The Rundown-Worcester Faces $35M Sewer Loss, 911 Lawsuit Raises Mental Health Concerns

“This is the trial judge. An appeals court and the Supreme Judicial Court have all said Worcester was in the wrong here. And according to what you found out yesterday, even the governor’s lawyer said Worcester was in the wrong. So, what are we doing here?”

By-Hank Stolz

Photo-Radio Worcester

Worcester, MA- Up first on this edition of The Rundown was a lawsuit filed by three mental health organizations alleging that the city’s 911 emergency response system discriminated against individuals with mental health disabilities by dispatching armed police instead of trained specialists. The conversation explored a previous pilot program designed to address this and the legal and practical challenges of changing the response system. The speakers, Hank Stolz, Mark Henderson, Tom Marino, debated the practicalities of dispatching non-police responders to potentially volatile mental health crises, acknowledging the need for a balanced approach that ensures safety.

The second topic was the financial fallout from Worcester, losing a long-running lawsuit to the town of Holden over sewer rates, requiring the city to pay $35 million. Mark Henderson of the016.com remarked, “This is the trial judge. An appeals court and the Supreme Judicial Court have all said Worcester was in the wrong here. And according to what you found out yesterday, even the governor’s lawyer said Worcester was in the wrong. So, what are we doing here? While the state of Massachusetts played a role in the sewer rate issue, it was absolved of financial responsibility on a technicality, though it was suggested the state might offer future relief to Worcester through a new sewer agreement.

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