The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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DEVAL L. PATRICK GOVERNOR TIMOTHY P. MURRAY LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR

Executive Department State House  ·  Boston 02133 (617) 725-4000

January 7, 2008.

To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives:

Pursuant to the provisions of Article II, Section 8, Paragraph 1, Clause (2) of the Amendments to the Constitution, as amended by Article LXXXIX, I am filing for your consideration the attached legislation entitled, “An Act Authorizing the Town of Arlington to Establish a Special Account for Maintenance of its Town Water Bodies.” 

   Representative Marzilli and the Arlington Board of Selectmen have asked that this legislation be filed to authorize the town of Arlington to create a special fund to maintain, treat and remediate the town’s seven water bodies.  The town requests this legislation because its many water bodies need minimal maintenance, interspersed with episodic large expenditures.  The frequency of these expenditures is unpredictable, because often the needs are caused by unpredictable factors like storm water runoff or too many nutrients in the water.  Accordingly, the town would like to establish a permanent fund dedicated to meeting these maintenance demands.  These ecologically sensitive areas provide immense pleasure and value to the Commonwealth and the town, and I strongly support this local initiative to protect and preserve water bodies.

I urge your early and favorable consideration of this bill.

Respectfully submitted,

                                                                                       DEVAL L. PATRICK,

                                                                                       Governor.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the Year Two Thousand and Eight.

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An Act authorizing the town of Arlington to establish a special account for maintenance of its town water bodies.

        Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the town of Arlington may establish a special account into which may be appropriated a sum or sums of money to be raised by general tax or otherwise, including borrowing, and which may receive gifts or grants of money to be expended, under the direction of the town manager, without further appropriation, for the maintenance, treatment, and oversight of the town’s water bodies.

SECTION 2.  The town manager shall report to each annual town meeting the revenues into and expenditures from the fund, together with a projection of future needs.

SECTION 3.  This act shall take effect upon its passage.