Southbridge and Mr. Healey

The following are excerpts from a Worcester Telegram article:

A ‘bite the bullet’ budget emerges from session
During the session, Mr. O’Brien and Mr. Vandal strongly criticized Acting Town Manager John F. Healey for working toward a side letter to increase benefits to the town from an extension agreement with landfill operator Casella Waste Systems. It passed 7-2.

After Mr. Healey told the town it was setting itself up for annual cuts in services if a site assignment for the landfill didn’t go through, Mr. Vandal said, “I’ve never heard so much bull and scare tactics.” He said Casella was positioned to give the town anything.

Mr. O’Brien called the timing “incredibly curious.”

“It’s before the Board of Health, which is supposed to be purely concerned with the health issues; and if they approve it, guess what? They get all the money they need to build their own bureaucracy. Sure sounds like bribery to me.” WorcesterTelegram