By Vicki Greene, Contributing Writer
Marlborough – Mayor Arthur G. Vigeant has been appointed by his peers to head the Massachusetts Mayors’ Association for 2019. The Association is a division of the Massachusetts Municipal Association (MMA). He previously served as vice president of the Mayors’ Association and will now serve the standard one-year term as president. In his role, he is also a member of the Executive Committee of the larger MMA.
“This is a real honor,” Vigeant said. “This group is a great resource. Many (mayors) have been around a lot longer than I have so we learn from each other, but we also learn from newly elected mayors who bring fresh ideas and perspectives.”
According to the MMA, there are 47 mayors in the state. Twenty-five are elected for two-year terms, while 22 are elected for four-year terms. Several cities do not have mayors or have both a mayor and a city manager. Regardless, Vigeant is excited that “for the first time, all 351 communities (in the state) are part of the larger MMA.”
As for the Mayors’ Association, Vigeant noted there are many important issues discussed at the monthly meetings and some more important to some communities than others. When asked to highlight the three top issues of concern for mayors in the state at this time, Vigeant mentioned school funding and an “outdated formula” known as Chapter 70, increasing recycling costs and Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB). OPEB refers to the benefits, other than pensions, that a municipal employee receives as part of his or her package of retirement benefits which includes retiree health insurance and life insurance. The cities must continue funding these accounts in their budgets which rise as health insurance costs rise.
Inequity in school funding is an issue that is top-of-mind for communities and is a complex formula that is impacted by charter school funding and in some cases, funding for technical high schools.
“The Governor’s budget for fiscal year 2020 is out and we are all taking a close look at it.” Vigeant said. “We all realize that the current amount budgeted for schools benefits only a small number of communities while underfunded communities aren’t seeing increases.”
Regarding increased recycling costs, according to Vigeant, at least one city has been forced to break its contract with a hauler because it had become cost prohibitive. Vigeant said the costs of recycling are outpacing the cost of standard trash removal. This is due, he says, to the fact that “the majority of recyclable materials has been going to a few countries including China, which now has its own stronger economy, and those countries only want to take perfectly clean, not just washed out, materials to be reused.”
City recycling contracts typically go out to bid every two to four years, according to Vigeant. As an example, he said it could cost a community $80 a ton to recycle and only $60 a ton for trash removal.
“We can fall backward and undo the work we’ve done (recycling) for 20 years,” he said.
Vigeant has been in public service for many years, having served on the Marlborough City Council for 18 years, as council president for nine years and was first elected mayor in 2012. He is in his fourth term as the city’s mayor and is a practicing certified public accountant.
A graduate of Worcester State University, Vigeant was asked in an alumni profile about his political role models of which he had a few but noted, “The common thread with these strong leaders was to be able to work with others of any political party and compromise on issues without giving up on your values, all for the good of the people.”
