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By Scott Zoback • THE REALS ON THE BUS: For two straight meetings, members of the City Council — this week it was Barbara Haller — have gone back to the old well that seems to be a new favorite, asking if the city could save money by having students ride public buses rather than contracted school buses. Opponents have argued that federal law prohibits subbing in public transit for chartered buses. But it’s not quite that simple. A 2005 Federal Transit Administration brochure on the issue acknowledges strict regulations. In general, WRTA-like groups that take FTA money, “cannot provide transportation for students and school personnel if that transportation excludes the general public or competes with private school bus operators.” The guide also allows that “public transportation vehicles can be used to transport students and school personnel to and from school if they ride regularly scheduled mass transportation service that is open to the general public.” A new law protecting private charter companies from “undue competition” from public transit groups went into effect last week, but does not prohibit public transit companies — as is true in some Boston cases — from being the main mode of transit for some students. Still, in Worcester, there are doubts about whether the WRTA could provide comprehensive service and if the routes would match up with the school locations. • REACHING THE SUMMIT: This Friday’s much-anticipated rail summit is already raising questions about its effectiveness. The meeting, open to the public, is being held from 8:30 to 11 a.m., leading some to question exactly how many people who actually ride the rails will be able to attend. And not everyone — including the bloggers behind “trainstopping.blogspot.com,” among the most popular commuter tail blogs — even knew about the event before earlier this week. Still, with a DCU lineup that includes Michael Dukakis, Tim Murray, and municipal and transit officials from statewide, there should be some good nuggets. We’ll be blogging the meeting live on worcesteria.wordpress.com. • HIDING IN THE VAULT: What’s in David Rushford’s vault? A lot of random bizarre crap and chatskas, and some legitimately cool stuff apparently. On Tuesday night, the City Council voted to “accept” the menagerie, including stuff that has been stored since before Rushford was clerk. You can check out the full list on the Web site, but some favorites include: • An antique South High brass pin pendant • A brass non-freezing Air Gauge by the Rockwell Sprinkler Company, donated by ex-City Clerk Thomas Donahue • Six “lost and found” public notices from 1872-1902 • One 13-by-19-inch watercolor fabric painting of Kenyan elephants • A 26-by-48-inch antique City Hall photomural donated by D’Angelo’s sandwich shops • BUDGET TIME: City Manager Michael O’Brien managed a balanced budget once again, but there were several juicy tidbits in his presentation that will end up being the focus of controversy down the road. One was his call for all public union employees to be at a 75/25 split on health insurance by fiscal 2010. Police Officials Local 504 President Don Cummings’ quick reaction? “Our contract runs through fiscal year 2009.... I’m sure the city will put health insurance on the table, we’ll be happy to discuss anything on the table,” he says. Left unsaid is that Cummings and his compatriots at the negotiation table will be expecting something significant in return for that move to 25% personal contribution. No word on what that might be. • BUDGETING EDUCATION’S TIME: The other interesting part of the budget discussions continues to be education funding. The education-advocate community continues to show up in force, speaking every week about the need for 103% of the “minimum” or foundation funding; in his budget presentation, the city manager responded, “What we’ve done is give the equivalent of 103%.” But that includes redirected savings from health insurance, and some parents and teachers in the crowd shook their head in disagreement with his numbers. “It’s a start,” said Michael O’Brien. Post-meeting, one city councilor expressed frustration over the continued education demands, especially after this week’s citizen speaker, Stephanie Yuhl of Stand For Children, thanked the City Council for the funding, but said more was needed. • BUDGET OUR TIME: Next Tuesday will be the first of a series of budget hearings that will run through the beginning of June; each hearing will be from 4-6 p.m., followed by the regular City Council meeting. The first meeting, this Tuesday, will cover, among other things, the City Council and mayor’s office, the city clerk and Election Commission, Retirement, the City Manager’s Office, Health Insurance, and an early discussion on the bottom line for Worcester Public Schools. o |
