Catherine Bilottta
My name is Cathy Bilotta, and I would like to serve the residents of Manchester on the Board of Selectmen. I'm a life-long resident of New England who chose this beautiful seaside community as my home since 2017, loving Manchester's walkability, natural resources and small-town character.
Two years ago, I concluded a 32-year career as an information technology and strategic planning executive at Raytheon Company. This life transition afforded me more free time to attend our municipal meetings and learn more about the challenges and opportunities facing Manchester. I quickly realized my experience managing large strategic projects, negotiating service contracts and increasing efficiencies could be very helpful to the Town. If elected to the Board of Selectmen, I would leverage my professional experience to help accelerate the implementation of Manchester's Master Plan, preserve our town's character and ensure its financial health.
Improving housing affordability, while maintaining Manchester's small-town character and natural resources, is both challenging and possible. I support efforts to provide a diversity of housing options, including affordable units, scaled in a manner appropriate for a small town. Lower Pine Street, where I live, is one example of how a variety of multi-family housing units can be successfully integrated into our community.
An important aspect of housing affordability is reducing our reliance on residential property taxes for maintaining essential town services, paying for critical infrastructure improvements and supporting our schools. Finding additional revenue sources and seeking innovative ways to be more efficient with existing tax dollars are both necessary. I was happy to support the Town Meeting decision to allow R&D labs in the Limited Commercial District east of School Street as a way to raise revenue with minimal impact to town services.
Generating additional revenue should not, however, distract us from being good stewards of the taxes already collected. Proactively caring for existing town assets and reducing our reliance on operational budget overrides are important for maintaining the Town's financial health.
Benchmarking our services against those of similar towns, and viewing our spending patterns with a fresh set of eyes, can uncover new ideas for improving efficiency. Decisions to share services with other towns, such as Public Safety Dispatch, are best made based on facts and performance metrics. As the Regional 911 Center's 2021 performance data is not yet available, I will be asking questions at the upcoming Public Forum and urge residents to participate before casting their vote on this ballot question.
Preserving what we all love about Manchester involves proactively helping the Town adjust to factors outside of our control. Our coastal town would benefit from a comprehensive approach to climate resilience, describing our top risks, actions being taken to mitigate the risks and the party accountable for results. Regular communication with residents on progress will help keep this critical issue top of mind.
Ensuring a high-quality education for Manchester's children is always a top priority. I view music, art, foreign languages and sports as integral parts of a quality education, not "extra-curricular" activities. Partnering with MERSD to reduce costs outside the classroom, is a key way to support its mission. For students interested in a vocational education, Essex Tech is a hidden gem to be enthusiastically supported with our tax dollars and internship opportunities.
With the issues facing our town becoming more complex, it's more challenging than ever for residents to stay well informed. I'm a firm believer in "making it easy for people to do the right thing." Improving how we present information and listen to feedback from residents will make it easier for residents to engage with the Town.
I have a professional track record of delivering innovative solutions to maintain or improve services, in a fiscally responsible way, and would welcome the opportunity to put these skills to use in Manchester. If elected, I commit to listening to residents' perspectives, doing my homework on the issues and working hard to achieve the best outcomes for our town. It's time to renew our focus on the Town's strategic priorities, develop clear implementation plans and hold ourselves accountable for delivering results.
I look forward to meeting more residents to hear your views, share mine and hopefully, earn your vote. Please feel free to engage with me directly at elect.bilotta@gmail.com or on Facebook at @ElectBilottaMBTS.
