Town Government Day 2024
By The Mustang Gazette Staff
April 9, 2024
On March 20, NHS students participated in Town Government Day, a more than 50-year Norwood tradition that brings together Norwood high school students and town officials who share what it means to be a part of local government.
The day began with all the students meeting at Town Hall’s Memorial Hall to get an introduction on the people and what their job is here in Norwood.
“Today you get to argue with each other in a very civil manner,” stated Bob Donnelly, Vice Chairman of the Board of Selectmen.
Each Selectman was given an introduction and gave a short speech to open the event.
Selectman Bill Plasko spoke to the department heads, instructing, “Don’t be modest about what you do.”
The day ended with a town meeting in which the students debated over 2000 dollars and how to use it towards the town.
Bill Plasko also said that this was his 43rd Town Government Day.
After the remarks, students were paired with their mentors, including Sophomore Cici Indeck, Junior Lily Swederskas, and Henry Cerqueira who runs the Animal Control department, to Police Chief Brooks to learn more about their roles in running the town.
At Town Hall, student Cayden Bell followed T.J. McDonough, Chairman Board of Assessors. McDonough and the assessor's office oversees all forms of the town's tax revenue, making the assessor's office the town's main source of income, including tax on real estate, personal property, and excise tax.
Down the street at the Department of Public Safety, Sophomores Abby Curran and Dylan Begley were permitted to sit at the conference table to participate in the morning debriefing with Police Chief William Brooks.
Sophomore Anika Mabano spent her time at the Morrill Memorial Library.
At the library, Mabano was led around by Assistant Director and Technical Services Librarian Lydia Sampson, who explained how the library worked, how it is funded, and who utilities the space.
The library is funded by the state, the Friends of Norwood Library nonprofit, and the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners which has the condition that they will only provide funds as long as the state does so.
To raise money, the nonprofit hosts events such as book sales and scavenger hunts.
Sampson shared a brief overview of some of the uses for the library’s private study rooms.
"We have an ESL program and we have tutors and when people need help with their English they come here and get matched up with tutors and take classes" she said.
Everyone working at the library plays a part in keeping it running.
Sampson introduced Mabano to Liz and Gabe, who manage programming, grants, and sustainability. She also introduced Administrative Assistant Casey Argyrou whom she shared, is essentially the backbone of the library.
Argyrou pays employees, the bills, and deals with endowments, donations, and interest accounts.
“I don’t know what we’d do without Casey,” confided Sampson.
“Nobody would get paid!” laughed Argyrou.
The library prides itself on being an inclusive community space where everyone can be included and relax.
With API, a new pride program, movie activities, and dementia and disability- friendly events for adults, the library certainly has a busy summer planned.
Not only is the library inclusive, but it is also a screen-free space for young children.
In past years, the Children’s Room at Morrill Memorial Library had television screens mounted to the wall. These screens have been removed to promote hands-on and educational playtime for youth.
Other library events that benefit children include scavenger hunts, such as the pigeon hunt going on right now, and a potential monthly book subscription box, complete with snacks, that is in the early stages of planning.
The library is also gearing up for a partnership with Norwood High’s EYC.
Several students, including Anna Arstamyan and Giacomo Serratore, joined a tour of the Public Works Department which focuses on the maintenance, construction, and repairs of Norwood.
The tour, led by Director of Public Works and Town Engineer Mark Ryan, gave an inside look at how Norwood functions and how it is kept.
Every Friday, November 15th through April, the town puts the plows on.
For snowy weather, the town utilizes its salt bay, a large room full of salt that trucks drop off. Even during a mild winter, the town uses a lot of salt. After salting vehicles are cleaned with recycled water from the wash bay, which is used after plowing and salting to help the vehicles last longer.
Arstamayan and Serratore learned that for plowing sidewalks, the town utilizes skid steer-specific plows that are comfortable and small.
The town also has three full-time mechanics who fix their machines and vehicles. Having only three saves the town a lot of money. They have all the equipment necessary to mow, cut, or demolish which allows them to do most maintenance themselves.
A few examples of this equipment would be a metal press, which is used to shape metal items, and a tire machine used to change and balance tires.
There's also a stock room in town with spare parts and tools used by the mechanics.
The group was also informed that despite popular belief, the Public Works Department does not maintain the commuter railroad that travels through town.
At exactly 10:16 a.m. in a crowded room at the Public Safety Building, the students and mentors reconvened for the town meeting. Led by senior Heather Begg, who played the role of Town Moderator, the Town Government Day participants were given a budget of $2,000 to debate over and spend.
David Hern, a retired Norwood resident and elected Town Meeting Representative filled in for the role of Moderator.
“We can make motions for any amount of money. At the end of the day, we will come out with a balanced budget… They're your tax dollars and you get to decide how those tax dollars are spent,” explained Hern.
Additionally, students were asked to follow formal meeting protocols when debating with their peers.
“When the moderator calls on you, please raise your hand. State your name, your position, and by all means, make a motion, ask a question, or give your opinion,” Hern further instructed.
The students working with the finance commission wrote recommendations for the budget on a whiteboard on the right wall of the meeting room and the debate began.
The first issue on the table was the idea to lower taxes for local seniors and offer free lunches for seniors.
$400 to help reduce taxes for seniors passed by a landslide, and many felt taxes were more important than free lunches.
The majority decided to revisit the $200 for free lunches but it was later rejected.
Sophomore Joann Yamoah, working with the Board of Health, made a pitch to fund bike helmets, arguing that $200 could provide free helmets for those who are less fortunate.
Sophomore Dylan Begley, working with the Chief of Police, countered that there were free helmets already available in town for young children.
The motion for $200 for free bike helmets for youth later died.
Junior Lily Swederskas entered the argument with the idea to give $400 of the budget to the animal control department to purchase supplies such as food and toys. Many felt that the budget should benefit the people of the community rather than the animals.
While this proposal sparked a lot of debate, it later failed to pass.
$1,000 for walking track workout equipment for the high school and $500 for a playground, proposed by sophomore Anika Mabano, who was working in the library, did not make it past the proposal stage.
Junior Clerk/Accountant Erix Osorto argued to scrap the playground.
“Most kids just go on their ipads anyway,” he said.
Then, the Recreation Department’s Junior Kathryn Greene requested $500 for recreational scholarships for camps.
Sophomore Contracts Administrator Samantha Sullivan took her first and final stand, much to the audience’s amusement.
“I would like to propose $25 for a toaster oven in the General Manager’s office,” she said.
“We need a great toaster. Raise it to $50,” Senior Maverick O’neil-Butters added.
$25 for a toaster passed by an overwhelming amount of votes.
Next, freshman Housing Authority Abraham Omar suggested new basketballs for the rec center.
Omar had recently been to the rec center and noticed that many of the basketballs were in poor condition.
While he originally requested $200, a compromise for $100 for 5 basketballs was made.
Another argument stemmed from Senior Anthony Cavanaugh requesting money to purchase automatic screwdrivers to help repair Chromebooks at the high school.
Cavanaugh is a member of STSS, a seniors-only Chromebook repair program led by Dr. Michael Crowley, and Moises Forchue.
Sophomore School Committee member Leart Bogdani declared: “If you want to do repairs faster, buy your own screwdrivers.”
Many members of the meeting shared this sentiment and also shared uncertainty about the necessity of automatic screwdrivers.
“I’ve used a screwdriver. All you have to do is turn it,” added General Manager Sophia Touma.
Eventually, the students voted on amending the proposal to $25 for manual screwdrivers, much to Cavanaugh’s dismay.
However, this hasty decision left many confused.
“Do you need manual screwdrivers?” asked Touma.
“No, that's why I’ve asked for automatic screwdrivers. I fix all of the computers, I see people in this room I’ve fixed computers for. That’s right, I’ll call you out,” boasted Cavanaugh.
After a quick laugh, the meeting members voted "Aye" to spend $100 on automatic screwdrivers.
Other passed motions included $500 to the Gift of Warmth, a program to provide low-income Norwood residents warm clothes for colder months, and $375 for an Autism Awareness campaign by Norwood police.
The idea was first proposed by Sophomore Abby Curran who shared the concept of “autism envelopes” that can stay in the cars of autistic residents to help identify them in case of an accident such as a police officer pulling them over. This concept would reduce stress and conflict in difficult situations if police officers had an explanation for any behavior that could be seen as suspicious in a specific scenario.
After the $2,000 budget was divided up evenly and the meeting concluded, the crowd dispersed and headed to lunch.
Passed motions:
$500 Gift of Warmth
$400 Tax break for senior citizens
$500 scholarships for Summer recreation camps
$25 toaster for Gen. Manager’s office
$100 5 new basketballs for the rec center
$100 2 automatic screwdrivers for STSS
$375 Autism Awareness campaign-Norwood Police
Killed motions:
Dog beds, toys, and food fo $200
Free helmets for youth: $200
Gym equipment for the NHS track $1,000
Free lunches for seniors $200
Playground equipment $500
Trash clean-up equipment $10
Impact Norwood $200
After the meeting, students and their mentors enjoyed lunch at the Old Colonial Cafe.
Reporters took the opportunity to interview individuals about their experiences from the day.
Sheriff Officer Brooks looked back on his career.
“I've been a police officer for 47 years...“I’d never do anything else. I've probably been a cop longer than your parents have been alive…. All told, it’s the best job.” shared Brooks.
"My name is Chris Padden and I'm the Deputy Chief of Police. [Town Government Day is] a great opportunity for you guys to see what goes on in government and what we deal with. I don't think there's really an opportunity for really most people to ever get that chance. ...I think that getting that chance, such as seeing how a town meeting works is important. I didn't get to see that until I was an adult."
General Manager Tony Mazzucco:
“[Opportunities to take part in town government are] important for a couple reasons. One of them is we need to make sure we're creating citizens who know how to participate in their democracy and know what it takes to live and work in their community. We're trying to create good citizens.
One of the other things is showing what professional work really goes on in a town to give kids that exposure to think, “Hey, maybe I do want to do engineering, maybe I do want to get into public works, maybe finance can be interesting, maybe I want to be a town manager one day."
Norwood needs good people and so does every town in the state.”
Sophomore Miska Swain:
"My role was in finance and comms. I did a lot of financing today. I looked through charts, data numbers, and the money that goes to the high school, the middle school, and all the schools. I looked through financial things in general. It was great!"
Junior Laasya Cholleti:
“Today I was the airport manager. My job today was to oversee the Norwood airport and I was in charge of making sure everything was maintained on the planes, the fuel, and stuff, and just making sure Norwood Airport was in good shape.”
I thought it went good, but I think that it could’ve gone better. I wish I could’ve really seen and experimented with the planes and learned more about them…”
Sophomore Joann Yamoah:
“I got to go around the health department and just look at different aspects of the department. We saw the aspect of home inspection and we also saw a different aspect of how restaurants are inspected in Norwood.
Something I did learn while I was there was that there has been a grant where they’re receiving money for the opioid crisis… and I know they’re going to a conference to deal with that this week."
“I’m so happy with the outcome. It’s such a fun day to come and just talk to friends. You also get to learn so much about our town and how it’s run, and really see where people stand with issues in our town."