Josh Krintzman

Questions and Answers

Question 1: After 40+ years of Prop 2 ½, a very limited ability to pass overrides, steep increases in expenses such as employee benefits and utilities, and a relatively small commercial tax base, Newton faces fiscal challenges not encountered by our peer communities, making it increasingly difficult to adequately fund our schools and other city services. What are your ideas for raising revenues or otherwise addressing Newton’s fiscal challenges?

We need to develop mechanisms to help us avoid over-reliance on state or federal funding. We’ve seen recently that revenue streams which seemed reliable, may be less certain than believed. But through innovative taxation, including maximizing our participation in state option local taxes, and growing our property tax base through reasonable and appropriately located development, we will ensure a more fiscally sustainable future. We should also continue to Invest in renewable energy and infrastructure to reduce long-term costs. Lastly, we should promote public--private partnerships for community projects to share financial risk and benefits.

Question 2: What, specifically, can the City Council do to ensure that lower income residents, young families, and long-term residents looking to downsize, can afford housing in Newton?

Increasing affordable housing options is directly tied to enhancing the vitality of our village centers. The easiest way to make housing more affordable in Newton is to implement a mix of strategies including incentives for developers to build more affordable units, zoning reforms to allow higher density where appropriate, and repurposing underutilized buildings like the Armory, as housing. Other cities have demonstrated that investing in housing supply is a lasting way to put downward pressure on housing costs. Lastly, we should regularly revisit our inclusionary zoning ordinance for optimal affordable housing unit creation.

Question 3: What is Newton doing to address climate change, how effective are these efforts, and what else could/should we be doing?

The recent revisions to the Newton Tree Ordinance represent significant progress towards environmental sustainability. I was proud that my committee – Programs and Services – led the effort on those revisions. One of my top priorities is the improvement, and if necessary, reconstruction of our recreational fields. By improving our parks, we improve our air quality and biodiversity. We must also continue to push the state to improve public transportation, while promoting cycling and walking, in order to reduce reliance on cars. The city council has made great progress shifting the city to renewable energy sources, but more work remains.

Question 4: Government transparency refers to the obligation of a government to proactively share information related to the management of public resources and decision-making; it’s indispensable to accountability and to an informed electorate. A recent initiative conducted by Newton’s LWV identified significant deficiencies in Newton’s local government transparency and specifically with respect to the City’s website. How do you think improved transparency could benefit our city? What improvements would you advocate for to the City website or transparency in general?

Transparency is essential to build trust from Newton residents. Residents need to see and know that deliberations and decisions are made publicly and with community participation, as appropriate. The city’s website is in dire need of an overhaul. Information is fragmented and often not user-friendly or logically arranged and categorized. Newton must prioritize revamping the website to make all information – including about city council actions and deliberations – easily available to all. The Programs and Services Committee, which I chair, will be reviewing the LWVN Transparency Report later this year. That's a good place to start!