Aldermen shoot down mayor’s proposal
By George P. Hassett

   The Board of Aldermen refused to appropriate money to fund a project proposed by Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone at Thursday‚Äôs meeting.
   The project has been described as ‚Äúreverse 311,‚Äù and would allow the city to send communications to 1,000 residents per minute. With the technology, the city could notify the entire city of snow emergencies, train closings and school closings in under an hour. Curtatone asked the board to spend $29,199 on the service this year. For a full year, the service would cost $103,800, he said.

    Alderman-at-Large William A. White, Ward 3 Alderman Thomas F. Taylor, Ward 4 Alderman Walter Pero, Ward 6 Alderman Rebekah Gewirtz and Alderman-at-Large Bruce Desmond voted against the proposal.
   Ward 1 Alderman William Roche, Ward 2 Alderman Maryann Heuston, Ward 5 Alderman Sean T. O‚ÄôDonovan, Alderman-at-Large Dennis Sullivan and Ward 7 Alderman Robert C. Trane voted in favor of instituting reverse 311 this year. Alderman-at-Large Denise Provost was not present at the meeting.
    The aldermen who voted against the proposal praised the service but said it was too soon to appropriate money for it.
    ‚ÄúThe technology is tremendous but I would like to wait until we get next year‚Äôs budget,‚Äù said White. ‚ÄúWe have been hit with state cuts, our citizens have been hit with high water bills, we have raised taxes, and we have raised fines and fees. We should hold back for a couple of months, demonstrate we are saving money, then look at it very seriously for the next budget.‚Äù
    Desmond said he also believed the service could be useful but added the city should have other priorities.
    ‚ÄúI like this technology but it wouldn‚Äôt hurt to wait a few months and in the meantime set aside money to hire more police and more firefighters,‚Äù he said. ‚ÄúWhat good is it to have the technology to notify people there is an emergency going on if we don‚Äôt have the police or fire personnel to help them? Whether it‚Äôs only $15,000 or $20,000 we are putting aside to hire more police we need to start now. I will vote for this down the road but not tonight.‚Äù
    Currently the Somerville Police Department has only 84 members.
    Curtatone said the vote would not affect how many police or firefighters were added to next year‚Äôs budget and reminded aldermen of his willingness to provide city services to their neighborhoods.
    ‚ÄúIf you want to wait, then wait, but never let it be said that I wouldn‚Äôt work with an alderman when they needed something for their neighborhood. We always found a way to fund it, and I would like to continue doing that,‚Äù he said. ‚ÄúI‚Äôm asking for deference tonight.‚Äù
    Curtatone needed a majority vote to get his pet project funded but couldn‚Äôt get it as five aldermen voted against appropriating the money.
     Since first being elected as mayor in 2003, Curtatone has been able to effectively work with aldermen to push through many of his proposals, such as his plan for the re-development of   Assembly Square and the removal of the Chief of Police‚Äôs job from civil service.