Leominster Mayor Dean Mazzarella's unofficial campaign slogan appears to be "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." That's fine for many people; if you wait until your car breaks down, you can say you're saving money right up to the point when you have to pay for the repair.

What many of us forget, however, is that there are always other costs when the car breaks down. Did your car leave you stranded and force you to miss a day of work? Did it have to be towed? Did you have to rent a car for a couple of days or inconvenience someone else to get to work?

I'm glad that the mayor has the $800,000 necessary to repair the downtown parking garage without raising taxes, but what about the cost of the inconvenience for garage users who now have to find another place to park? Will downtown small-business owners lose money because their customers can't find parking this holiday season? Does it even make financial sense to repair the garage, or could it be taken down to make room for the long-awaited new police station?

If your mechanic fixed your car but never told you what else was wearing out or whether it might be better to trade in your car instead of sinking more money into it, would you keep going back to their garage? I'd rather work with someone who keeps me informed about the good and the not-so-good and helps me avoid costly surprises.


I know it's not as catchy, but I say "If it ain't broke, let's plan ahead so we don't get stuck when it breaks."