By Joseph A. Curtatone

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries of The Somerville News belong solely to the authors of those commentaries and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville News, its staff or publishers.)

Remembering Memorial Day

On May 25, I had the privilege of walking in the Memorial Day Parade. It was our largest ever, the weather was ideal, and the city looked terrific. I also participated in the solemn commemorative ceremonies before and after the parade, and even in the middle of the bands, the crowds, the happy kids, and the blaring fire engines, I didn’t have any trouble remembering what our parade is all about.  For generations, thousands of Somerville residents, and millions of men and women from across the nation, have given everything they have and everything they are to makes these celebrations possible – to give us the rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  When we enjoy a beautiful holiday in our beautiful city, we are enjoying a gift from all those who served.

Home from Gaeta

The Memorial Day Parade was made all the sweeter for me by the fact that I and 40 of my fellow residents had just returned the previous day from a successful trip to Italy, where we met with the elected leadership of our sister city, Gaeta, and a number of its municipal neighbors, to share ideas about governmental practices, to discuss ways to improve economic and political ties, and to put the finishing touches on a student exchange program. (We got a great deal on the travel package, by the way, but everyone paid his or her own way.)

This October, the ‚ÄúStudent Exchange Representative Abroad Program Opportunity‚Äù (SERAPO) will bring 10 Gaetano high school students to Somerville for up to two weeks of study. They will be hosted in the homes of Somerville students, and participate in a number of special community events.  Then, during April school vacation in 2009, we will be sending a student delegation of our own to Gaeta for a similar learning opportunity.   Throughout our visit last month, the Gaetano spirit of hospitality and friendship was constantly in evidence, and I hope we will generate an enthusiastic response from Somerville families willing to host the Gaetano students coming in the fall.  (You have until July 1 to apply. For more information, or make your application to participate, please call Jackie Rossetti at 617-625-6600 ext 2614 or email her at jrossettti@somervillema.gov.)

Many Somerville families, my own included, have roots in Gaeta, and one of the reasons that we put the SERAPO label on the student exchange program is that one of Gaeta’s most beautiful and popular attractions is Serapo Beach.  Improving ties with Gaeta and other sister cities has been a terrific way to celebrate Somerville’s diversity and its rich multicultural heritage. The reception we received in Gaeta was a reminder to me of how much we gain as a community when we extend ourselves to give visitors and new arrivals in our community a warm welcome and a friendly reception.

But as good a time as we had on our trip, I was glad to get back to Somerville, and to see so many friends and neighbors at the parade. Even though we must constantly work to make our community even better, stronger, and more beautiful, we have a lot to celebrate in our city, and our community spirit was very much on display last week.

Happy Returns

And just in case you think all these celebrations are causing city government to slack off on the hard work of managing the municipality, here’s one more cause for celebration:  In its most recent annual investment report, the Massachusetts Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission (PERAC) ranked Somerville number six out of the state’s 351 cities and towns for rate of return on retirement system investments. With a 2007 investment return rate of 12.14 percent, Somerville’s retirement system not only outperformed 98 percent of the Commonwealth’s cities and towns, but also outperformed the state’s own Pension Reserves Investment Management (PRIM) Board.

With budget season upon us, and with so many communities facing drastic budget cuts or Prop 2 _ overrides in FY2009, you will be hearing a lot more in the next few weeks about how well we’ve managed our resources here in Somerville. But there has already been a lot of publicity in the past year about Governor Patrick’s proposal to allow the PRIM Board to manage investments for chronically underperforming municipal retirement systems. The governor’s plan will soon become law, and it’s a good idea, but there are clearly communities that have managed their retirement systems well enough to have earned their continued independence. Somerville is one of them – and that’s worth celebrating, too.