Longtime Marblehead resident Alexa Singer is running for reelection after 22 months of servicing the Marblehead Select Board to continue work on the comprehensive pavement management and the maintenance plan that seeks to evaluate the sidewalk, lights, trees, and ADA accessibility in town.
“As my record shows, I’m not afraid to make tough calls and ask hard questions. I will continue advocating for issues that are timely and need to be prioritized in the year 2023,” said Singer during her opening statement at the Marblehead League for Women’s Voters candidates. night last week.
“We need someone with technical grant expertise to ensure Marblehead is first in line for state and federal grants to fund the projects money for infrastructure resiliency work and harbor and the next decade we could face massive impacts and millions of dollars in the harbor alone,” added Singer.
According to Singer, the biggest issue facing Marblehead is the structural deficit. Planning is essential.
“It is not enough to simply want or even need grant funding, a municipality must have the
trained professionals in place to apply for grants and mechanisms to access the
funding,” said Singer, “Comprehensive capital planning, including the monitoring of purchasing
supplies and materials to allow for the preparation needed to seek federal or state
opportunities. We need to ensure quality goods are secured at the lowest price
possible.”
For Singer, it is the responsibility of municipal government to ensure all operations are transparent between the municipal government and residents. If re-elected Singer plans on continuing to advocate for access for all citizen priorities while being mindful of budgetary limitations.
Since Singer was a resident in Marblehead, she has noticed in the past 22 years the cost of running a town continues to skyrocket.
‘Towns are facing rising inflation, healthcare and energy costs, labor shortages, and supply chain issues,” said Singer. “The need for upgrades to technology and cybersecurity are necessary yet costly. ClearGov, a financial software program, was adopted and will allow for more efficient, effective, and transparent financial reporting. It is imperative town governments complete comprehensive planning. Furthermore, those plans need to be updated to meet the new challenges and necessary initiatives.
In the coming terms, Singer would like to emphasize appointing new members to any of the boards and committees.
“As we address the structural deficit, we are ensuring we have the team in place to tackle this challenge. Our finance committee, for example, plays a key part in our town and we interview and carefully evaluate the candidates. We often must select between several qualified applicants for open positions. This is an important process and one we should not take lightly. There is specific guidance available from the Office of the Inspector General regarding “How to be an
Effective Member of a Public Board or Commission” to serve as a template and address board expectations and ensure all boards are operating at a high standard. We must continue to address this challenge.”