Logan, Fitzpatrick elected MMA leaders

Waltham City Councillor Robert G. Logan is the new president of the MMA, and Needham Town Manager Kate Fitzpatrick is the new vice president.
 
The MMA Board of Directors installed Logan and Fitzpatrick as officers for 2012 following the association’s Annual Business Meeting in Boston on Jan. 21.
 
Logan, who succeeds Natick Selectman Joshua Ostroff as president, was first elected to the Waltham City Council in 1989. A former City Council president, Logan currently chairs the council’s License and Franchises Committee. He is also the chair of the Waltham Ambulance Service Review Committee.
 
Logan cited a number of challenges the MMA faces this year, including the possibility that gridlock in Congress will prevent the disbursement of federal funds for road and bridge projects.
 
The Patrick administration’s proposed fiscal 2013 budget, announced at Annual Meeting on Jan. 20, calls for $200 million in Chapter 90 funding, the same amount as last year and $45 million more than two years ago. Local officials are hoping for as much as $300 million in federal transportation-related assistance.
 
“I think that everyone is aware that public infrastructure is in need of more investment,” Logan said. “At the same time, it has the added benefit of having a stimulus effect.”
 
Logan also cited the need for aid to help cities and towns meet federal mandates related to water and sewer systems.
 
Other goals for 2012 include promoting the regionalization of services such as emergency dispatch. Logan also pointed to the problem of “loopholes” that deprive municipalities of revenue. For example, communities that have adopted the local-option lodging tax often lose out on the revenue when visitors book their rooms online.
 
Fitzpatrick, the chief municipal officer in Needham for the past decade, served as the town’s assistant town administrator and personnel director from 1990 until 2001. In 2005, following a change in Needham’s form of government, Fitzpatrick’s title was changed from “town administrator” to “town manager.”
 
In the years since, Fitzpatrick has initiated full funding of Needham’s post-retirement benefits liability, has coordinated a master planning process for facilities, and has overseen the development of the town’s first comprehensive budget document.