Mayor Vigeant's First 100 Days

The following information was submitted by Mayor Arthur Vigeant's office. 

President Pope, Vice President Clancy, and members of the City Council:

I am honored to appear before you tonight as I mark the completion of my first 100 days as . I thought it was important to share this occasion with my partners in service who work for the residents of our great city, and the businesses who choose to call our city home.

After my , I have a new appreciation for what makes our city stand out as the best place in the Commonwealth to live, work, and raise a family. I also have the good fortune of having, as my partners in city government, 11 councilors who care about and love this city as much as I do.

Our collective challenge is to preserve the spirit of cooperation that we shared as city Councilors, to continue what we did well, and to learn ways in which we can do better. Each one of us was put here by the residents for a reason. Our collective challenge is to work together ... to move our city forward ... even in the face of tall obstacles or disagreement.

I am happy to report that in our short time working together for the people and businesses who call Marlborough home, we have had several early achievements that I am pleased to highlight for you tonight.

By working together to make our city economically competitive, the This early success will benefit Marlborough for many years and marks what I hope will be an economic renewal in our area. Not only will this enhance the vacant Fidelity property, but infuse an estimated 1600 jobs to our City that will help support our local and family owned establishments.

The city of Marlborough will see major site improvements at the new TJX complex, along with the creation of additional job opportunities for our residents, as a direct result of the TIF plan for TJX that we put in place. In addition, this development helps to stabilize our commercial tax base which helps us keep our city an affordable community for our families.

In the first 100 days of my administration, I am happy to report that two outstanding union contracts have been signed. Working with the leadership of our city’s unions, I have successfully negotiated two outstanding collective bargaining agreements with our firefighters and DPW. The agreements are fair deals for both sides.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank our city union members and union leadership for their reasonable and responsible approach throughout our negotiations and for ultimately agreeing to these contracts that will allow the city to move forward.

As you well know however, as one challenge is met, the next is around the corner. Starting next month, I will be meeting with all of our city’s unions as we begin negotiations on a new round of contracts. Working with the city council, I expect that our productive working relationship with the unions that serve our city employees will continue and that we will be able to present contracts in a timely fashion.

In early March, we held the first of what I hope to be several in-house customer service training seminars in an effort to improve the way our city does business and delivers services to our residents. Nearly 100 of our employees attended these sessions to learn more effective ways to improve communications with our residents as well as finding better methods to handle difficult situations. None of us should ever receive customer service complaints from those that we are here to serve. I believe this training was a positive first step that will better equip our employees to provide services to our residents in a timely ... efficient ... and courteous manner.

I am proud of the accomplishments we have attained in these first 100 days. To a certain extent, the successes that I have outlined were no doubt expected of us. But rather than continue to talk about our past achievements, I am happy to talk to you about several new initiatives that will be of great benefit to our city. Some of these initiatives are already before you, and some you may be hearing about for the first time tonight.

The Senior Tax Work-Off Program is designed to assist our seniors who are struggling to meet their property tax obligations. Earlier this year, I proposed a program that will allow us to provide local property owners over the age of 60 a reduction of up to $1000 on their property taxes in exchange for volunteer services provided to our city. This proposal represents a true win-win for our city... our seniors are able to gain tax relief by providing services to the community, and in return, our city receives valuable services from our seniors—many of whom have worked their entire lives to make Marlborough what it is today. I look forward to developing this plan further with the city council so that we can recognize the hard work of our seniors who are eligible for this program.

Recently you have received a proposal for a Youth Employment and Public Service Internship program. The Youth Employment Program is a unique public-private partnership that is the first of its kind in Marlborough. The program is dedicated to employing students, and preparing them for today’s workforce by providing practical experience. Partnering with Middlesex County District Attorney Gerry Leone and Partnerships for a Skilled Workforce, this program requires participants to attend five hours of mandatory unpaid job readiness training. This training includes resume writing, interviewing skills and employer expectations.

What makes this program unique is that the local business community will be teaming up with us to employ additional students. This program is symbolic of what it means to be a responsible community: city government and the District Attorney's office working with local businesses to give deserving students a chance to earn some money, and gain practical real world experience.

Our efforts to better prepare, educate, and train our next generation do not end there however. Along with the Youth Employment Program, I have proposed a Public Service Internship program that will provide area college students an opportunity to work for the city of Marlborough, gaining valuable work experience while providing our city’s operations with an infusion of ideas and energy. We anticipate having law school students assist our city’s legal department, computer science and information technology students working with our IT department, and several other opportunities in municipal finance and public works. These opportunities for our students would not be possible without your cooperation and I want to thank you for joining with me in support of them.

Those of you who have known me for a very long time know that I don’t like to leave anyone out. I want everyone to know how they can serve our city better. Our city is rich with smart, talented, and dedicated people waiting for an opportunity to serve their community. This is why I asked our residents to submit a cover letter and resume if they had an interest in serving on our city's boards and commissions. Many of the resumes that we received came from people with impressive accomplishments and experience. This influx of talent will benefit our city for decades to come and I look forward to presenting a number of these citizens to you in the near future.

Since being elected mayor, I have continued my focus on economic development by meeting with representatives of over 20 of our city's largest and most innovative employers, and I have reached out to an additional 100 companies. My goal is not only to learn about their operations ... but to hear what the city of Marlborough can do to help our local employers thrive. With each phone call,and with each meeting ... one thing became clear: our local employers are hiring!

This outreach compelled me to consider what our city can do to help local employers and residents at the same time. Therefore, I am happy to announce on my 100th day in office that our city, in partnership with the Marlborough Economic Development Corporation, and Quinsigimond Community College, will be sponsoring our first ever “Jobs Fair” on June 13, featuring numerous job opportunities from companies in our area.

This jobs fair is a bold but necessary step ... not only to help our city residents who may be struggling, but also to help the many businesses in our area that are in need of talented individuals to join their workforce. To my knowledge, no municipality in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has spearheaded such an effort designed to build a bridge that connects its residents to the local economy.

Much like the Youth Employment Program, there is an added component to this jobs fair designed to go the extra mile for our residents. Led by our partners at Quinsigimond Community College, we will host an employment readiness and resume workshop that will provide assistance to our residents in advance of the jobs fair, allowing them to put their best foot forward to prospective employers.

As you can see Madam President, we have an ambitious agenda before us. Each initiative is designed to educate, engage, and employ the members of our community. Our residents expect us to bring new ideas to the table and create opportunities for them to become more active in the community. I believe these proposals accomplish that.

I understand that these programs will require a financial investment, and I look forward to working with the city council to develop strategies that will allow us to collaborate on this bold agenda.

I would like to conclude on a personal note. Serving as your mayor is a humbling experience that I have grown to appreciate more and more as I approach my 100th day in office this week. I am grateful to have a dedicated group of city councilors and seasoned council leadership working with me. I look forward to working together to meet and exceed the expectations of those who elected us. I thank each and every one of you for allowing me to speak before you tonight. Thank you for your support. 

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