Brockton policy should be followed
John Mcphee Going 'green' sure is the in thing today.

Just about everyone's doing it - from classes in schools to municipalities; from homeowners to corporations.

I would hate to be a share holder in one of those mega-conglomerates whose products include those 'handy' spray pesticides.

Yup, I would 'round up' the board of directors real quick to come up with a new strategic plan as the list of municipalities banning cosmetic pesticides grows. They're going to need some new products, and this time the grass IS greener (and healthier) on the other side. If they don't come up with a new 'greener' plan, their future will be like that of a dandelion recently sprayed - short lived.

But, there is some good news in their future. There's money to be made by being environmentally friendly. That is, you can make a lot of green going green. After all, WalMart and Home Depot have jumped on board the environmental train. And you know they wouldn't be so eager if it wasn't such a smart business move.

Locally, Brockton council is trying to do its best for Mother Earth. Of late they're debating the merits of hiring a firm to help reduce the municipality's energy output and thus lower its carbon footprint while eventually saving money.

However, this council has a natural (organic) talent for seeing a straight line and adding as many curves, twists, and bends as possible to stretch out the timeframe of a project while adding hundreds, if not thousands of dollars to the eventual total cost - ie lawyers' and consultants fees, and the cost to get a simple opinion.

The issue of whether or not council needs to tender the energy-saving project, for which they all seem eager to begin, is a no-brainer.

Mayor Charlie Bagnato and others believe that since the municipality won't actually be paying for the work (it will be financed through savings realized) there's no need to tender the job. In fact, the mayor contends that the municipality isn't actually purchasing anything.

Couns. Dan Gieruszak and Charlie Reidl disagree. This latter group is correct.

Of course there's a purchase being made here. Brockton is buying someone's service (not to mention all the upgraded equipment that will be bought under the improvements being done).

More important however is the idea that because the project will eventually be cost neutral, it is exempt from any policy.

So, if Brockton buys a new water softener/treatment system that will save money on energy, salt, and whatever else, no tendering is needed because "it will pay for itself in 10 (or 12 etc.) years"? I don't think so.

Whatever the eventual cost of going green with this project, council's decision to first see what its lawyers think - on a question whose answer seems obvious - has both added dollars and time to the concept.

Sometimes doing the 'natural' thing seems to take a little extra time.