News from the Board of Selectmen and Town Manager

This article is from the Quarterly Newsletter from the Town of North Andover.

Frequently the Board of Selectmen and Town Manager are approached with some version of this question: "Can’t the town save money or become more efficient by joining with other communities to provide services or share equipment?”  Another phrase that is used in this context is the “regionalization of services”.   While at first blush one would think that the New England traits of independence and self reliance would work against such cooperation between cities and towns, the reality is much different.  North Andover, like many other communities in Massachusetts, has found that given our common financial constraints, we must work together with our neighbors to become more efficient and effective in our service delivery. Some current examples of this regional approach to service delivery include:

• A variety of mutual aid agreements exist between North Andover and our neighboring cities and towns to provide police, fire and ambulance services when circumstances require more resources then an individual community can muster. A situation where this may arise is a large fire where emergency units from surrounding municipalities respond to assist in putting out the fire or providing back up.
• The Town has entered into compacts with other communities to provide specialized services that a community could not economically support on its own. One such compact is the Police Department’s participation in the North East Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council to provide for SWAT team responses and crime scene analysis.
• The Fire Department’s membership in the District Six Hazmat Team provides for regional hazardous material response capability.  
• North Andover participates in the Northeast Mass. Mosquito and Wetlands Management District, a regional organization that provides technical and scientific resources to address health related mosquito issues.
• Under the auspices of the Greater Lawrence Educational Collaborative Cooperative Purchasing Program and other similar joint purchasing arrangements, North Andover and other communities participate in bulk purchases of electricity, natural gas, road salt, paper products, police cruisers and many other items to maximize economies of scale.
• Recognizing that disasters, both natural and man made, do not respect political boundaries, North Andover is a participant in the North East Homeland Security Regional Advisory Council to provide for regional response planning to these types of incidents. Similarly, the Board of Health is a member of the Greater River Valley Medical Reserves Corp which was created to address region wide health concerns such as a flu pandemic.
• Our community is an active member of the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission which is currently undertaking studies of the Rt114 and I 495 transportation corridors.  Regional planning efforts such as these recognize that what one town does in its community can have a significant impact on its neighbors particularly in the areas of traffic and the environment.  Can municipalities in Massachusetts, including our own, do more to foster this environment of cooperation and assistance between each other? The answer is a resounding yes. However, it takes time, energy and determination to overcome what some view as an inherent parochialism that resides in each of our communities. This one obstacle doesn’t negate the benefit to be realized from taking the initiative.  During the next few years initiatives under study include regional emergency dispatching and sharing of public works equipment.

As the above examples have shown, the benefits of joining together with our fellow cities and town to work cooperatively on matters of mutual concern far exceed any perceived drawbacks. Working together makes good sense, increases efficiencies and improves and expands collaboration.

As all decisions ultimately come down to economic and financial implications, we can no longer afford not to work together.