February 2017 | Business View Magazine

152 153 of life in our city, ensuring that we are meeting the needs of residents, businesses, and visitors today and in the future. “As the Mayor of Newton, I am proud of the work we have done over the past seven years to ensure that we have a strong financial founda- tion that allows us to be innovative and invest in our people and infrastructure. “In 2010, when I took office, the city’s finan- cial outlook was bleak, with a large projected deficit. Since then, my administration has not only reversed this, but we have gone beyond to achieve financial security.We have built up a rainy day fund from a level of zero to $19 million for use in emergencies.We successfully designed and executed a plan to eliminate the city’s unfunded pension liability by 2029 and fully fund the OPEB (Other Post-Employment Benefits) liability by 2042. This forward-look- ing work and our financial management have earned us triple A bond ratings from both Moody’s Investor Service and Standard and Poor’s.We were able to do all of this by imple- menting outcomes-based budgeting to opti- mize funding to improve service delivery to res- idents and businesses. Every dollar has a purpose, tied to a deliverable that we track with the city’s DataStat program--our performance management systemwith publicly available data. “All of the work we have done to turn around the city’s financial standing allows us to make the smart, forward-looking, innovative invest- ments that we need to keep Newton a great place to live, work, and visit, or have a business of any size. “Newton’s place as one of the Common- Newton, Massachusetts AT A GLANCE | newton, MA WHAT: A city of 88,000 WHERE: Approximately seven miles west of downtown Boston, Massachusetts WEBSITE: www.newtonma.gov Serving Clients since 1957, Sealcoating, Inc. provides the most cost-effective pavement pres rvation treatments. Microsurfacing Fog Seal Crack Sealing Cape Seal Serving clients since 1957, Sealcoating, Inc. provides the most cost-effective pavement preservation treatments. Microsurfacing Fog Seal Crack Sealing Cape Seal (781) 428-3400 825 Granite Street Braintree, MA 02184 www.sealcoatinginc.com Established 1957 FACTS This is a real, unaltered photograph taken September 22, 2016. The yellow centerline is the municipal boundary between two large CT communities. In 2004, the two communities collaborated to mill and pave 2” of new asphalt from curb to curb. In 2010, the community on the right applied crack sealing and microsurfacing preventive maintenance treatments at a total cost of approximately $4.00 per square yard. The community on the left decided to “defer” any preventive maintenance. FICTION The community on the left “saved money” by deferring preventive maintenance. A Tale of Two Cities