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Achievements:
a record of service to Natick
Board of Selectmen Achievements
| Community
Achievements
I believe that achievements on the
Board of Selectmen are more about what the
Board and the Town accomplish for the residents of the town, and
less about the accomplishments of an individual. It is
important
to work well as a group, and ensure that all members
contribute with their
particular strengths to the deliberations and actions of the Board.
As I ask for your support and vote for another term,
the issues on
which I have played a significant role in the past few years include:
Financial Stability and Economic
Development
- Supported
new Financial Management policies to help ensure stability and services
- Drafted and
testified for legislation to attract new restaurants and businesses to
Natick Center
- Worked on
legislation to reform municipal health insurance laws to preserve
services and protect taxpayers
- Supported
efforts to collect over $600,000 of back taxes owed to Natick
- Led effort
for local option meals and hotel taxes to provide almost $1
million annually for capital projects
Transportation
Communications
- Worked to
improve Town web site
- Testified at
State House to ensure continued local control of Cable TV licensing
- Led effort
to make FiOS service available to customers with underground
utility wires
Veterans and Human Services
- Organize
Veterans Appreciation Events
- Supported
Vietnam Moving Wall visit
- Created
materials to ensure eligible residents are informed of and
receive benefits
Management
- Helped hire
Town Administrator, Police Chief, Fire Chief, Comptroller and
Veterans Officer
- Created
review form to evaluate Legal Counsel
Openness and Citizen Participation
- Created
committee application form to streamline hundreds of Board appointments
- Encouraged
countless new volunteers in local government
- Organized seminar
to promote open meeting and public records laws
Leadership
- Drafted
annual Goals and Objectives for Town Administrator and led review
process
- Drafted
Board action items for Natick 360 strategic plan; chair
Strategic Planning review committee
- Chaired re-precincting committee to rebalance Natick's voting precincts
- Testified at state legislative hearings for Natick and other legislation to benefit cities and towns
Town Meeting accomplishments
- The legislative process requires
patience, persuasion and attention to detail. Since 2003 I have
sponsored and/or drafted many warrant articles that have passed Town
Meeting, from improving our governance to encouraging economic
development, promoting parking solutions and laying the groundwork for
a rail trail; ensuring custody of the Town Forest and attracting more
restaurants; and adopting local option meals and hotel taxes that are
funding capital improvements and our reserve accounts.
Community Achievements
Click
for more information about...
Massachusetts Selectmen's Association
The MSA
is a statewide organization that provides professional support and
encourages best practices by the Selectmen of the 301 Towns in the
Commonwealth. As First Vice President on the MSA Board, I
help create
programming and materials to improve the quality of service by elected
officials, while learning how to be more effective on behalf of
Natick and other towns by advocating for local interests at the State
level.
Massachusetts Municipal Association
I serve on the Board of
Directors of the Massachusetts
Municipal Association,
a nonprofit, nonpartisan association that provides advocacy, training,
publications, research and other services to Massachusetts cities and
towns. The MMA advocates on behalf of Natick and all 351
cities
and towns in the state on matters relating to local funding,
legislation and regulations, local services and many other issues that
affect our quality of life and our finances.
Local Government Advisory Commission
The LGAC
meets monthly with the Governor and Lt. Governor to discuss issues of
importance to cities and Towns. The MMA Board of Directors
comprises the majority of the LGAC. Among the issues that I
have
discussed with the Administration through the LGAC are municipal health
insurance reform, sustainable local aid, transportation
funding,
pension reform
and other subjects that bear directly on Natick.
Natick Education Foundation
I served as Co-President and President of the Natick Education
Foundation from 1999 to 2002.
The
NEF is an independent non-profit, started by Natick citizens in 1990,
whose mission is to promote excellence and innovation in the Natick
Public Schools by raising funds and awarding grants to educators and
parents for programs that are worthy and sustainable. During my term as
President, we awarded scores of grants to every public school (thanks
to the generosity of the Natick community), and expanded the NEF’s
mission to engage the public on important issues of public education,
including an October 1998 forum on middle school facilities titled Middle
Ground.
Town Meeting Member
I was a Town Meeting member from 1998 until 2006, with a
near-perfect
attendance record. I was elected in 2010 to a new term so that I could
debate, offer motions and participate in our legislative process.
As an early example of providing leadership, at Fall 2003
Town Meeting, I led an effort to amend the Natick bylaws to require
Town Meeting to address the entire warrant before dissolving. Prior to
this action, it was possible for Town Meeting to end without voting on,
or even debating one or more articles placed near the end of the
warrant – even citizen’s petitions that were brought before Town
Meeting. A majority of Town Meeting agreed that we were elected to do
all the business before us, and the article passed.
Citizen Participation
I
urge citizens to be well informed about civic issues, to vote in local
elections, and to participate in their government.
Two examples of
my leadership in this area are the Town Government Open House and the Natick
Votes Tuesday signs visible in the weeks before each
election. Another was the extensive civic information available at Natick.info which is
available to an interested volunteer to maintain and improve. More recently, I was appointed to the Special Commission on Civic Engagement and Learning to help promote civics education from kindergarten to undergraduate public colleges and universities across the Commonwealth. I
helped to organize the first Town Government Open House, an event that
brought dozens of volunteers representing over 30 town boards to the
Morse Library on November 14, 2005. Co-sponsored by the Selectmen and
the Natick League of Women Voters, this “volunteer job fair” and
networking event helped bring out interested citizens who want to learn
more and participate in our government, while providing a unique
opportunity for volunteers to meet and learn from each other.
It
has since been incorporated into the outreach program of Town
government in Natick.
The Natick
Votes
signs were the result of a suggestion from my wife, Jeanne, who noted
similar signs in other communities. I first brought the idea to the
Board of Selectmen in October 2001 and they were installed before the
March 2002 election, thanks to the efforts of the Board and the Natick Department of Public Works
I
believe that of Natick's many blessings, the power of ideas and the
energy of our people shine the brightest, and I encourage my
fellow citizens to invest their time in our community.
If
you want to know more about these achievements, the issues where I have made a
difference, or other Natick subjects, please send your questions and
comments at joshua@ostroff.net
or 508 654-3330.
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