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The special Town Meeting to deal with funding Framingham's defense in the SMOC suit has been set for Nov. 27.
It is critical that Framingham's elected Town Meeting members go to that meeting with an open mind and a determination to vote in the best interest of the town.
Toward that end, we need to know the facts of the case. As I understand them they are;
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According to an article in the Nov. 7 MetroWest Daily News, SMOC alleges "a coordinated effort" by the defendants to rid the town of its disabled population.
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From hearsay "that the town is accomplishing this effort by a long process of approving a SMOC project of relocating a facility within the town (not to drive it out of the town) (and much of this delay may be SMOC's fault) and because a proposed SMOC facility that was being moved into the town had its permit disallowed because the building inspector didn't believe it met state requirements (again not being driven out of town).
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That the record shows that Framingham has more social service facilities per 1,000 residents then any other city or town in Massachusetts and/or in America and therefore more per 1,000 residents then any community in the whole world.
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That the publicity from just the filing of the SMOC lawsuit has damaged Framingham's good name and reputation. If the damage was only 1 percent of Framingham real estate value, that would equal over $80 million lost to Framingham property owners. It would appear that only a vigorous and successful defense of Framingham's good name and reputation could recover some of that lost value not to mention the possible fines involved in a poor defense.
If anyone disagrees to any of the above and/or can add to the facts please do so in this public media in letters to the editor.
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hjw2001@gmail.com