The Milton League of Women Voters is hosting their annual candidate debate.
Debate between Candidates for: Assessor, Housing Authority, Library Trustee, Park Commissioner, Town Treasurer will all be included.
Admission is free and all are welcome.
Please visit their site. It is a great resource for information on the upcoming election. You can find their web site here.
WHERE: Fuller Village / Brush Hill Activities Room / 1372 Brush Hill Road / Milton, MA
WHEN: April 6 @ 7:00 pm
For the first time in twenty-eight years the Milton ballot will not list Kevin Sorgi as a candidate for Treasurer & Collector. After nearly three decades in office, Kevin Sorgi has chosen to move on.
That amount of time and experience gives one a knowledge and perspective about the both the office and the town that is unique. Kevin agreed to sit down and do an exit interview, sharing his thoughts about the office, town government, and lessons learned. We met a man who is blunt and independent-minded with a head for numbers and a passionate heart for the town.
“You never know what’s going to happen,” says Sorgi.
Kevin Sorgi is a lifelong resident of town. He attended St Agatha’s elementary school and graduated from Milton High in 1965. He went to Northeastern, where he received a BS in Education and History. Upon graduation, his hope was to become a teacher, but at that time (early 70’s) “there were more teachers than students.” He secured a position with Dun and Bradstreet. He performed well both in the office and on the softball field.
But then came a Sorgi moment: when offered a promotion, he asked, “What if I don’t want to be promoted?” Informed he would need to leave the firm, he replied, “OK.” So Sorgi left Dun and Bradstreet and became a Milton police officer.
He served on the force from 1972 to1981, where he freely admits his arrest record was not especially remarkable. Instead, he points to his work with the Juvenile Citation Program as being on the plus side of that balance sheet.
As time went on, his personal situation and responsibilities were not compatible with a police officer’s schedule.
When the office of town treasurer became available, he decided to run. Sorgi quips, “I don’t think anyone grows up wanting to be Town Treasurer.” But he won the election. He would win re-election for the next 27 terms.
According to Sorgi, becoming Town Treasurer “is like learning a foreign language.” The outgoing treasurer took Sorgi under his wing and showed him the way, something Sorgi is committed to doing for his successor.
The Treasurer/Collector is responsible for:
On that last point, there are very few properties under foreclosure, maybe 75 out of 8300, according to Sorgi. Usually they come about due to illness, death, or college debt and are typically temporary deliquencies. Regarding investing the town’s funds, Sorgi states there are three priorities. In order of importance they are: safety, liquidity, and yield. Approximately $86 million flows through the town coffers on an annual basis.
From Sorgi’s perspective, “the trickiest part of the job is managing the cash flow.” There is the $3 million a month in payroll, and then there are vendor payments which are very difficult to project.
But while that may be the tricky part, it is clearly the contact with the public that has kept Sorgi in office for so long. “I spend a lot of time with the public. I listen to [their] problems, questions, and concerns. People know that they have someone here who will listen and respond. And that is very important for them to feel about their government.”
It is that commitment to the town and its people that is the likely reason prior Town Administrator David Colton selected Sorgi to assist when Standard & Poor was re-evaluating Milton’s bond rating. Sorgi squired them around town and showed them “the strength of Milton: Indian Cliffs, Curry College, Turner’s Pond.” Standard & Poor gave Milton’s bond rating an upgrade.
Sorgi claims to have it pretty easy. When he speaks to Town Treasurers from other communities, “I can’t relate to what they are talking about. We have good citizens. They pay their bills on time; they maintain their properties, and they show town pride.”
Stephen M. Tart, a teacher at Milton High School and a member to the Massachusetts Education Association, has an opinion piece in today’s Patriot Ledger.
He begins:
Education is expensive. Most teachers carry a load of student loan debt incurred over the course of four years of undergraduate study in addition to another year of graduate study.
That is why very few are able to afford homeownership early in their career.
(Read the full story here.)
Frank Santos, Comedy Hypnotist, will be putting on a show to benefit the senior all-night Graduation Party. This is the single most important fund-raiser for the Senior All Night Graduation Party, an annual drug-free, alcohol free even.
Join in the fun!
WHERE: Milton High School Auditorium / Gile Road / Milton, MA
WHEN: April 9th @ 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, April 4th
10:00 – 4:00 pm Story Time — Elaine Weischedel, Children’s Librarian
10:00 – 12:00 pm Balloon Fun — Lara the Clown
10:30 – 12:30 pm Magician – Jack Serio, Young Adult Room, Upper Level
11:00 – 2:00 pm Face Painting — Aisha Saunders & Lori McGrath, Meeting Room, Lower Level AND Children’s Room
11:oo am Story & Craft time – Andrea Gordon, Storyteller
12:00 – 2:00 pm Puppet Playtime –Myrtle Flight, Meeting room, Lower Level
1:30 pm Story & Craft Time — Andrea Gordon
2:30 pm Story Time — Elaine Weischedel
3:00 – 3:30 pm Seussical, the Musical — The Milton Players, Meeting Room
Sunday, April 5, 2009
1:30 – 2:00 pm Dedication & Ribbon Cutting
2:15 – 2:45 pm Fontbonne Academy Gospel Choir, Upper Level
2:30 – 3:30 pm Meet the Artists, Lower Level
3:00 – 3:30 pm Murphy’s Kitchen, Upper Level
The MHS Poetry Jam originally scheduled for tonight and tomorrow has been postponed. It will be scheduled for a later date to be determined.
from Wicked Local
As they care for an injured daughter and prepare the funeral for three other children, Vonze and Regina Revelus are getting aid and comfort from near and far. (read the full story here.)
Reminder: tomorrow night there is a benefit being held for Mike Madden, MHS Varsity soccer coach, who is recovering from complications of back surgery. See event details here or visit the Friend for Mike Madden web site.
And here is a nice story that ran in today’s (4/2/09) Boston Globe profiling Mike and the effort by the town and his co-workers.
from the Boston Globe
It was supposed to be a routine back operation. But when popular Milton soccer coach Mike Madden awoke after surgery this fall, he was mostly paralyzed from the waist down.
Now the community is rallying around the 38-year-old father of five – fund-raisers are planned, including one tomorrow, anonymous people shovel the driveway, and meals are delivered every other night. (read the full story here.)
The Board of Selectmen meet at Town Hall, 525 Canton Ave.
A key issue before them for the month of April are the candidates for Fire Chief.
We were privileged to be invited to a sneak peek of the renovated library (I think it was our library fines) and it is really a great achievement for the town.
We congratulate the library trustees, friends of the library, and the library staff on this significant contribution to town life, enrichment, and culture.
There are quiet, attractive reading areas, study kiosks, numerous computer stations, all extremely well designed and well laid out.
It opens on Thursday and there are special events this week end. Go, explore and enjoy!
Here is a link to Patriot Ledger coverage of the library opening: Milton library designed with patrons in mind
And here is a video from Patriot Ledger with Library Director Phil McNulty.