Kenneth Pariser announces candidacy for Milton Town Meeting Member, Precinct 3

My family moved to Milton in 1985. Two generations of our family have attended Milton Schools. Currently we have two grandchildren attending Milton HS. I believe a strong educational system is essential to maintaining our vibrant, desirable community.  In the past decade Milton’s population growth has produced a strain on the town’s schools and services.  Housing shortages in Massachusetts are ratcheting up the pressure on our town to expand its residential capacity. This pressure is coming from the Commonwealth and commercial interests. I am running for Town Meeting Member to help Milton be prepared to, when appropriate, resist these pressures and when necessary, adapt to protect our town’s future.

A town’s desirability, its viability and its value depend on its location and the wisdom of its leadership. We cannot alter our location; we can make sure that we have strong leadership. Our leaders must be responsive to the community and focused on continuous improvement in the town’s basic functions. These functions are:

1. An educational system dedicated to academic excellence while graduating community minded students.
2. A sound, forward looking and environmentally mindful infrastructure.
3. A government that is both efficacious and efficient.
4. Services that promote community cultural growth, health, and safety for every citizen of our town.

Improvement in these essential services may be expensive. I am aware that from 2015 to 2021 Milton’s town budget increased 27% and the school budget 34%. I am also aware that real estate taxes have increased 28%. These increases were faster than past inflation, but do not approach the level of inflation we are experiencing now. In this fiscal environment, Milton will need greater revenues to maintain and improve its services. To minimize the increases in residential real estate taxes Milton’s leadership must entertain new more cost-effective ways to provide services and find new sources of revenue including, but not limited to, expanding our commercial base.

Before retiring I held several positions giving me experience in leadership and collaborative endeavors including President of the Medical Staff at Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital as well as its Director of Medical Education; Senior Physician, Division of Rheumatology, Immunology and Allergy, in the Department of Medicine at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital; and Chief of Brigham and Women’s Clinical Rheumatology at Faulkner Hospital.

I look forward to collaborating with other members of the Town Meeting and representing the 3rd Precinct as a Town Meeting Member.

I would be honored if you cast your ballot for me on April 25th, 2023.