municipal services

The Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation issued its latest report on the state of municipal budgets [Full Article: The Boston Globe].  There are no real surprises...that is if you have been paying attention to the economy, discussions in the State House regarding revenues and budget cuts, and watching your own city or town lose employees.  The surprises may be the magnitude of the unfunded pension and health funds that were measurable and promised as part of employment...that's unconscionable.

Our families and our communities need investments in the services, schools, and infrastructure that make Massachusetts a great place to live and work.  How will this happen?  In order to make the necessary investments, we need to raise significant revenues.  Governor Cuomo in New York has taken the lead, as has Governor Brown in California...That revenue should come primarily from the highest income earners.

“The numbers demonstrate just how difficult this recession and fiscal crisis have been for cities and towns,’’ said Michael J. Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. “Their revenues have been virtually flat, while their costs have grown, which has meant cuts in schools, public safety, and other basic services for most cities and towns.’’

“These are challenging times,’’ said Michael V. O’Brien, the Worcester city manager. “The global economy, the national economy, and the regional economy have all suffered in the downturn, so the revenues aren’t there for the state to distribute.’’

In the past three years, Lawrence lost $12 - $15 million in local aid.  The lack of these funds have severe reprecussions. Lawrence lost one-third of their police ranks due to these budget cuts and layoffs , so consequently when emergency services recently were faced with a large and unruly crowd, they were forced to call in reinforcements from the state and another town to assist in handling the situation. Clearly Lawrence residents have been adversely affected by State and Municipal budget cuts.  It seems they don't have what we all strive for - a safe community to live and work. We all need to work to change this...all communities in MA should be safe to live and work, supporting healthy families, and with the opportunity for providing quality education for all our children.

"I feel pretty positive we will be able to restore some of those cuts," [State Rep. David] Torrisi said. "It's not consolation to the people suffering right now, but we're trying our best to deliver the resources."  [Full Article: Eagle-Tribune]

Are you ready for another casino gambling proposal from the Governor and the State House Leadership?  It seems they're ready for prime time with a 133-page bill which would provide for the development of three casinos and a slot parlor, itemizing the respective development fees, and collections of the state's share of the revenues.  Let the betting, I mean vetting, begin...

Anyone applying for a gambling license would have to pay the state a $350,000 non-refundable application fee...The casinos would pay the state 25 percent of their revenues; the slot parlor would pay the state 40 percent of its revenue and another 9 percent to a special fund for the horse-racing industry...A quarter of the state’s casino revenue would be sent to cities and towns... The state would send another 5 percent to a special fund to help compulsive gamblers.  [Full Article: Boston Globe Metro Desk]

The income gap has been widening in Massachusetts, and is especially prominent in Western MA  .  20% of families in North Adams earn less than $20,000 and half of those earn less than $10,000.  In Berkshire County and the Pioneer Valley, median incomes for the poorest, adjusted for inflation, have decreased to $16,000 - similar to areas in Appalachia.  Yet median incomes in Greater Boston have increased over the same amount of time by 54%, to $230,000.

The statistics provide one picture of the story.  This article also provides you the human profile of Mindy Shoestock, single mother, and her struggle to feed her children, provide a safe and clean place to live, stay in a community that has a support system for her family, and find a job(s) with a living wage.  [Full Article:  The Boston Globe]

Worcester has additional money in its fiscal year 2012 budget.  

“This positions the city well,” Mr. Petty said. “It’s good to see that the city manager is looking at the long-term picture by wanting to set aside much of this money for reserves. But he is also looking at the future by investing more money in our public schools for technology upgrades and capital projects. I am a firm believer that we need to fix up our high schools so we don’t lose students to other communities."  [Full Article: Worcester Telegram & Gazette]

From the municipalities' prespective, the meals tax revenue saves jobs and programs.  From the consumers' perspective, the meals tax is pennies and not noticeable - as long as the meal tastes good...otherwise nothing is right about the dining experience!

While often generating relatively modest sums in the scope of the overall budgets, the tax revenue often proves pivotal, the difference between eliminating programs and positions or not...“It’s $800,000 we would have to find elsewhere,’’ said Michael Meehan, a spokesman for the city of Somerville, which approved the tax two years ago. “That’s a lot of jobs.’’

“In the grand scheme of things, we didn’t think it was that big a hit,’’ said Sharon Lynn, the town manager. “Seventy-five cents on a $100 tab? We didn’t think that would keep too many visitors away."  [Full Article: The Boston Globe]

The Green Line project extension is supposed to be completed by 2014 according to the lawsuit related to the Big Dig.  However, now estimates have the Green Line extending service to College Avenue in Medford from 2018 to 2020...

“Obviously it’s disappointing,’’ said Marc Draisen, executive director of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, which in the last year has undertaken a myriad of public meetings to hash out a second phase of the extension to Route 16 in Medford. While acknowledging the need to buy land and acquire permits, Draisen said he suspected underlying financial instability. [Full Article: The Boston Globe]

We're still experiencing the consequences of years of cuts in services and programs at the state and municipal levels.  It's cumulative, and these cuts adversely affect the health and safety of our communities and families, and the education of our children.

The state government balanced its books with a few key nonrecurring revenue sources. ...The flow of federal money remains crucial to our state’s economy... Total state spending hasn’t changed much in the past three years, although there have been painful cuts in some areas as nondiscretionary costs eat up a large share of the budget...The job cuts have been more noticeable at the municipal level.  [Full Article: MetroWest Daily News]

Needham enacted its meals tax January 1, 2010 and has since gained almost $505,000 from the tax.  When asked, many people did not notice the additional meals tax; others understood the need for these funds and valued the benefits to the Town budget.  There were some who did not like the additional [pennies] on their restaurant bill.

Despite the rise in prices caused by the tax, several Needham restaurant owners said that they favored the tax increase. Dave Becker, the owner of Sweet Basil, said that he thinks that the tax might show the town government that Needham has become a restaurant town.  [Full Article: Wicked Local Needham]

Tax incentives for job creation... first business promises 4 jobs over 10 years...and 11 other parcels may be eligible for same tax deal.

A statement released Thursday by the Economic Development Task Force said this development was the first step toward designating Westport as an "Economic Target Area," which would make businesses in the area eligible for tax incentives "in exchange for job creation, manufacturing job retention and private investment commitments."   [Full Article: SouthCoast Today]