WILMINGTON, MA — Selectman Candidate Kevin Caira was recently asked the following questions by Wilmington Apple — What do you feel are three of the most significant challenges facing the Town of Wilmington and how will you help address them as a member of the Board of Selectmen?
Below is Caira’s response, in his own words:
The major challenge facing every community is a budgetary challenge. How do we appropriately provide services within the constraints of limited revenues. I believe we do this by continuing our town’s financial policy of conservative budgeting. This means we need to be cautious when projecting revenues in order to prevent unrealistic expenditure estimates. We need to build adequate financial reserves that would enable us to meet extraordinary and unforeseen expenses. We need to recognize the limitation on the taxpayer’s ability to pay by decreasing our reliance on the property tax and furthering our efforts to expand and identify alternative sources of revenue. Additionally, we need to prioritize our spending to ensure that services are provided in a fiscally responsible way. My pledge is to keep Wilmington free from burdensome fees and to maintain it as an affordable and attractive community in which to raise a family.
Another challenge facing Wilmington and communities all over the country is the opioid crisis. The town is to be commended for focusing its attention on this devastating problem. I support the Town Manager’s budget initiative in this regard. There needs to be a three-pronged attack on this problem: Education – Treatment – Enforcement. Students beginning in elementary school need to be introduced to the dangers inherent in this epidemic. Parents, town agencies, churches, and community groups should be asked to support such efforts. Given the nature of the problem, a regional approach among nearby communities would ensure a more comprehensive and efficient use of professional and other resources. Identifying young people at risk is critical to providing them the help and treatment needed before it is too late. An emphasis on treating rather than stigmatizing the individual is critically important. We need to rehabilitate the user, not incarcerate them. Finally, law enforcement needs to have the tools and the support of the legislature, the criminal justice system, and the medical professionals to find and prosecute those responsible for the illegal and reckless distribution of drugs.
A third challenge for the town is how it responds to heavy-handed outside influences. Two such examples are the onerous Transrail Project and the dangerous Pipeline Project. Both of these environmentally unfriendly initiatives intrude on our neighborhoods, threaten our environment, and endanger public health and safety. We need to insist that our legislative and congressional delegates, as well as our legal counsel, fight to prevent the construction of both of these projects. The proposed pipeline route is in the vicinity of an active blasting site, which by any measure of common sense is just plain wrong. Transrail’s proposal of a waste situation operation at a superfund site is equally inappropriate.
About The Questions
During this local election season, Wilmington Apple will ask a question of all the Selectmen candidates each week. Wilmington Apple will run one response per day, Monday through Thursday, with a recap on Friday. Responses are in the candidates’ own words, unedited. Each candidate is given the same question and the same amount of time (approximately one week) to answer. Order of answers will alternate each week.
About The Election
Four candidates — Greg Bendel, Kevin Caira, Joseph Lavino, and Thomas Miller — will be competing for two open 3-year seats on the Wilmington Board of Selectmen. Longtime incumbents Lou Cimaglia and Mike Newhouse are not seeking re-election. The Town Election will be held on Saturday, April 23. Polls will be open from 8am to 8pm.
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