Attached are the materials shared at the budget meeting last night, which meeting starts the work to get to a recommended budget to present to the annual town meeting (ATM) at the end of April.
The first pages are from Mike Sullivan (with his first draft of how the budget numbers will likely play out, given the variables we know today). I believe the last two pages (FY16-FY19 actual budget figure comparisons) were shared by the Warrant Committee.
Per email today forwarded by Mike Sullivan –
From: Joy Ricciuto
Date: Thu, Jun 7, 2018 at 12:37 PM
Subject: Final snow deficit
$122,664.58
This today from the Massachusetts Municipal Association, with a good summary of the state budget issues –
June 7, 2018
Dear Osler Peterson,
Now that the House and Senate have each passed their own versions of next year’s fiscal 2019 state budget, the next step is for a conference committee to iron out the differences and present a balanced budget for adoption by July 1.
While both budgets would increase municipal and school aid, there are significant differences between the branches, especially in funding for essential K-12 education accounts. It is imperative that you contact your legislators today and ask them to support the full appropriations, and make municipal and education aid a top priority.
Earlier this morning, the MMA delivered a detailed letter to the conference committee emphasizing the key local aid accounts that need to be funded at the highest possible level. Please call your legislators today and ask them to support the highest possible funding amounts for these municipal and school aid programs.
The House and Senate budgets would both add to the municipal and school aid recommendations made by the governor in January, which is good news. When you talk with your local legislators, please thank them for making local aid a priority during the budget process this year, and ask that they contact conference committee members in support of the highest possible funding for municipal and school aid.
Millions of dollars are at stake: if the conference committee agrees on full funding by adopting the higher number for municipal and school aid accounts, this would return over $75 million more to cities and towns, compared to the funding that would result from adopting the lower number.
Here is a summary of the key priorities for cities and towns:
Unrestricted General Government Aid (UGGA)
The House and Senate both appropriated $1.099 billion for the Unrestricted General Government Aid (UGGA) account, an increase of $37.2 million over the fiscal 2018 level of funding. The 3.5 percent increase reflects the policy of increasing general municipal aid at the rate of growth in state tax collections reflected in the consensus tax forecast. This policy has been adopted by the Governor and the House and Senate since fiscal 2016, and is supported by the MMA. The good news is that the $37.2 million UGGA increase has already been agreed to by the House and Senate!
Chapter 70 School Aid and Local Contributions
The House funds the basic requirements of Chapter 70 education aid (7061-0008 and section 3), adopts provisions to continue to implement the recommendations of the Foundation Budget Review Commission, phases in target share funding for those communities where the local contribution exceeds the target share amount, and funds minimum aid at $30 per student. This would provide a Chapter 70 increase of $124.6M – which is significantly higher than the $103.6M increase in the governor’s budget proposal.
The Senate budget builds on the House approach by closing 100% of the target share gap and establishing an enhanced English language learner (ELL) foundation budget factor. These two changes would provide a Chapter 70 increase of $160.6M, or $36M more than the House. The MMA is supporting the Senate funding level.
Both the House and Senate would supplement Chapter 70 by providing $12.5 million to provide assistance to communities impacted by changes in how low-income students are counted. They do this in different accounts. What matters is that the final budget maintain the $12.5 million.
Special Education Circuit Breaker
Please ask your legislators to support the Senate’s full funding of the Special Education Circuit Breaker Program at $319.3 million, through which the state provides a measure of support for services provided to high-cost special education students. This is critically important.
Charter School Impact Mitigation Payments
Please ask your legislators to support the Senate appropriation of $100 million for Charter School Impact Mitigation Payments (7061-9010). This reflects an increase of $19.5 million above the current fiscal 2018 level of funding. This is a vital account for those communities impacted by charter schools.
Charter School Impact Analysis and Accountability
Please ask your legislators to support sections 61 and 62 in the Senate bill, which would bring a much-needed level of accountability related to state decisions to approve new and expanded charter schools that would include an assessment of the impact on local public schools.
Regional School District Student Transportation
Please ask your legislators to support the Senate appropriation of $68.9 million to reimburse regional school districts for a portion of the cost of transporting students.
McKinney-Vento Homeless Student Transportation
Please ask your legislators to support the House appropriation of $9.1 million for this account to reimburse municipalities and school districts for a portion of the cost of transporting homeless students as required under state and federal rules.
Payment in Lieu of Taxes on State-owned Land
Please support the Senate appropriation of $28.5 million to pay a portion of the payment-in-lieu-of taxes amount due to cities and towns to offset the property tax exemption for state-owned land. We support the additional $1.7 million set aside in the Senate appropriation language to ensure that Cherry Sheet PILOT payments next year are not reduced below the fiscal 2018 level due to the revaluation of state-owned land that takes effect next year.
Shannon Anti-Gang Grant Program
Please support the Senate level of funding of $8 million for the highly effective and valuable Shannon Anti-Gang Grant Program that has helped cities and towns respond to and suppress gang-related activities.
Reserve Fund for Municipal Improvements
Please support the House appropriation that would provide $2.8 million for the District Local Technical Assistance Fund (DLTA) that helps support local efforts to regionalize local government services. Please support the Senate appropriation that includes $2 million to support the Community Compact Cabinet program to facilitate the adoption of municipal best practices in cities and towns.
Community Preservation Act
Please support sections 45, 46, 47, 142, 143 and 196 of the Senate bill which would strengthen the Community Preservation Act (CPA) by updating the Registry of Deeds fee schedule to provide adequate revenue to restore the state match to an estimated 30 percent.
Municipal Police Training Fund
Please support sections 13, 14, and 70 in the Senate bill that would create a $2 surcharge on each rental car transaction in the Commonwealth to help fund an expanded police training program.
If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact MMA Legislative Director John Robertson at 617-426-7272 ext. 122 or jrobertson@mma.org.
Thank you very much!
The state’s Division of Local Services (DLS) in the DOR emailed today about their having set the Estimated Full Value for the Equalized Valuations (EQVs) for all 351 cities and town. Medfield is worth $2.8b. That amount is used to say how much state money we get (a copy of the DLS email appears below).
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This is the first time that I have heard of this particular state revenue sharing. The state is sending the Town of Medfield our $0.20 per rides with Transportation Network Companies that originated in town. Below is an email from Mike Sullivan and the forwarded email from the state DPU. I see that Boston is getting about $3.5m.
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Just received this. Medfield’s distribution amount is $734.70. this might just cover the overhead administrative costs to comply with the reporting requirements. If any left over, maybe we can use it to put 109 underground through the center. Mike
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: O’Connor, Angie (DPU) <Angie.Oconnor@massmail.state.ma.us>
Date: Fri, May 25, 2018 at 10:56 AM
Subject: Municipal Disbursement
To: “O’Connor, Angie (DPU)” <angie.oconnor@state.ma.us>
Cc: “Lubitz, Katherine (DPU)” <katherine.lubitz@state.ma.us>, “Hawkins, Ryan M (DPU)” <ryan.m.hawkins@state.ma.us>
Dear Municipal Official:
I write in regards to trips conducted by Transportation Network Companies (“TNCs”) in Massachusetts for the 2017 calendar year and the requirement of a $0.20 per‑ride assessment. St. 2016, c. 187, § 8. The Transportation Network Company Division (“Division”) of the Department of Public Utilities (“Department”), as the oversight authority for TNCs, has recently collected assessments from all TNCs and will be proportionately distributing the funds to municipalities. A spreadsheet of municipal disbursements is attached to this email. In addition, the Division has recently collected and analyzed TNC trip data across Massachusetts, and has made this information publically available. The purpose of my writing to you is to provide information regarding municipal use of funds received from the assessment, as well as the published information on TNC trip data.
Chapter 187 of the Acts of 2016 established a Commonwealth Transportation Infrastructure Fund (“Fund”). St. 2016, c. 187, § 8(a). As required, each TNC has submitted to the Division the number of rides from the previous calendar year that originated within each city or town and a per‑ride assessment of $0.20, which has been credited to the Fund. St. 2016, c. 187, § 8(a). One‑half (½) of the amount received from the Fund will be distributed proportionately to each city and town based on the number of rides that originated in that city or town. St. 2016, c. 187, § 8(c)(i). In addition, one fourth (¼) will be distributed to the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency, established in G.L. c. 23G, § 2, in order to provide financial assistance to small businesses operating in the taxicab, livery, or hackney industries and to encourage the adoption of new technologies and advanced service, safety, and operational capabilities and to support workforce development; and one fourth (¼) to the Commonwealth Transportation Fund, established in G.L. c. 29, § 2ZZZ. St. 2016, c. 187, §§ 8(c)(ii) and (iii).
We expect to disburse these funds within the coming weeks.
The distributed funds are special revenue without further appropriation. The funds must be used “to address the impact of transportation network services on municipal roads, bridges and other transportation infrastructure or any other public purpose substantially related to the operation of transportation network services in the city or town including, but not limited to, the complete streets program established in [G.L. c. 90I, § 1] and other programs that support alternative modes of transportation.” St. 2016, c. 187, § 8(c)(i). Each city or town receiving distribution from the Fund must submit a report to the Division not later than December 31, 2018, detailing the projects and the amount used or planned to be used for transportation-related projects, as described above. St. 2016, c. 187, § 8(d). The Division is required to compile the reports and post the projects and amounts of money used on its website, located at https://www.mass.gov/orgs/department-of-public-utilities-transportation-network-company-division. St. 2016, c. 187, § 8(d).
In addition, as required by regulation, the Division has recently collected data regarding TNC trips throughout Massachusetts, such as data on ride origination and destination, and average time and distance of trips. 220 CMR 274.12(2)(a). The Division has published this information, along with preliminary analyses, which can be located at https://tnc.sites.digital.mass.gov/. Lastly, the Department intends to continue working with TNCs to obtain and publish further information regarding their contribution to the Commonwealth’s transportation landscape.
I hope that you find this information beneficial.
Sincerely,
Angela M. O’Connor
Chairman
Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities
One South Station
Boston, Massachusetts 02110
Posted in Budgets, Financial, Humor, State, Transportation
Town Clerk, Carol Mayer, posted this specimen ballot for the 6/11/18 over ride election –
Posted in Budgets, Elections, Financial, Uncategorized
Historically, for the 18 years that I have been a selectman and therefore watching with interest the state budgets unfold, so I can learn what Medfield will get in state aide, I have noticed that we have always received more monies from the state Senate than in either proposals from the Governor or the House, but not this year.
It looks like our increase in state aide over last year will be about $62K. Hardly enough to help with all our cost increases – the state continues to transfer to our property taxes the cost of running our town, by virtue of the state’s declining financial support of towns over time.
Below is the Cherry Sheet projection of where we will end up on state aid for the next fiscal year.
Posted in Budgets, Financial, Legislature, State
Medfield Selectman
I started this blog to share the interesting and useful information that I saw while doing my job as a Medfield selectman. 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 617-969-1501 or Osler.Peterson@OslerPeterson.com.
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