Sizing up Fitchburg after Lisa Wong

Lisa Wong has stabilized Fitchburg's finances during her tenure as mayor.

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By Livia Gershon Special To The Worcester Business Journal

When Lisa Wong was elected Fitchburg’s mayor in 2007, the buzz around her was huge. It wasn’t just that she was only 28 and the first Asian woman to become mayor of any city in Massachusetts. With a master’s degree in economics and three years as executive director of the city’s redevelopment authority, she came with big plans to turn around the fortunes of a city struggling to regain the economic power from its industrial heyday.

Then, in 2008, the financial crisis hit, plunging Fitchburg, and the rest of the country, into the Great Recession. The city’s unemployment had already been higher than the state average, and by the start of 2009 it was in double digits. Home prices dropped more precipitously than elsewhere in the state and Fitchburg made less progress toward recovery. With tax revenue down, Wong made some draconian budget cuts, slashing the public library’s hours of operation and turning off half the city’s street lights.

Today, though, as Wong finishes her last two-year term in office — she’s decided not to run for a fifth — she can point to a number of economic development achievements. One of her first priorities when she took office was addressing the financial state of the city, which had just $20,000 in its stabilization fund at the time. She pushed several million dollars into the fund, helping to get much-needed improvements in Fitchburg’s bond ratings.

Continuing work she had begun at the redevelopment authority, she helped build up a commercial building complex known as Putnam Place at the site of a former General Electric plant. The city also scored a big win last year when Great Wolf Lodge took over and expanded the former CoCo Key water park.

Roy Nascimento, who became president and CEO of the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce a few months ago, said he’s heard mostly positive comments about Wong’s performance from chamber members.

“Businesspeople respect her,” he said. “She has led the city very capably and done a very good job putting the city in a better financial shape than it was when she started.”

But that doesn’t mean things will be easy for Fitchburg’s next mayor.

Nascimento noted that major issues remain, including a dual tax rate that makes it more expensive to do business in the city than in neighboring communities, and a complicated permitting process that can make new companies hesitant to set up shop.

DiNatale heads list of potential successors

The most prominent among the contenders to replace Wong, State Rep. Stephen DiNatale, said the permitting process is one of the first issues he’d take on if elected. He said he’s heard from a number of developers and real estate professionals who say working with multiple city boards and departments on a project can be a time-consuming, uncertain and difficult process.

“It’s become a real obstacle,” he said. “We don’t have a welcome mat out. The door seems to be barred shut. These people are looking at other communities to build in. We need to bring them back to Fitchburg.”

DiNatale said he’d also like to review the city’s zoning map in the hopes of designating more space for commercial and industrial purposes.

Miguel Fleitas Jr., a Naval Reserves petty officer and Fitchburg State University student who’s also seeking the mayor’s seat, said he’s also heard a lot from businesses about the obstacles to doing business. Aside from taxes, he said, electrical bills are an issue, particularly for companies that get their power from Unitil, the utility covering the city.

Fleitas said he’d like to provide more tax incentives to bring new businesses into the city. He also said he sees general quality-of-life issues as a key to economic development. Better policing and better roads could encourage both businesses and customers to consider Fitchburg. He said he’s particularly troubled by shoppers driving through the city to commercial destinations in Leominster.

“If we can stop them in Fitchburg, they won’t be driving to Leominster,” he said.

Whoever ends up succeeding Wong — the other candidates who have taken out papers are Andrew Couture and Stephen Sandrelli — will have some advantages carved out for them, as well as some challenges. Nascimento noted that Fitchburg State has been expanding and working to help develop the downtown and other parts of the city as attractive destinations for young people. Meanwhile, Fitchburg has a relatively diversified economy, with jobs in fields including industrial sectors that have shrunk in many other places.

“It still has a very strong manufacturing base, and tourism is a growing sector of the economy that has quite a bit of potential for Fitchburg and for the rest of the region,” Nascimento said.