Re-Elect Jim Muri for Rehoboth Board of Selectmen

I am running again for the Rehoboth Board of Selectmen after completing a three-year term and I would like to say a few short things in support of my re-election. My wife Nancy and I moved into Rehoboth in 1991 and immediately fell in love with the Town. We like the open spaces, the friendliness of the people, the spirit of volunteerism, and the overall cohesiveness of the Town. In short, we loved living in a little town where everyone looked after one another. 28 years later and we have two wonderful sons who went through the DR school system, Boy Scouts, various sports, and one son has completed BS degrees in engineering and the other has completed his BS and MS in engineering.

Over the past 28 years, I have served the Town on various Boards: Planning Board, the Computer Committee, the Information Technology Advisory Committee, the Open Space Committee, the Gravel Committee, and served as an adult leader in Troop 13 Boy Scouts.

Three years ago when I ran for my first term, I told you about some of the things that I hoped to achieve and I would like to revisit those things:

• Provide the town with better tools to operate more efficiently and cost-effectively: The IT Department has installed new permitting software that allows contractors and homeowners to file and pay for building permits online.  This also allows for automatic project tracking, resulting in more efficient use of town employees’ time.  This also reduces the amount of time the Town Clerk’s office spends filling State mandated information requests.
• Shared resources to make better use of existing resources: We have consolidated telephone and internet, eliminating under-used telephone lines and allowing the use of VOIP, which is less expensive than traditional lines.  We have implemented consolidation of printer and office supplies so that we can get the best pricing; prior to this each department ordered its own supplies.
• Better asset management, to preserve the assets we have and make them last longer: We implemented a preventative maintenance program on our Town buildings so that HVAC, drains, roof inspections, emergency power generators
• Better project management to ensure that when work is done, it is done correctly the first time: Our new Facilities Manager is tasked with managing projects from start-to-finish.  This ensures that contractors do quality jobs and ensures that the Town gets the most value out of projects.  Numerous projects a Town Hall and Public Safety have resulted in projects that have been completed satisfactorily, under budget and on time.
• Better protection of resources to maintain the rural character of the Town: Working in conjunction with various Boards, we have purchased several parcels to increase the open space inventory, including the recently purchased property on Danforth Street, resulting in nearly zero impact on operating budget (legal work only).
• Better use of volunteerism to engage the help of one of our greatest assets, the People: Numerous volunteers have come forward, including many working at the COA helping our seniors and interns assisting with well mapping, keeping our costs down while providing important service to our Town.
• Replacement of aging infrastructure: We have purchased a parcel using solar PILOT money (no impact on taxes or operating budget) centrally located on Anawan Steet that will support new buildings to replace our aging Public Safety Building and Town Hall.  We are currently negotiating a deal to purchase used buildings, at minimal cost, from another town.  This deal will give us Police and Fire facilities to carry us into the future.
• New revenue sources: We have made hosting agreements for both solar and marijuana facilities that result in PILOT revenue to finance future capital projects, including the Town Hall and other capital needs.  These new revenue sources allow the Town to pay for these projects without the need for tax increases or bond exclusions, keeping your taxes down.  Over the past three years, the Town has taken in over $500K in grant money, including State grants to fund repairs of the COA HVAC systems, State Green Community money to pay for lighting, insulation, and HVAC improvements in Town buildings, IT grant money to pay for improvements in communications and internet throughout the Town, and a host of other grants.

Where do we go from here?  We still have a long way to go to ensure the Town’s needs continue to be met.  We still need a new Town Hall.  We still are not as efficient as we could be.  But I am confident that with your vote, we can continue to improve the quality of our infrastructure, keep the Town rural and keep taxes down.