I can’t support a municipal override with this

This post was revised slightly since being originally published.

Here are two concerns I have about the proposed municipal override:

1. At 4:45 last Thursday, just 45 minutes after closing time, Town Hall was dark and I didn’t notice even a single light on in any office.

Do municipal workers not work late? I thought our municipal workers were overworked and had a lot of paperwork to do! That’s what we keep hearing, at least.

Town Hall was open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. last Thursday – it would appear everyone leaves right when the clock hits 4 p.m. That’s a sign that either town employee morale is low (maybe because people like me keep criticizing them, which creates a self-perpetuating cycle) or they just don’t have enough work to do.

Either way, that doesn’t speak highly of the need for a municipal override. I would be more willing to support an override if I knew that town workers were so overworked they were working overtime without pay.

2. It is disappointing that the town is once again proving that its so-called hiring freeze is nothing more than a myth. The town is currently hiring a new middle school crossing guard at an hourly wage of $15.36 (although they work only one or two hours per day). I guess none of our police officers who get bonuses for standing around at construction sites and waving to people can’t take time out of their “busy” day to cover this location for only a few minutes at the beginning and end of the school day. Keep in mind that about half of our police force already makes over $100,000 per year with overtime added in. With this crossing guard position currently vacant, police officers are already covering it on an interim basis – why can’t they continue to cover it permanently?

I understand that the safety of our kids is a top concern, but take it from me as someone who used to walk to middle school right where this crossing guard stands (and got to know the former holder of this position very well, although I did not generally specifically cross the street at this location) – this position is unnecessary and kids know how to cross streets.

A better idea might be to do random sting operations, publicized in advance, where police officers sit around the corner and watch for any motorists who don’t stop for kids in the crosswalk. The motorists should be ticketed, and that might actually bring in some revenue for the town.

It is a state law to stop for pedestrians in the crosswalk – the very notion that we would need crossing guards suggests that this law isn’t working in the first place. Money would be better spent, and would generate better returns, by educating the public about the law and specifically targeting the people who violate it. I know that rude people don’t always stop for kids in the crosswalk, but do we really need somebody standing there for twice the minimum wage making sure people stop?

If people aren’t stopping – shame on them, and let’s go out and fine them pursuant to our state laws.

What’s next – an individual police escort for every school bus in Walpole to ensure cars also stop for each school bus at bus stops? There is little difference between stopping for kids in a crosswalk and stopping for kids getting off a school bus, so this scenario might not be far off.

The town has a policy of providing police escorts for school buses on occasion if bus drivers report an uptick in incidents with drivers not stopping. That seems like a reasonable policy and it makes sense. This type of random enforcement of the law to remind citizens to obey it can be replicated in the form of random crosswalk enforcement at crosswalks near our schools.

Let’s keep in mind that many years ago, the town used to have a lot more crossing guards than they do now – but budget cuts caused many of them to disappear. And guess what – nobody has died and the sky has not fallen. One of the most treacherous intersections I used to cross on my way to and from my middle school was Route 1A (Main Street) at the corner of Front Street. Long before my time, there was a crossing guard there, but during my three years in middle school I had to cross it myself. I survived, and if I survived anybody else can too.

Town officials say they are in a fiscal crisis. That means the town needs to prioritize its spending better. Filling this position should not be a priority. If the town has the cash to hire a new crossing guard, they don’t need more of our money. A crossing guard is a luxury, not an essential. I walked to school for seven years between middle and high school, with only one crossing guard out of eight intersections during that time, and I’m still alive. Had I had no crossing guards, I still would have survived.

My question: When is the town going to impose a real hiring freeze with NO EXCEPTIONS? Don’t count on my support for any override – school or municipal – without one.