Somerville Alderman Candidate: William White
William White responds to questions about his background, Somerville's most important issues and why residents should vote for him.
The most important issue in these difficult financial times is growing the City’s commercial tax base. Somerville has one of the lowest commercial tax bases for a City of its size in Massachusetts. This low commercial tax base has caused the city to rely on state aid, fees and fines, and residential property taxes to fund the expenses of City government. The drastic cut-backs in state aid have created even more financial pressures on the City. With an increased commercial tax base, the City would have additional revenue to fund its expenses and would not have to rely on the vagaries of state aid and further increases in property taxes and fines and fees. Economic development would also lead to jobs for Somerville residents. There are a …