Posted onApril 14, 2021|Comments Off on State budget clears House
Medfield’s #s in the budget proposal –
Contact Your Legislator Today!
HOUSE W&M COMMITTEE OFFERS $47.65B FY22 BUDGET WITH KEY INVESTMENTS IN MUNICIPAL & SCHOOL AID• INCLUDES THE FULL $39.5M INCREASE IN UGGA• INCREASES CHAPTER 70 BY $21M ABOVE GOV’S BUDGET TO FUND THE STUDENT OPPORTUNITY ACT ON SCHEDULE• INCREASES CHARTER SCHOOL REIMBURSEMENTS BY $37M• ADDS $55M FOR STUDENT ENROLLMENT AND SUMMER SCHOOL GRANTS• INCLUDES $367M TO FUND THE SPECIAL EDUCATION CIRCUIT BREAKER• RESTORES $6M TO LEVEL FUND REGIONAL SCHOOL TRANS. AT FY21 LEVEL• ADDS $1M TO McKINNEY-VENTO REIMBURSEMENTS OVER FY21•ADDS $2M TO PILOT
April 14, 2021
Dear Osler Peterson,
Earlier today, the House Ways & Means Committee advanced a $47.65 billion fiscal 2022 state budget plan to the full House for consideration later this month. The plan would increase overall state expenditures by 2.6 percent over the current year’s budget, and reflects a 3.9 percent increase over the Governor’s January budget proposal. The HW&M budget matches the 3.5% increase in Unrestricted General Government Aid (UGGA) in the Gov’s budget, adds a significant increase to Chapter 70 school aid and Charter School reimbursements, and includes $55 million in important new grant programs.
The full House will start debate on the FY22 budget on April 26, and House members must file all budget amendments by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, April 16. The House usually considers over 1000 amendments during budget debate week.
H. 4000, the House Ways & Means budget, provides progress on many important local aid priorities, including the full $39.5 million increase in Unrestricted General Government Aid that the Governor proposed and communities are counting on. The House Ways & Means budget also mirrors the Governor’s proposed increase for Special Education Circuit Breaker, with an increase over FY 2021 of $22.5 million.
The HW&M budget would increase funding for other major aid programs, by adding $21 million to Chapter 70 aid above the House One recommendation, for a total increase of $219 million; $37 million in additional funds for Charter School Mitigation payments, and an additional $1 million for McKinney-Vento transportation for homeless students. To acknowledge student enrollment declines due to the public health emergency, H. 4000 would set aside $40 million in a one-time reserve account to assist districts impacted by the decline, as well as $15 million in one-time grant funding for summer school and student mental health support. The proposal would also provide an increase of $1 million for public libraries and $1 million for regional public libraries. H. 4000 also proposes a $2 million increase for the Payment-in-Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) for state-owned land account.
$39.5 MILLION INCREASE IN UNRESTRICTED MUNICIPAL AID
In January, the Administration kept its commitment to cities and towns to tie the increase in Unrestricted General Government Aid to the projected rate of growth in state tax revenues. This year, that increase was 3.5%, representing an increase of $39.5 million. The House Ways and Means FY 2022 plan would provide $1.168 billion for UGGA, reflecting the same increase proposed by Governor Baker. In a statement released by the Chairs of the Joint Ways and Means Committee last week, the two chambers have reached an agreement on this amount and every city and town will see their UGGA funding increase by 3.5%. This is welcome news to provide stability and predictability in municipal budgeting.
CHAPTER 70 AID RETURNS TO ORIGINAL STUDENT OPPORTUNITY ACT SCHEDULE
The House budget committee is proposing a $219 million increase in Chapter 70 education aid ($21 million higher than the $197.7 million increase in H. 1), which would fund the “goal rates” originally set forth in the Student Opportunity Act. The SOA schedule set a 7-year schedule beginning in FY 2021, but that was sidelined last year due to the public health emergency. To get back on track, the MMA joined with other education advocates to ask the Legislature to fund Chapter 70 at an SOA implementation rate of 1/6th rather than 1/7th in order to return to the intended schedule. Last week, House and Senate leaders reached a local aid funding agreement, which included this commitment to fund the increases in the SOA at 1/6th, funding Chapter 70 at a total of $5.503 billion. While this is important progress for districts, most districts remain at minimum aid.
CHARTER SCHOOL MITIGATION PAYMENTS WOULD INCREASE BY $37 MILLION
House Ways & Means is proposing a total of $154 million for Charter School Mitigation Payments, which reflects an increase of $37 million over the current fiscal year. In keeping with the first year of a 3-year phase-in funding schedule outlined in the Student Opportunity Act, this investment meets the Legislature’s statutory obligation to fund charter school reimbursements at 75%. Charter school finance still presents a major challenge to many districts, in a number of cases negating the increases districts realize in Chapter 70 aid.
$367 MILLION FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION CIRCUIT BREAKER
In line with the Governor’s budget recommendation in January, the House Ways & Means Committee’s budget includes the Governor’s recommendation of $367 million for Special Education Circuit Breaker, a $22.5 million increase over FY 2021. The Student Opportunity Act expanded the circuit breaker by including out-of-district transportation, an important enhancement for cities and towns.
HW&M PROVIDES MIXED FUNDING FOR SCHOOL TRANSPORTATION ACCOUNTS
The House Ways & Means budget level funds regional transportation at $82 million. The budget would increase transportation for homeless students under McKinney-Vento by $1million to $14.4 million. There is no line item for out-of-district vocational transportation, which last year was funded at $250,000.
PAYMENTS-IN-LIEU-OF-TAXES (PILOT) AND LIBRARY AID
Recognizing the importance of Payments-in-Lieu-of-Taxes (PILOTS) for state-owned land, the House Ways & Means Committee increased the line-item by $2 million to $33 million. The Governor’s budget had recommended level-funding at $31 million. Underfunding PILOT over the years has created a significant hardship for smaller communities with large amounts of state-owned property. The accounts for public libraries and regional public libraries would each see an increase of $1 million.
SUMMARY
It is clear that House leaders are prioritizing K-12 funding and other increases for cities and towns, as they advance an agenda to ensure stability during a time of uncertainty. The local funding aid agreement reached by the Joint Ways and Means Committee last week, including commitments to UGGA, Chapter 70, and the acknowledgement of school enrollment challenges, will create a more stable budget-setting process for cities and towns in the weeks and months ahead. This progress is deeply appreciated. During the budget debate and legislative session, the MMA will work to build on this progress, and will continue to advocate for full funding of the education funding priorities outlined in the Student Opportunity Act, fixing the serious problems caused by the current charter school system, securing higher Chapter 70 minimum aid increases, achieving full funding for all municipal and school reimbursement programs, and providing higher PILOT funding.
Please Call Your Representatives Today to Thank Them for the Local Aid Investments in the House Ways and Means Committee BudgetPlease Explain How the House Ways and Means Budget Would Impact Your Community, and Ask Your Representatives to Build on this Progress During the Budget DebateThank You!
Posted onApril 14, 2021|Comments Off on Soles of Medfield Running Club loves the New Life 5k Trail Run
This Running Club loves the New Life 5k Trail Run
By Tod Dimmick
Soles of Medfield Running Club is one many teams with deep local roots that will participate in the New Life 5k Trail Run. We asked John Trigg, one of the Club organizers, about Soles of Medfield, and why they love this particular event.
Trigg said that Soles of Medfield has members from all around the “greater Medfield” area, including Medfield, Millis, Sherborn, Norfolk, Walpole and other towns. “We started as a loose collection of friends and neighbors training for a half marathon in 2015, and the team snowballed from there,” he said. He added that what evolved from a mailing list to a Facebook group is now a formal non-profit running club with a regular schedule of runs of all lengths. Trigg says team members come from all experience levels; from ‘couch to 5k’ to ultramarathoners. He said, “We’re just here to provide community and support.”
“The New Life 5k Trail Run is one of our favorite events,” Trigg said. “Not only is the event local, and benefits such a great organization, but the route and use of the state hospital sets it apart from just about every other 5K. The course is challenging, but provides great scenery all the way around. Runners of all levels will enjoy it.” Trigg said he loves that the New Life 5K Trail Run benefits the mission of the New Life Furniture Bank of MA.
New Life Furniture Bank of MA collects high-quality, gently-used furniture and household essentials that are made available at no cost to individuals and families transitioning out of homelessness. In the midst of the pandemic in 2020, New Life found a way to safely serve almost 500 families. The Medfield-based not-for-profit organization operates a Walpole Donation Center, and serves the MetroWest and Greater Boston area.
This year, the 5k organizers hope that participants will have the choice of whether to participate in-person on May 8th at Medfield State Hospital, or virtually between April 17th and May 8th.
New Life 5k Trail Run registration is open at www.newlifefb.org/5k, with discounts for teams of four or more. New teams are welcome. The registration fee is $30. T-Shirts are available for purchase. Those interested in being a sponsor, volunteering, donating home furnishings, or making a financial contribution are encouraged to visit www.newlifefb.org.
Other teams participating this year include Team Babson, Yates, Walk Ins Welcome, UCC Medfield Trail Blazers, Eliot Church XC, and others.
Soles of Medfield welcomes new members. Learn more at solesofmedfield.com and on Facebook and Instagram. Questions are welcome at solesofmedfield@gmail.com. “Maybe run with us to see if you like who we are and our runs,” Trigg suggests. “Come find people to run with.”
Comments Off on Soles of Medfield Running Club loves the New Life 5k Trail Run
Posted onApril 12, 2021|Comments Off on Federal covid monies for Medfield
This email today from the Division of Local Services (DLS) contains a link to a spreadsheet that details the Federal covid related monies the Town of Medfield and the 350 other Massachusetts cities and towns have been allocated and have received – by clicking here;
COVID-Related Federal Funding Information
On behalf of Governor Baker, Lieutenant Governor Polito, and Secretary Heffernan, please find information about COVID-related federal funding that is available to or has already been claimed by the municipalities. The goal of these documents is to consolidate existing information and present it in a format that can be a resource for you.
Please be advised that this information changes regularly as the federal government provides updates and additional guidance.
The information provided, which is current as of April 1, 2021, includes: An excel spreadsheet with information broken down by municipality available by clicking here; A companion document, entitled “Municipality Program Descriptions”, which explains each source of funding and their eligible uses as determined by the federal government available here.For additional details on general Covid-19 Federal Funds, you can also refer to this website: http://www.mass.gov/federalfunds.
Posted onApril 12, 2021|Comments Off on New Life 5k Trail Run Update
From Tod Dimmick –
Here’s an update on the New Life 5k Trail Run. Six teams have entered already!
Tod ***
New Life 5k Trail Run Update
Now is the time to register for the 2021 New Life 5K Trail run. The event is open for runners, walkers and everyone in between. Participants have the choice of registering to run in-person on May 8th at Medfield State Hospital, or virtually between April 17th and May 8th. Each year the event brings out hundreds of enthusiastic supporters. Last year, the “Virtual 5k” was a tremendous success, after organizers offered one of the first virtual races in Massachusetts. Virtual runners participated last year from as far away as Australia!
The in-person component will only occur if Massachusetts moves into the stage of Phase 4 that allows Road Races. The organizers will determine whether or not the in-person event will occur by April 30th (If the in-person event is not permitted, in-person registrations will become virtual registrations). The in-person 5k Trail Run will include measures to ensure safe participation, such as staggered start times throughout the day on May 8th.
The virtual component will be structured much like last year. Participants create their own 5k route, or use fitness apps like MapMyRun and Strava, and then complete their route anytime between April 17 and May 8. Participants can log their times on RaceWire. On May 9, results will be posted and awards will be given.
The event benefits New Life Furniture Bank of MA, which collects high-quality gently-used furniture and household essentials that are made available at no cost to individuals and families transitioning out of homelessness. New Life has remained vigilant throughout the pandemic and has continued to serve people in need by finding creative and safe ways to operate online and with minimal contact. In 2020, New Life served almost 500 families. The Medfield-based not-for-profit organization operates a Walpole Donation Center, and serves the MetroWest and Greater Boston area. New Life provides a meaningful option for folks who are downsizing, renovating or disposing of a loved one’s property to donate their gently used goods and furniture.
New Life 5k Trail Run registration is open at www.newlifefb.org/5k, with discounts for teams of four or more. New teams are welcome. The registration fee is $30, and T-Shirts are available for purchase. Those interested in being a sponsor, volunteering, donating home furnishings, or making a financial contribution are encouraged to visit www.newlifefb.org.
Posted onApril 5, 2021|Comments Off on Town gets $160,500 state grant
The email below came this afternoon from the Department of Housing and Community Development about the Town of Medfield being awarded a $160,500 state grant towards engineering and design of intersection improvements at West Street and Rte. 27 – which needs a better traffic signal.
Medfield
The Town of Medfield will direct funding toward engineering and design of intersection improvements at the Route 27 (North Meadows Road) and West Street intersection.
$160,500
Assistant Town Administrator, Nick Milano tells me that credit is mainly due to Town Planner, Sarah Raposa, qualifying the Town of Medfield under the Choice Community program.
Dear Chair Peterson – Please find attached a copy of the award letter for your community’s FY 21 Housing Choice Community Capital grant. Congratulations, and thank you for all the work you are doing to promote housing production in Massachusetts. Please keep this digital letter, no hard copy will be sent. Here is a link to the Commonwealth’s press release about the grant awards. I expect the grant contract will be sent to you and your staff in the next few weeks. Sincerely, Chris Kluchman______________________________
Chris Kluchman, FAICP
Deputy Director, Community Services Division
DHCD, 100 Cambridge Street, Ste 300
Boston, MA 02114
cell: 857-288-9141 *please use this number until further notice*
I started this blog to share the interesting and useful information that I saw while doing my job as a Medfield select board member. I thought that my fellow Medfield residents would also find that information interesting and useful as well. This blog is my effort to assist in creating a system to push the information out from the Town House to residents. Let me know if you have any thoughts on how it can be done better.
For information on my other job as an attorney (personal injury, civil litigation, estate planning and administration, and real estate), please feel free to contact me at 617-969-1500 or Osler.Peterson@OslerPeterson.com.
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