Category Archives: Budgets

Business of Medfield is homes

Posted on January 7, 2013 | 2 comments

Yesterday, on my way to Shaw’s for the weekly groceries, I made what was for me a long postponed first visit to an open house at Olde Medfield Square, and learned several surprising things.

20130107-Olde Medfield Square-picture

  • it is comprised of 42 customized and all different condo units of 2-3,000 sq. ft. each, on a total of under 7 acres, each selling for upwards of $1 m.
  • 2 school children total live in the 25-27 homes that have been sold – one of whom just moved in and the other will graduate come June (so, basically, one school child)
  • property taxes to the town will run $600,000+ per year, making it a major revenue generator, profit center for Medfield
  • no architect was used, instead Ralph Costello, the developer, Sharon Bartelloni, his Marketing Director, and their staff just work out each unit on their own, saving about $25,000 per unit per Ralph
  • they have copyrighted each design, so they can easily replicate the homes
  • they have had requests form municipal officials in other towns, asking them to replicate the whole project in their towns
  • original plans to construct four large five unit buildings along Rte. 27 were altered when they learned people preferred the detached, but closely situated units
  • this density is allowed, as of right, in our RU zone in the downtown.
  • I really like the look from having the garages in the rear
  • while the units are close together, one can see that the fenestration is planned mainly on only one side of each unit, so that adjoining units  do not have the feel of looking into one another’s homes

Lessons for Medfield:  The business of Medfield can be providing the housing that draws people to town, as it is not just the schools that draw people to town.  Given Medfeld’s distance from major highways, it will always be a hard sell to get large businesses and retail to locate in Medfield, so we cannot count on expanding our tax base in reliance on those fronts.  Therefore, the town will be better served in the long run if it actively promotes more of the type of housing, such as Olde Medfield Square, that requires few municipal services.  Such projects will balance our existing single family housing stock which attracts the high numbers of school children.

Ten years ago, as a new selectman attending a seminar on municipal issues sponsored by the Attorney General, I heard the former town planner for Lexington say that his studies in Lexington discovered that it averaged 1.5 school children per single family detached house, but only 0.15 school children per unit in attached housing.  He recommended to us was building housing to increase our tax base, but the “right” type of housing.

The Olde Medfield Square example shows us that it it not just attached units that have fewer school children, it is also the densely packed detached units without yards large enough for a swing set.  In addition to having dramatic curb appeal and providing a different housing option, these homes are a real fiscal win for the town.

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Posted in Budgets, Development, Downtown, Planning, Town Services, Zoning

Road stories

Posted on January 3, 2013 | Comments Off on Road stories

Interesting and long discussion with Mike Sullivan yesterday afternoon, when I called to see what the Board of Selectmen was going to do about having missed our meeting on the first Tuesday of January – we will probably add a meeting on at the end of the month, given our need to review budgets.

I also suggested that we have department heads plan to give the Board of Selectmen and the town seminars and/or reports on topics of interest, such as (1) proper staffing levels for town departments, and (2) how to maintain the roads for the longest time at the least cost.  The Massachusetts Municipal Association recently prodded the legislature to spend more on Chap. 90 highway maintenance by pointing out that something like each dollar spent on maintenance postpones five dollars of repairs and/or replacements of roads.  I thought the town would like to know why we grind down and patch sections of roads and use stone seal, versus just re-paving.

That lead to discussions of Rte. 109 and 27 being state numbered roads, but not actually state highways.  The distinction is that we own the cost to repair them.  Rte. 27 is the super wide drag strip that it is on the North side of town because of former highway superintendent, Billy McCarthy, who liked wide roads and convinced the state to pay to build it that way.  Mike thought it may have been an early iteration (before I-495) of plans for an outer circumferential highway.

North Street by the Memorial School is as wide as it is because Billy McCarthy liked to have wide rights of ways.  Up further, the North Street right of way goes behind the houses on the railroad side of North Street up where Farm Street takes off, because years ago a property owner in the area named Cheney objected to the Norfolk Hunt Club riding over his land.  Next thing he knew, a right of way for North Street was taken by the state across the Cheney (and all of his neighbors’) land, and the Norfolk Hunt Club was then connected to its fields at what is called the racecourse.  The racecourse land is the old Medfield Golf Course.

Governor Sargent, a Dover resident, had a main Dover street coming in from Chestnut Street in Needham declared a state roadway, thus making the state liable for all the repairs.  However, Mike says that it was eventually de-listed by the state, and now Dover is again responsible.

Mike is giving his annual seminar on municipal budgeting to the Warrant Committee this coming Saturday morning, starting at 8 AM.

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Posted in Budgets, Transportation

PILOT

Posted on January 3, 2013 | Comments Off on PILOT

The Lincoln Institute publishes an on-line magazine called Land Lines, and this month it has an article on Boston’s experience implementing PILOT’s for non-profits.  Boston only ask non-profits with over $15 m. in real estate to pay, and the article says they use the following formula to determine the amount of the ask –

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“Determining PILOT Payments

Many alternatives were considered for the basis of PILOT contributions, including a per-student or per-hospital-bed fee, or a charge based on the amount of land or building area. The Task Force determined that a charge driven by the assessed value of the institutions—reflecting size and quality of real estate holdings—would result in the most equity. There was a general consensus that nonprofits should contribute some amount toward their consumption of essential services such as police and fire protection, as well as public works such as street cleaning and snow removal. These services consume approximately 25 percent of Boston’s budget, and the Task Force found that a PILOT equal to 25 percent of an institution’s fully taxable amount was reasonable.

Credit for Community Benefits

The public benefit provided by nonprofit institutions was a major focus of the Task Force, which recommended that institutions receive up to a 50 percent credit on their PILOT in exchange for community benefits. This credit recognized the significant inkind contributions made by nonprofit institutions that directly benefit Boston residents. The credit was limited to 50 percent of the PILOT amount to ensure significant cash contributions from each institution. However, the Task Force felt that if an exceptional opportunity for a program or service were available, the 50 percent cap could be exceeded at the city’s discretion.

While the Task Force did not offer detailed specifics on the services that were eligible for PILOT credit, it did provide general guidance on the types of services that should qualify. To be eligible, community services must directly benefit City of Boston residents, support the city’s mission and priorities, offer ways for the city and nonprofit to collaborate to meet shared goals, and be quantifiable.”

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Posted in Budgets

Unfunded retiree health benefits recommendations

Posted on December 26, 2012 | Comments Off on Unfunded retiree health benefits recommendations

Statehouse News Service reports on recommendations from the state committee studying the unfunded retiree health benefits (Medfield’s are estimated to be about $35m.) –

Subject: PATRICK TO FEATURE PANEL’S RETIREE HEALTH CARE REFORMS IN BUDGET

STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, DEC. 20, 2012..State and municipal employees would have to wait until they are older and put in more years of service to qualify for retirement health benefits under a proposal being embraced by the Patrick administration to cut future benefit costs by $20 billion over the next 30 years.

Gov. Deval Patrick intends to file a retiree health benefit reform plan as part of his fiscal 2014 budget proposal in January that will include the recommendations of a commission that has spent the past nine months reviewing retiree health care costs, said budget chief Jay Gonzalez. He called the plan a “very significant change.”

“In order to present a fair retiree health benefit for employees we need to change the system and the benefit to make it affordable over time and that’s what this reform aims to do,” said Gonzalez, the governor’s secretary of administration and finance.

A commission studying retiree employee health care costs voted 11-1 on Thursday to recommend an increase in the age and years of service required for a state employee to be eligible for health care coverage in retirement.

Shrewsbury Town Manager Dan Morgado, a representative on the commission of the Massachusetts Municipal Association, was the only vote against the recommendations.

The final report adopted by the Commission to Study Retiree Healthcare and Other Non-Pension Benefits recommends increasing the age of eligibility for the majority of state employees in Group 1 from 55 to 60, in line with changes made in 2011 to the state pension system.

The commission also recommended increasing the required years of service in state or municipal government from 10 years to 20 years for an employee to qualify for retirement health benefits. The state currently pays 80 percent of a retiree’s health insurance premiums. Under the new proposal, an employee with 20 years of service would be reimbursed 50 percent of their premiums costs, increasing to 80 percent for those with 30 years of service or more.

The changes would save the state and municipalities $20 billion over the next 30 years, according to Gonzalez, who said the state’s current health benefits for retirees are “among the most generous in the country right now.”

The commission estimated the total unfunded cost of retiree health benefits at the state and local level if the system remains unchanged at $45 billion to $50 billion over 30 years.

The changes, if approved by the Legislature, would be applied to current employees, with some carve-outs and exemptions for those close to retirement. Gonzalez said he thought the package had “a very good chance of passing.”

“This is a strong recommendation of strong reforms to our retiree health benefit structure that will help put the state and municipalities on a path to fiscal sustainability,” Gonzalez said.

The commission was created as part of the pension reform law signed by Patrick in November 2011, and included representatives from the MMA, the AFL-CIO of Massachusetts, the Retired State, County and Municipal Employees Association, the Patrick administration, the Treasury and the House and Senate.

Sens. Jack Hart (D-Boston) and Michael Knapik (R-Westfield) and Reps. John Scibak (D-South Hadley) and F. Jay Barrows (R-Mansfield) also voted in favor of the recommendations.

“We all realize this is a very real challenge and real problem we needed to get our arms around and be part of the solution, said Shawn Duhamel, a commission member representing the Retired State, County and Municipal Employees Association. “I think the proposal that has been put forth that was largely the product of the AFL-CIO and our association achieves not only $20 billion in savings for the next 30 years but provides long-term protections for our members.”

Duhamel called the final recommendations a “tough sell” to many members of his association who will see that $20 billion in savings come out of their pocket. “Given the situation we face, there isn’t a perfect solution, but we’ve done our best,” Duhamel said.

Employees with 20 years of service who are within five years of retirement age would be exempt from the changes, as would employees within five years of qualifying for Medicare eligibility who are within one year of vesting for health benefits.

Teachers participating in Retirement Plus who are 57 or older and are eligible for their maximum retirement benefit would also not see any change to their benefits, and those on disability retirements would be exempt until January 2014 when national health reform kicks in, offering new subsidies for their insurance.

Gonzalez and Duhamel also said the proposal seeks to protect those current employees close to retirement. Employees aged 50 or older with 15 years of service, or 55 and older with 10 years of experience would be eligible to have 50 percent of their health premiums covered in retirement.

While the state currently covers 80 percent of retiree health premiums, cities and towns are free to negotiate their own premium sharing agreements with employees and retirees. The commission’s report will recommend that municipal contribution levels be frozen for a period of three years after the law is enacted, and would prevent communities from changing those rates in the future for existing retirees.

Morgado could not be reached for comment, but the Massachusetts Municipal Association raised concerns about the restrictions on negotiating premium splits in a statement.

“The MMA opposes a recommendation to permanently freeze the health insurance contribution rate for retirees once they retire. This unaffordable provision would prevent cities and towns from making adjustments to a major budget item in order to adapt to changing fiscal conditions and would offset a significant portion of the potential savings in many communities,” the MMA said.

Andrew Powell, the AFL-CIO representative on the commission, said the current system was “unsustainable.”

“There was a recognition that in order to preserve affordable health care for public employees and retirees we had to work on a solution and strike a balance between preserving benefits and the fiscal needs of the state and local government,” Powell said.

-END-
12/20/2012

Serving the working press since 1910

http://www.statehousenews.com

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Posted in Budgets

Pension reform proposal

Posted on December 21, 2012 | 2 comments

Emailed to me by Mike Sullivan –  Swampscott selectmen seek authority to deal with unfunded retirement benefits for new employees –

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Michael,
I wanted to reach out to all Massachusetts municipal officials about a Home Rule Petition the Town of Swampscott is pursuing relative to pension reform. The goal of this petition is to give freedom to each city and town in the Commonwealth to offer an affordable plan for retirement benefits to new hires. As you know, the State of Massachusetts currently mandates a defined benefit plan. In other words, we have no freedom to choose what is a financially sound plan for our city or town.

A quick visit to the PERAC web site details how towns from Andover ($75 million unfunded liability) to Melrose ($45 million unfunded liability) to Swampscott ($36 million unfunded liability) are facing onerous debt that is now and will continue to be a drain on investment in capital improvements, education and town services.

And it will get much worse if we don’t act soon.

Interestingly, the Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB) passed new rules for pension accounting that go into effect in 2013. Two key components of the changes will force pensions to use a much more realistic method of “discounting” or, what most people refer to as investment returns. The State still uses 8.25% as a discount rate for future investment returns by pensions. In its Annual Report, PERAC likes to refer to an average rate of return over the last 27 years of close to 9%. But the reality is that since 2000, the return is closer to 4%. This has a dramatic effect on unfunded obligations and as a result, how much of your property tax revenue is spent on benefits.

GASB will require all municipalities to use a number closer to 2% to determine a true accounting of each system. When that happens, look out below – taxpayers will be shocked to learn how much they are on the hook for in the future. Additionally, GASB will no longer allow for smoothing, which enables pension accountants to meter out the highs and lows, giving a skewed view of the current liabilities and assets. To read exactly what GASB will be requiring, click here.

I believe the State has not done enough to mitigate the risk of pension fund exposure to taxpayers. That is why I’m pushing a Home Rule petition that gives each municipality the right to choose a plan – for new employees – that it finds affordable. Ideally, the State would offer multiple plans to choose from, whether a defined benefit, shared risk or defined compensation plan. For those towns that want to continue down the same path they are on – no problem. But for those of us who are compiling unwanted liabilities and seeing retirees live longer while fewer current employees are paying into the existing plan – we’d have some relief.

This type of system is working in Connecticut, Florida and other states that allow for Home Rule. If you’d like to read articles on successful negotiations between unions and municipal government for new employee benefits, click here.

I’m asking you to join my efforts and help build a coalition for Home Rule. If you would like to see the language Swampscott currently plans to use as an Article this spring at town meeting, please email me and I’ll send over a copy. We are open to suggestions you may have as well.

Thank you,

Barry Greenfield
Selectmen, Town of Swampscott
Editor & Publisher, EfficientGov

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Posted in Budgets

MMA on state funding gap for road repairs

Posted on December 18, 2012 | Comments Off on MMA on state funding gap for road repairs

This was the Massachusetts Municipal Association’s “alert” sent to me this afternoon –

MMA REPORT: Cities & Towns Face a $362M Funding Gap to Maintain and Repair Local Roads

• MMA Calls for $100M More in Annual Chapter 90 Funding for Local Roads

• Investing in Chapter 90 Strengthens the Economy, Saves Taxpayers Millions 

Earlier this afternoon at a State House press conference, the MMA released a comprehensive report documenting that cities and towns across the state face an annual shortfall of $362 million in the funding needed to maintain municipal roadways in a state of good repair, the industry standard for ensuring well-maintained roads in good condition.  The MMA immediately called for a $100 million-a-year increase Chapter 90 funding, the state-backed program that funds local road repairs.  This is an essential step to invest in the state’s economic future, and necessary to save taxpayers millions of dollars in more costly projects when roads fail.

DOWNLOAD THE MMA REPORT BY CLICKING HERE

For the past several months, the MMA has been collecting data from cities and towns across the state, and that information confirms that communities in Massachusetts need to spend $562 million every year to rebuild and maintain local roads in a state of good repair, but communities spend far less because of inadequate resources.  The result can be seen in potholes and crumbling roads across the state.

Chapter 90 provides just $200 million a year, or only 36% of the actual need, resulting in a massive local funding gap of $362 million a year.

PLEASE SHARE THE MMA’S CHAPTER 90 REPORT WITH YOUR REPRESENTATIVES AND SENATORS, AND REMIND THEM OF THE FOLLOWING:

• Cities and towns are responsible for 30,000 miles of roads in Massachusetts, and Chapter 90 funding must be increased to prevent these roads from deteriorating and crumbling.  Economists and transportation experts all agree – cities and towns must have enough funds to maintain and rebuild local roads so that we can build a stronger economy, create jobs, ensure safe roadways, and enhance our quality of life;

• Funding for local roads across the state is dangerously low, and now is the time to invest – the more we delay, the more this will cost taxpayers in the long run.  The MMA and local officials across the state are calling for a $100 million increase in annual Chapter 90 funding, asking state leaders to commit to $300 million a year over the next 5 years to help close the gap and get local roadways in Massachusetts much closer to the good repair standard;

• Chapter 90 funding is the most reliable, appropriate and effective way to close the local transportation funding gap and invest in improved roadways in all communities across the state;

• The state created the Chapter 90 program in 1973 to share a portion of gas tax revenues with communities to ensure adequate resources for local road construction needs.  But almost 40 years later, funding for the Chapter 90 program is far short of the actual need, because construction costs have escalated sharply, in great part due to significant increases in the cost of fossil fuels, which drives up the price of construction materials such as asphalt and steel;

• Investing more in Chapter 90 funding to improve the quality of local roads will actually save taxpayers millions of dollars a year.  According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, once a local road is in a state of good repair, every $1 dollar invested to keep it properly maintained will save $6 to $10 dollars in avoided repair costs that become necessary to rebuild the road when it fails;

• Under Proposition 2½, cities and towns are unable to increase the amount of local funds to supplement Chapter 90 unless they cut other important services such as public safety or education, or pass a tax override, increasing local reliance on the already overburdened property tax; and

• The MMA and local officials across the state are also members of the broad coalition of stakeholders calling for a comprehensive state and local transportation finance plan, recognizing that the entire Commonwealth will benefit greatly from increased revenues to invest in local and state roadways and highways, and regional and mass transit systems.

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Posted in Budgets, Massachusetts Municipal Association

$1 spent on roads saves $6-10 later

Posted on December 18, 2012 | Comments Off on $1 spent on roads saves $6-10 later

CITING “CRUMBLING” ROADS, MUNI GROUP SEEKS BIG HIKE IN STATE AID

By Andy Metzger
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE

STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, DEC. 18, 2012…..There is a $362 million funding gap between what Massachusetts cities and towns require to maintain roads in a “state of good repair” and the amount of state funding currently available for local roadways, according to Massachusetts Municipal Association survey results released on Tuesday.

“The MMA’s survey results reveal that cities and towns in Massachusetts need to spend $562 million every year to rebuild and maintain local roads in a state of good repair, but communities spend far less because of inadequate resources,” the report states. “The result can be seen in potholes and crumbling roads across the state.”

State funding for local roads, known as Chapter 90, is currently at $200 million per year. The MMA, which represents cities and towns, is asking for a 50 percent funding increase to begin more aggressively addressing the gap and to bring the annual allocation up to $300 million per year for the next five years.

In January, the Patrick administration and the Legislature are planning to discuss a new transportation financing proposal, a discussion that was speeded along by a funding crisis at the MBTA last year that was solved with fare hikes and a state bailout. Chapter 90 strategies will likely figure into the discussion.

With spending on track to outpace revenues, Gov. Deval Patrick this month outlined a $540 million budget-balancing plan featuring across-the-board cuts and drawing heavily from the state’s reserves. Economic experts say slow growth means tax revenue growth will only slightly improve next year.

Every year, the Legislature allocates funding to municipalities for local roads projects, and the $200 million disbursed to cities and towns was a record high last year. This year the state kept the same funding level.

For the past two years, the Legislature has delayed the final approval of Chapter 90 funds, leading to some frustration from local officials who often can’t afford to undertake road projects without the assurance that the state will foot the bill.

“There is today a deep level of frustration with what is happening with Chapter 90, frustration around what should be a good story,” Braintree Mayor Joseph Sullivann said in June, months after the April 1 notification date called for in state law.

Providing adequate funding to keep roads in good repair prevents them from turning into more costly projects, according to the MMA, which said each $1 spent to keep roads properly maintained results in savings of $6 to $10 in avoided costs of more extensive repairs.

“If Massachusetts fails to pass a comprehensive transportation finance plan to address the critical funding needs at the local and state levels, taxpayers will face massive bills over the next 20 years to reconstruct a deteriorating system,” the MMA report said.

Cities and towns are tasked with maintaining 30,000 miles of road throughout the state.

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Posted in Budgets, Massachusetts Municipal Association

Tax bills may go out today

Posted on December 10, 2012 | Comments Off on Tax bills may go out today

The Massachusetts Department of Revenue certified the town tax rate lat week.  This allows the town to send actual real estate tax bills for the third quarterly fiscal year 2013 real estate tax (the first two tax bills were based on estimates).  The town’s Treasurer Collector, Georgia Colivas, was reported by Mike Sullivan as hoping to get the tax bills out today.  She sends the tax bills early as a courtesy to those tax payers who want to pay the tax bill during the calendar year, for their own income tax planning purposes.

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Posted in Budgets

DOR certifies tax rate

Posted on December 6, 2012 | Comments Off on DOR certifies tax rate

From: dor.state.ma.us
Sent: Thursday, December 06, 2012 9:10 AM
To:
Subject:  Tax Rate Approval Notification

Massachusetts Department of Revenue Division of Local Services
Amy Pitter, Commissioner
Robert G. Nunes, Deputy Commissioner & Director of Municipal Affairs

Medfield Assessors                Date: 12/6/2012 9:09:08 AM

Dear Assessors:

The Fiscal Year 2013 tax rate has been certified by the Bureau of Accounts for Medfield.

The four pages of the tax rate recapitulation form and the levy limit worksheet (not applicable to districts) are available on the Division of Local Services website:

Tax Rate Recapitulation Form

Levy Limit Worksheet

Page one of the tax rate recapitulation form includes the Director of Accounts’ electronic signature and the date of approval. This letter is your notification of approval pursuant
Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 59, section 23. Please forward copies of this notification to other officials as you deem appropriate.

We wish to thank you for your cooperation and assistance in the tax rate setting process.

Sincerely,
Gerard D. Perry
Director of Accounts

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Posted in Budgets

MMA on state budget changes

Posted on December 5, 2012 | Comments Off on MMA on state budget changes

The Massachusetts Municipal Association sent out this information in an email alert about the state budget cuts –

GOVERNOR CITES $540M STATE BUDGET SHORTFALL IN FY 2013

• Gov. Implements $225M in Program Cuts Using His 9C Budget Powers

• Reduces Municipal and Education Accounts by $28.75M

• Gov. Files Bill With Legislature to Cut Unrestricted Local Aid by $9M

Earlier this afternoon, Governor Deval Patrick announced that the state is facing a $540 million shortfall in its fiscal 2013 budget, and he unveiled a plan to close the budget gap this year.  He announced that he is using his “9C” emergency budget powers to implement $225 million in immediate cuts to state-funded programs in executive agencies under his control, and he proposed legislation to expand his 9C authority so that he can cut $9 million, or 1%, from Unrestricted General Government Aid, as well as 1% cuts to the judiciary, constitutional offices, and the Legislature.  His plan would also withdraw $200 million from the state’s rainy day fund.

Click HERE to link to the A&F website that contains the Governor’s announcement, his budget reductions, and his legislation.

$28.75 MILLION IN IMMEDIATE CUTS TO KEY SCHOOL AND MUNICIPAL PROGRAMS

Using his existing authority to declare a fiscal emergency and reduce executive branch spending, generally referred to as 9C powers, the Governor has unilaterally reduced funding for state agency accounts under his control by $225 million.  Many of these cuts will be painful for cities, towns and school districts.  The MMA has identified the local government accounts impacted the most, listed in order of the size of the mid-year budget cut:

• $11.5 million from the Special Education Circuit Breaker program  (a 4.8% cut)

• $6 million from Municipal Regionalization and Efficiencies Incentive Grants (a 41.2% cut)

• $5.25 million from the McKinney-Vento homeless student transportation account (a 46.5% cut)

• $2.5 million from the Chapter 70 “Pothole” account (a 71.4% cut)

• $1.3 million from Veterans’ Benefits reimbursements (a 2.9% cut)

• $1 million from Regional School Transportation (a 2.2% cut)

• $1 million from Charter School Reimbursements (a 1.4% cut)

• $83 thousand from School-Based Health Programs (a 0.7% cut)

• $68 thousand from Universal Pre-Kindergarten (a 0.9% cut)

• $45 thousand from the Municipal Police Training Committee (a 1.8% cut)

• In addition, a shortfall in sales tax collections will reduce the total sales tax revenue amount that flows to the School Building Assistance program by $20 million, which A&F officials say should not impact planned projects (we recommend contacting SBA if you have a project pending to receive an update on the status of your project and make sure there is no impact).

ASK YOUR LEGISLATORS TO OPPOSE THE GOVERNOR’S LEGISLATION TO IMPOSE A $9 MILLION MID-YEAR CUT TO UNRESTRICTED GENERAL GOVERNMENT AID

In a move that surprised the Legislature and local officials, the Governor has filed legislation requesting expanded 9C powers to reduce non-executive agencies by 1%.  This includes a proposal to have the Legislature approve a 1% cut in Unrestricted General Government Aid (UGGA) for every city and town, for a mid-year reduction of $9 million.  The Governor’s bill includes language saying that any unexpected increases in Lottery profits would go to cities and towns before the end of the year, potentially offsetting a portion of the cut, but this is no guarantee and, given the economy, very unlikely.  The MMA will strongly oppose any cut to unrestricted municipal aid, because that would destabilize local budgets in the middle of the fiscal year, and force reductions in community services.  Unrestricted municipal aid has already been cut 32%, or $416 million below original fiscal 2009 levels, and any additional cuts will be painful for cities and towns across the state.

Please Call Your Representatives and Senators Today and Ask Them to Oppose the Governor’s $9 Million Cut to Municipal Aid.

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Posted in Budgets