Mark Cleveland, Candidate for Norwell Select Board

I am Mark Cleveland and I am running for a spot on the Norwell Select Board.  My wife Lilly and I moved to the beautiful town of Norwell about 13 years ago fully intending to retire here.  We consider ourselves blessed to have our children and their families living close by – we are here for the duration!  Following a PhD in Life Sciences from Columbia University, my working life has been in pharmaceutical development (do you know Miralax?).  I am retired but I still consult in this field.  I also work part time in my daughter and son’s environmental testing laboratory as analyst, janitor and advisor.

After we learned our way around the Norwell streets, I volunteered for the Advisory Board for six years.  This was a great educational experience on how our town functions.  Two years ago I was elected to the Planning Board which provides an entirely different perspective.  

My style in both my professional and volunteer life is to listen, learn and collaborate wherever possible.  As a scientist I am interested in understanding problems and finding solutions based on reliable data and facts.  In my career I managed several departments and large R&D budgets (about the size of the town budget).

The main issue facing Norwell at this time is the request for a property tax override.  I intend to vote “yes”, but I am sympathetic to the “no” votes, especially those living on fixed income. How did I get here? As reviewed in several public meetings by town officials, fixed costs such as medical insurance, contract obligations, pensions, etc., have risen to the point where a 2 ½ percent tax increase will not cover next years’ expected costs (this is Article 2A, the “base” budget and is the maximum increase allowed by Massachusetts law without an override vote).  Don’t forget we have had several years of high inflation (9% in 2022!) – isn’t everything more expensive?  Article 2A alone will result in substantial budget cuts as we have been told.  Norwell schools, constituting 50% of the town budget, will have to deal with a proportional share of the budget reductions, but other services will suffer as well.  Article 2B (the “override budget”), will avoid these reductions in town services and expenses, for now.  Unfortunately, whatever the outcome of the vote on the two budget articles, we are seeing a trend if unchecked will result in future expense related over-rides within just a few years, if only because inflation may still be with us.  The expense increases will naturally crowd out other beneficial efforts we may want to consider in the future such as school improvements, community center and improvements to downtown areas. 

I believe Norwell needs dedicated intervention and time to change this trend.  But it is not logical to expect that the same budget and decision-making process to yield different results. If elected, I will argue for changes to the budget development and review process by empowering the Advisory Board to get involved early in each department’s budget and to challenge staffing and material needs. This occurs routinely in any well-run business. Passing the over-ride article (2B) gives willing town leadership the time to take a surgical approach and make intelligent changes. I believe this can be done.

There are other problems we face.  Some that have come to my attention while on the Planning Board are unfunded mandates imposed by the state of Massachusetts.  A recent example is the MBTA zoning requirement.  This mandate requires towns anywhere in the vicinity of the MBTA to provide a large area where high density residential construction will be allowed.  The consequences of not complying with this mandate are potentially drastic including loss of state grants and court challenges.  The Norwell Planning Board and Town Planner developed a zoning plan for the Longwater Drive area to minimize the impact of this new law and keep us out of court.  This zoning change was approved at the special town meeting last fall.  But, new state initiatives are brewing with other high density plans under consideration which could fundamentally change Norwell as we know it (such as high density zoning statewide).  Norwell must coordinate with other towns and our state representatives to challenge these ideas before they become law. 

What can you do? Take ownership of these issues by getting involved.  Start with Town Meeting on May 5, listen to the arguments and then be sure to vote at the town elections May 17.  Volunteer for a committee or form an advocacy group.  It is up to all of us to protect Norwell’s future and determine what the town will become.  We can do this together; please vote for Mark Cleveland for Norwell Select Board.