage in a charter review process and create a structure that is efficient and agile and can meet the demands of the 21st century and beyond. Selectman Steven Moniz has suggested looking into a town charter in the past, but needed someone to gather the signatures for the process because he would not be allowed to do it as a selectman. Nobody volunteered to do that.

Brown wrote in his memo that use and rental of public property in Somerset should be canceled for the remainder of the year. He said the town should not be encouraging large gatherings on its property, whether its public or private. Scheduled events he recommends be canceled include the Memorial Day Parade on May 25, Angler Day on July 26 at Somerset Village Waterfront Park, two weddings at the Bluffs, a car show at the Bluffs on Sept. 19, the Spirit of Somerset Family Fun Day on Sept. 19 at the Waterfront Park, Public Safety Day at the Police/Fire Complex on Sept. 26, yoga at the Bluffs, the Somerset Musictown Festival Parade in October, the Veterans' Appreciation Breakfast at the Venus de Milo in November, the Veterans' Day Ceremony and road races.

Brown also recommended that in approving the Town Meeting warrant, capital items be deferred until the fall Town Meeting. He said that will give the town a chance to better assess its financial status and longer term fiscal needs. Brown and the town accountant are monitoring and evaluating the impact of the pandemic on local revenues which impacts town operations and the level of support that might be needed by the public schools. He noted that the town already funds over $5 million in education costs from the general budget and "cannot reasonably be expected to hold them harmless from any financial shortfall."

Brown said the town will continue to apply for the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative funding that it was been receiving for the last several years. The town has been receiving about $3.5 a year from that source to help it transition from losing significant revenue from the two power plants that closed. Brown wrote in his memo to the selectmen that he has not heard anything to the contrary, but he would imagine those monies being directed to a more statewide purpose.

"I expect this recovery to take three to five years," Brown wrote in his memo to the selectmen. "While we will want to use our free cash and stabilization funds to reduce property taxes, we need to be reminded that these funds are buffering us from the loss of taxes from the energy industry and the new pressures created by the economic downturn of the pandemic. Stabilization funds should only be used to reduce a portion of the financial impact of the pandemic and not to reduce property taxes."

Brown wrote in the memo that the town needs to be constantly reviewing departmental operations to determine the necessity of current programs and services. He said the town should not be afraid to make changes simply because "we've always done it that way."

"As the recovery process moves forward, we will be updating the financial forecast and the implications on the Town's projected spending plan," Brown wrote in the memo. "We will also be suggesting alternatives to the initial town meeting warrants. These alternatives will be designed to preserve capital and delay major spending decisions to a time when better forecasts are available. In the meantime, please accecpt this memorandum as a philosophical outline to guide decision making as we enter the recovery process of the COVID 19 pandemic. Also, as we contemplate the manner in which we reopen the community, please be data driven and consider the science rather than the emotional appeals we may receive. Science is true whether or not you believe it."

Brown writes in the memo that the current economic crisis is not like past recessions and in many ways cannot be managed the same way.

"While we should pay attention to our fiscal fundamentals we need to remember that this financial crisis was caused by COVID-19 and not the collapse of the financial system," Brown wrote in the memo. "The pandemic is what caused the financial system to collapse."

The COVID-19 pandemic has been marked worldwide by strains on the healthcare and financial industry, Brown wrote in the memo. He wrote that social distancing, while essential to stop the spread of the virus, has contributed to a worldwide economic collapse. He wrote that unemployment is at record levels, businesses of all sizes and schools are closed, supply lines disrupted and an already fragile health care delivery system is overwhelmed. He wrote that several federal economic stimulus packages are helping to prop up the economy but may be insufficient to the task. Brown wrote that this pandemic has highlighted the ongoing problems with food insecurity, inadequate housing, income insecurity and social isolation.

"We have come to recognize what is essential to survival and that those we depend on most are not always our most highly compensated employees," Brown wrote. "I am proud to point out that during the crisis our public employees: first responders and all employees have risen to the task and provide services to the Somerset community."

Brown wrote that at this point, two things have become become obvious to him. The first is that the State and Federal partners need to resolve the issues of the pandemic itself. He wrote that people need to be able to leave their homes, socialize, return to work and not be afraid. He wrote that means more social distancing, more effective testing and treatment and the development and deployment of a vaccine. "Until that happens I don’t expect to see large scale public events, normalization of the travel and hospitality industries, and resumption of vigorous retail activities," Brown wrote. Brown wrote that while schools may resume in the fall (and that may be problematic if there is a second wave of the coronavirus), the town's buildings are ill equipped to maintain social distances. He wrote that challenges classroom, cafeteria and extracurricular activities. Until testing and treatment are improved, he wrote that basic child care and the ability to return to work remains a challenge.

Recreation spaces in town may be opened in a modified fashion but people may not be able to resume organized activities for some time, he wrote. Elections and Town Meeting may be impacted as well as smaller groups attending board and commission meetings once opened to the public, he wrote.

Brown wrote in the memo that public spending will need to be adjusted to the new level of activity but recognize the need to honor contractual obligations and the support employees gave the town when needed most.

Brown wrote that traditional economic tools will not meet the needs of the present crisis. During his deployment with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, he worked in Long Term Community Recovery. He was assigned to a northwest Alabama community that had suffered devastating loss of life, residential property, and business as a result of a series of EF 5 tornados. He wrote that in many ways, the community looked like photos of cities that had been bombed during the war.

He wrote that while his FEMA group did not have money, its mandate was to assist the community to develop the tools to recover from the effects of the disaster. He wrote that they often pointed out that because the devastation was so complete, residents could articulate what they wished to see, rather than simply repair what was.

"I believe that the recovery scenario is more similar to recovering from the devastation of a natural disaster than an economic downturn," Brown wrote in the memo "In the near term it will be a slow process to return to work, travel for work or pleasure, go out to dinner at a sit down restaurant, attend concerts or sporting events, or even fully engage in schools and colleges. This phase of our recovery will be dictated by the best medical advice and the science associated with the spread of the virus."