Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/478486
www.wbjournal.com March 16, 2015 • Worcester Business Journal 21 ALL STAR PERFORMERS Loretta LaRoche, MC • Grace Kelly • Giacomo Gates Pamela Hines • Joan Watson-Jones • Yoko Miwa Trio • Dale LePage Michelle Willson • Jeff Colella • Aztec Two-Step • Mark Mandeville Raianne Richards • Chet Williamson ... plus many others and including WICN Celebrities – current and former on air hosts! WICN 45 th Anniversary Celebration & Concert April 2 @ 6:30 PM Mechanics Hall 321 Main Street, Worcester, MA 01608 Call 508-752-0888 or order tickets online at mechanicshall.org get your tickets now! #WICN45 VIP EVENT Enjoy high-end hors d'oeuvres, 2 complimentary drinks and a cash bar Hours: 5:30pm-7:00pm | Tickets: $120 per person MIX N' MINGLE Enjoy light hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar. Hours: 6:30pm – 8pm Tickets: $65 through March 20, 2015 | $75 beginning March 21, 2015; Students with School ID: $32.50. All student tickets will be held at the Box Office for pick up. SPONSORS Catering, Tents & Events Creedon and Co.,Inc. U N I F I E D M A R K E T I N G COMMCREATIVE Ready for a little 'madness?' Bracketing Worcester's priorities W orcester's current median residential tax bill is $3,454, while the median commercial tax bill is $8,716. For that price, the city's taxpayers are purchasing an impressive array of services, including: • Universally accessible elementary and secondary education; • Maintenance of nearly 450 miles of free roads supported by approximately 700 miles of public sidewalk; • A safety network that provides police protection and fire response; • An open library system with nearly 900,000 books and other materials; and • A city staff that ensures free and fair elections, guarantees implementation of health and safety codes in food and in buildings, promotes the development of downtown and neighborhoods and the creation of new jobs, provides support services for the elderly, and manages 60 parks, 34 playgrounds, 124 playing fields and 15 beaches and water parks. Yet, not all are happy with the city's services. Taxpayers rightfully make new demands on government and regularly call for more and better services. With limited resources, government leaders must determine how to identify valuable new policies and initiatives, and weigh them against existing municipal demands. In honor of the NCAA's annual "March Madness" basketball tournament, we offer our "March Municipal Madness" bracket in which new municipal priorities compete to be first among equals. Divided into four broad categories (Education, Economic Development, Public Safety and Public Administration), March Municipal Madness offers you an opportunity to match one policy proposal or initiative against another to determine the most worthy. This bracket results in hard choices, but every option has an opportunity cost in the resource-limited world of local government. Here's how to play You can participate by filling out and submitting a bracket (illustrated at left). You can do this in one of these two ways: • Register your selections at w r r b . b r a c k e t e e r s . c o m (Include your name and email address.), or • Download, then print a copy of the bracket at www. w b j o u r n a l . c o m / MMMbracket. Fill it out, then scan it and either email it to info@wrrb.org or fax it to 508- 767-7720. Those who enter will be eligible to win a pair of tickets to the Worcester Regional Research Bureau's annual meeting in the spring (date to be determined). We' ll announce the most popular policy initiative, or "champion," on April 6, the date of the NCAA championship game. Five winners will be notified by email. While this process will lead to a "champion," that winning priority — based on which of the 32 receive the most votes, will ultimately need to compete against city officials' priorities to land in the city budget. Let the games begin! n Timothy McGourthy is executive director of the Worcester Regional Research Bureau. R E P R I N T E D W I T H P E R M I S S I O N F R O M T H E W O R C E S T E R R E G I O N A L R E S E A R C H B U R E A U BY TIMOTHY MCGOURTHY Special to the Worcester Business Journal V I E W P O I N T