I have observed that there are special volunteers who have gained expertise in writing shrewd political documents. One becomes a pariah, if you complain. I am so glad that people are noticing. I remain confused as to the goal of the well-meaning volunteers. Not that the project is bad, but there is insecurity of opening all records to the public or allowing full public hearings to start a project. Best regards, Bijoy Misra
On Tue, Jun 3, 2025 at 8:55 PM David Cuetos <[email protected]> wrote: > I return to one of my longstanding frustrations: the lack of impartiality > and factual rigor on our town’s website when presenting information about > warrant articles. > > Take, for instance, the statement regarding Article 1, which addresses the > Community Center budget expansion: > > “The CCBC has determined that cutting $2.3M out of the project would > require a complete redesign (estimated cost $1.5M to $2.0M) and a delayed > timeline, resulting in further escalated costs ($1.5M to $2.0M). With funds > spent to date approaching $2M, a redesign would add approximately $5M+ of > unanticipated expenses to the original project budget.” > > Let’s break this paragraph down, sentence by sentence: > > “cutting $2.3M out of the project would require a complete redesign > (estimated cost $1.5M to $2.0M)” > > This stretches the bounds of plausibility. Anyone familiar with > construction projects knows that cost-cutting trade-offs are often > necessary, and rarely do they require paying full architectural fees all > over again. I’ve never heard of an architect telling a client that reducing > the scope of a project by 10% necessitates starting from scratch at full > cost. If the project is over budget, that reflects at least in part a > failure on the part of the architects to guide the process responsibly. > > “and a delayed timeline, resulting in further escalated costs ($1.5M to > $2.0M)” > > Have they never heard of the time value of money? I’d rather see my taxes > levied two years from now than today. Delaying the project means capital > remains available for more productive uses. Even if the funds are already > allocated, they would be earning interest—likely 4–5%. Any escalation > estimate should be offset by that. Moreover, our record for predicting > escalation is weak at best. We should avoid baseless speculation. > > “With funds spent to date approaching $2M” > > This is a textbook example of the sunk cost fallacy. Prior spending is > irrelevant to the decision at hand. What matters is the incremental cost of > a redesign compared to the existing plan. Past expenditures should have no > bearing on that evaluation. > > “a redesign would add approximately $5M+ of unanticipated expenses to the > original project budget” > > This is misleading. A redesign, by definition, implies a different > project. The assumption here is that the baseline cost of the redesign > would match that of the original plan, which is a false premise. In fact, a > redesign would probably have a smaller overall budget. Even if there are > duplicative expenses—like revised architectural drawings—there’s a real > possibility the town could still save money overall. > > In sum, the statement on the town website reveals a mix of fear-mongering, > misdirection, and a surprising degree of financial illiteracy. What this > really signals is that the CCBC is unwilling to compromise on its original > vision and is “holding the town ransom” (*a phrase I’m growing fond of*) > by grossly exaggerating the cost of changing course—just as taxpayers begin > to question the wisdom of approving an overrun before ground has even been > broken. > > On the bright side, a “No” vote on the 25th would supersede last year’s > bonding approval. The CCBC has made it clear they cannot deliver the > approved project within the allocated budget. Perhaps the CCBC's > stubborness is a blessing in disguise. > > > David Cuetos > > Weston Rd > -- > The LincolnTalk mailing list. > To post, send mail to [email protected]. > Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/ > . > Change your subscription settings at > https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. > >
-- The LincolnTalk mailing list. To post, send mail to [email protected]. Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/. Change your subscription settings at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln.
