 The Certificate of Achievement
for Excellence in Financial Reporting has been awarded to the Town of Westwood
by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada
(GFOA) for its FY17 comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR). The Certificate of Achievement is the highest
form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial
reporting and its attainment represents a significant accomplishment by a
government and its management.
It reflects the commitment of the
staff to meet the highest principles of governmental reporting. In order to receive the award, the Town had
to satisfy strict, nationally recognized guidelines for reporting on year end
results and financial status. The report
must also be user friendly and easy to understand. This report is an important tool used by
rating agencies to review the Town’s financial status.
The Town of Westwood first
received this prestigious award in 1997 and has received it each consecutive
(21) year since then. This is a terrific
achievement for a small community such as Westwood. This annual obtainment of this high level of
achievements reflects the Board of Selectmen’s goal to maintain high financial
standards and full, accurate, and clear disclosure of financial information.
There are only 41 municipalities
within Massachusetts who receive the CAFR award, with many only achieving this
award within the last few years.
Westwood ranks 5th in the state in longevity of the award,
with only Cambridge, Worcester, Boston and Hingham having achieved the award
longer. This puts Westwood in an elite
group, particularly with most of those being large cities.
The CAFR report is an important
piece of the Town’s efforts to offer full disclosure of its financial
information. The CARF report is used as
an important part of Standard & Poor’s credit reviews when bonds are sold.
The credit ratings agencies utilize and rely on the report to review
information in a readily available and standard format to understand the Town’s
economic overview, demographics and overall financial position.
Congratulations to Pam Dukeman
and her financial staff for their exemplary, continuous contribution to this
report, which shows the Town’s ongoing commitment to quality, accounting and
financial reporting. This is the 21st
consecutive award for the Towns CAFR report. The staff includes Pam Dukeman,
Finance Director; Marie O’Leary, Town Accountant; Kathy Foley, Assistant
Treasurer; and Laura Bucari, Financial
Analyst.
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The
Planning Board will be updating the Comprehensive Plan (also known as Master
Plan), adopted in 2000, beginning this fall through the fall of 2019. Town Planner, Abby McCabe, will be the
primary contact and project manager facilitating this process. The subject areas include land use, town
centers, housing, economic development, natural and cultural resources,
community facilities, open and recreation space, transportation, resilience and
sustainability. The Town is seeking
candidates to serve on the Steering Committee who have an interest and
expertise in one or more of these subject areas. Selected Steering Committee members will be
responsible for collecting information and writing portions of the plan.
For
more information and a detailed committee description please visit the Comprehensive
Plan Steering Committee webpage on the Town’s website http://www.townhall.westwood.ma.us. You
may also contact the Town Planner by phone or email.
If
you are interested in being considered we encourage you to go to the Town’s
website for more information and download the application form, submit a letter
explaining your interest and specific skills and writing samples. Interested individuals can submit by October
12 an application, resume and letter of interest, and writing samples to:
Abby McCabe,
Town Planner
amccabe@townhall.westwood.ma.us
781-251-2581
Did you know that the Westwood Fire Department has a
designated SAFE Team? The SAFE Team uses grant funds to provide Fire & Life
Safety education to school age children and seniors. Members of the team will
perform home safety inspections for any of our senior residents. The purpose of
the inspections is to help people safely stay in their own homes longer by
identifying potential problems that can be easily rectified; something as
simple as eliminating trip hazards can go a long way in keeping people safe.
You can also schedule them to come to your home and inspect smoke and carbon
monoxide detectors to ensure that they are working properly. If your detectors
are not working or are out dated they can supply new ones and install them for
you. Detectors should not be more than 10 years old. There is no charge for
either of these services.
You can schedule an inspection by calling 781-767-6351 or by
emailing wfdpubliceducation@townhall.westwood.ma.us
Westwood Day is only 1 week away and the Recreation
Department can't wait for you to join them! Please email recreation@townhall.westwood.ma.us
if you have any questions or would like to participate in any way. See you there!
Residents,
The recent state primary brought
out 14.42% of the voters in Westwood. It
took many hours of preparation to ensure that that the election was run
efficiently and voters were able to exercise their right to vote with no
obstacles.
A special thanks to the Town Clerk's staff for assisting in the election preparation, DPW staff who
delivered equipment to the 4 polling places in town, staff who set up and broke
down the equipment, police officers who ensured the safety of the voters, school
children and parents on a very busy first day of school and delivered supplies to the polling locations, school custodians who assisted with setup of the schools polling locations and the election staff who worked a
tirelessly on a very hot day, to ensure
that the election ran smoothly in their
prospective precincts.
With
Gratitude,
Dottie
Powers
Westwood
Town Clerk
Important dates to
Remember:
October 17, 2018-
Last
day to register to vote and to change party enrollment for the state election.
The Town Clerk's office will be open from 8:30am-8:00pm.
To check your
voter status click here:
To register online please click here:
October 23-November
3, 2018 -
Early Voting for state election location and times to be announced
November 6,
2018 - State election - polls will be open from 7:00AM-8:00PM
To check your polling locations click here:
Absentee Voting Information
Save the Date!
The Annual Flu Clinic will be held on Saturday,
October 20, 2018 from 9:00 AM-12:00 PM at the Westwood High School
gymnasium. For more information
email the Westwood Health Department at mrc@townhall.westwood.ma.us or call 781-302-1026/1027.
September is Emergency Preparedness Month
In conjunction with
Emergency Preparedness Month and the MADPH Office of Preparedness and Emergency
Management, the Westwood Health Deptartment would like to remind residents of the
importance of being prepared. Residents
are encouraged to prepare themselves and their families for emergencies. Planning ahead will give you peace of mind
and can keep your family and friends safe. There is a range of possible emergencies, like hurricanes and blizzards
that are especially likely in New England. The
following information may help you prepare such events:
- Have an emergency plan for your family. Plan how your family will contact each
other and where you will meet, in the event you are separated.
- Have a first aid kit with health products and prescription
medications for family members.
- Have an evacuation kit packed with supplies ready in the event
that you must leave home
quickly. Pack lightly and include
basic supplies for 24-48 hours.
-
Sign up for Emergency Alerts. In order to receive the recorded messages from the Police
Department, you should register all your phone numbers with the Town’s Code
Red System here.
-
For more information about the “Know Plan Prepare” campaign and
to download a preparedness checklist please go to www.mass.gov/know-plan-prepare
Westwood is drafting a Housing
Production Plan (HPP) for approval by the Massachusetts Department of Housing
and Community Development (DHCD).
A HPP is a strategy developed by a
community to meet its affordable housing requirements. A proactive HPP also
considers the particular needs of its residents respective to all kinds of
housing, and identifies specific challenges and solutions to housing
development in that community. A community can use its HPP to inform and
improve proposed development and planning.
The Housing Partnership, supported
by the Town’s Housing & Zoning Division, is seeking public participation to
create a plan that incorporates the latest available data and research,
expresses the town's housing needs, and sets forth a process for meeting those
needs.
Please join the Housing Partnership
at a community visioning workshop on November 13, 2018 at 7 pm at the Downey
School cafeteria. The Housing Partnership hopes you will participate in
the conversation and share your thoughts, needs, and ideas for housing in
Westwood.
Please contact Sarah Bouchard,
Housing & Zoning Agent, at 781-251-2598 or sbouchard@townhall.westwood.ma.us
if you have any questions about the HPP process or require an accommodation to
fully participate in the session.
We are planning a redesign of the town’s website (www.townhall.westwood.ma.us).
We are looking for volunteers to help with an overall evaluation of the current
site and the identification of improvements/changes. Some of the effort
will be done independently, but there may be a few planned meetings which can
be scheduled to accommodate volunteer availability. If you are interested and
would like to help, please call (781-320-1074) or email Donna McClellan, dmcclellan@townhall.westwood.ma.us.
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