Finance & Management Working Group

In 2005, Ken organized the Finance & Management Working Group, comprised of Newton residents with relevant expertise, to examine the City's budget and recommend reforms and initiatives to cut costs and to increase revenue. The only constraint Ken placed on the group was that they could not recommend increases in taxes or fees or cuts in services.

In May, 2005, the Finance & Management Working Group issued their report, (PDF) which included opportunities for more than $10 million in annual savings and in increased revenue, improving general fund investment practices, switching our pension fund to the state's portfolio, expanding the City's recycling program, and creating a PILOT program in Newton. Please click here (PDF) to download a complete copy of the Finance & Management Working Group Report.

While most of the Finance & Management Working Group's recommendations were initially rejected by the Cohen Administration, Ken has continued to pursue these ideas and — with the help of the Blue Ribbon Commission, which included many of the Working Group's recommendations in its 2007 report — has managed to get several of them implemented.