First meeting of councilors upbeat, cautious
By Doug Grindle Community Reporter

Marlborough - Marlborough city councilors, who had been sworn in only an hour before, set the course for the next year as the council sat for its first session, an administrative meeting.

Business included voting for a new council president and vice president.

Councilors voted unanimously to elect At-Large Councilor Arthur Vigeant as president of the council for 2008. Vigeant also served as council president in 2007.

At-Large Councilor Patricia Pope nominated Vigeant.

"He's always been fair and con- sistent," Pope said. "I for one would be delighted to have him as president."

The mood was upbeat, and laughter broke out as Vigeant voted for himself as the roll was taken individually for the vote.

Ward 3 Councilor Scott Schafer was elected unanimously as vice president of the council, a role he also served in 2007.

Schafer said the role is not usually time consuming, but it was during 2007, when he and Vigeant took the lead in reviewing applications for the position of city clerk, which was filled that year.

The session was quickly wrapped up, and councilors said they are looking forward to receiving committee assignments over the next two weeks and resuming regular council business.

"It's always a time for new beginnings," At-Large Councilor Michael Ossing said.

The mood was buoyed by the two new members on the council, Ward 7 Councilor Don Landers and Ward 1 Councilor Joseph Delano.

"I am excited and very optimistic," Delano said.

"I'd be kidding you if I didn't say I'm really happy," Landers said.

Returning councilors said the newcomers will be quickly integrated into the council.

"It's a learning curve for them," Ward 6 Councilor Edward Clancy said.

Schafer noted that when he came on the council, five new members joined at once. Compared to that, two will be relatively easy to integrate.

Contributing to the up-beat mood is the good state of the city's finances. The city is in a strong financial position, even as neighboring towns run into difficulties, councilors said.

"We've had a good financial plan the last two years and I hope we continue that trend," Schafer said.

However, councilors noted the good times could be short-lived if the economy suff ers a downturn.

Ossing told reporters the city has three sources of revenue: state aid, property taxes and municipal fees such as excise taxes. A downturn is likely to aff ect the state aid.

"There's a potential for reduced state aid," Ossing said. "We can't go spend frivolously. It can all collapse instantaneously if we're not smart."

"I think we have enough in our rainy day fund that we'll have enough if we need to use it," Pope said.

Mayor Nancy Stevens said she is "cautiously optimistic" that the city's strong financial position will continue in 2008.

The first full meeting of the City Council will be held Monday Jan. 28.

Former councilor Maura Navin Webster attended the meeting. She resigned her seat Jan. 6 after taking a job with the American Heart Association, which barred her from holding an elected position.

"I wanted to support my former colleagues," Webster said, standing in the hallway outside the council chamber.

The School Committee met separately in an administrative meeting of its won.

Committee members elected Kathleen Robey as the vice chair of the committee, Robey said. She held the same position in 2007. As mayor, Stevens serves as the chair of the committee.