By Adam Swift
Town Council President Jim Letterie touched on many of the big issues that are on tap in Winthrop in the coming year, from a school override and a debt exclusion for a new fire station to continued flood mitigation efforts, during his annual State of the Town address at the beginning of Tuesday night’s council meeting.
“It is both the responsibility and the privilege of the council president to address the town each year,” said Letterie. “This address serves as an opportunity to reflect on the past 12 months, and to clearly define our goals for the next year ahead.”
Letterie thanked Town Manager Tony Marino, Town and Council Clerk Denise Quist, the town’s department heads and staff, and appointed board members who help the town function with their hard work and dedication.
Letterie touched upon how the MBTA 3A Communities Act was a defining issue for the town in 2024, with the planning board recommending a plan that complied with the controversial law without increasing the number of units in Winthrop.
“Citizens of this great town came out in force to share their opinions, both pro and against, and ultimately, the council, along with 31 other municipalities in the Commonwealth, rejected complying with the controversial law,” said Letterie. “It is probably a good assumption to stay tuned for more information on 3A as 2025 progresses.”
In 2024, Letterie said the town also settled a contract with the firefighters union that runs through June 30, 2027.
“This new contract included a paramedic pay scale and monies available to pay for paramedic training and certification for interested firefighters,” he said. “The long-term benefits of this edition is that we will have paramedics available when we are ready to offer ambulance service to supplement that service offered by Action Ambulance, with the goal being to provide more ambulance service to the residents of Winthrop while reducing the wait times.”
The past year also saw the addition of several new employees in town hall, including finance director Sarah Johnson and assistant town manager Cheryl McCormick.
“We also adopted new floodplain regulations, required by federal and state governments, that allow the residents to buy flood insurance through federal programs,” Letterie said. “The town council approved electric aggregation and moved forward with Direct Energy as our supplier beginning this month.”
Letterie noted that John Goodwin was appointed the town’s police chief, replacing former chief Terence Delehanty, with Steve Rogers moving up to take Goodwin’s former deputy chief position.
“Lastly, in recognition of 2024, I would like to discuss the school override along with the much overdue potential new firehouse,” said Letterie. “First, the firehouse, we put a question for a debt exclusion on the ballot in November of 2023, which did not pass, but we learned a great deal. We learned that the town seems to agree that there was no question that Winthrop needs a new fire station.
“Our citizens understand that our firefighters need a facility that offers a healthy environment, provides them training facilities, adequate and proper shower facilities, decontamination rooms, proper facilities for both men and women, as well as other state-of-the-art items.”
While residents understood the need for a new fire station in 2023, Letterie said they were not convinced on the cost or the location.
“We listened, we have made adjustments on both cost and location,” he said. “The council voted unanimously to put a new firehouse on the ballot this spring with a new location and a $5 million reduction in cost without sacrificing any part of the facility. We are very optimistic that we can finally support our firefighters that put their lives on the line for us with a much needed new firehouse.”
The school requested that an override be put on the past November’s ballot to help supplement its future budget and maintain the great strides that have been made in the schools over the past several years, Letterie said.
“Unfortunately, it did not pass; however the need is very much there,” he said. “The schools also listened to the citizens and are coming back with a similar request, however, adding an option for a reduced amount.”
Most municipalities in the state request overrides on a four to seven year cycle to help maintain their budgets in the face of mandates from the state, along with the increased cost of providing an education.
“The Winthrop school system was somehow incredibly able to go 15 years without going to the citizens for that request,” Letterie said. “They certainly understand the limits of our tax base, which shows the severe need they are in.”
Letterie said he is hopeful the town’s citizens will get involved, ask questions, go to meetings, and learn about the specifics of the debt exclusion and override, and help support the town’s children and firefighters.
“In 2025, as we enter the 20-year mark of our form of government, I have come to realize that being president requires and deserves a full-time commitment to ensure that our citizens are given every opportunity to see transparency in government, to have peace of mind, and to continue to be proud and blessed to be a citizen of Winthrop,” Letterie said. “We as a council have made a commitment to continue the process of addressing the flooding issues at Girdlestone, Tilestone, and Pico, and we will continue to find the right solutions to help the residents of Morton, Banks, and the surrounding streets to remedy the flooding issues. We will work toward a solution with the old middle school site, and in fact, will be holding a special roundtable meeting next Tuesday to continue discussions.”
Letterie said he sincerely hopes and expects that the council will be willing to put in the extra time and effort to ensure Winthrop continues to move forward while maintaining its small-town feel.