As our community leaders and advocates look through the dramatic cuts being made to all manner of state structures and programs, we thought it would be good to look at one of our many success stories. This is just one example of a victory we can achieve if we work together to give it the proper support:

Drop in Smoking RatesState coverage for cessation programs hailed
Lower income Massachusetts smokers have dramatically abandoned their habit amid a major state campaign that vigorously promotes and pays for tobacco addiction treatment, according to a report scheduled to be released this morning.

Smoking rates among the poor plummeted 26 percent in the first two years of the ongoing state program, a striking result that is already drawing national attention to the effort. Officials targeted a population that historically had the highest smoking rates in Massachusetts. [Full Globe Article]

Although the study shows great success, including decreases in smoking-related health issues like  asthma and heart attacks - funding for Massachusetts smoking prevention and cessation programs has been decreased by budget and 9C cuts from over $12 Million spent in FY2009 to $4.5 Million for FY2010. [Funding Details]

It was bad, but it could have been worse. Last week, Gov. Deval Patrick announced $352 million in cuts in response to a $600 million budget gap. Federal stimulus funds plugged the rest of the gap (see the Mass Budget and Policy Center's report.

The cuts hit the executive offices of state government, which include human services, public health and public education, and landed particularly hard on critical community programs for the homeless, domestic violence victims, gang involved youth, environmental protection, and public safety.

Local officials are waiting for the other proverbial shoe to drop on local aid formulas and it may not drop until a second round of 9C cuts in December, or when the Governor files his budget in January and stimulus funds are exhausted.

Governor Patrick, in Wednesday's speech on employment for those with disabilities, announced that:

"There are going to be some programs, a limited number, that will be eliminated entirely." Patrick said his team was working with unions, and has previously said that up to 2,000 layoffs could result from the cuts... The governor's budget remedy package, including a request for expanded "9C" authority, is due tomorrow. "I've got a few more decisions to make. I'm close," he told reporters after his speech at the Westin Copley Hotel. "I'm going to do the very best I can, particularly to protect services for vulnerable people and education." [State House News Service]

And although tomorrow's 9C Cut announcement is being overshadowed by the great focus on Senate and Mayoral races, some community members and organizations are reaching out to the Governor and his staff, pushing for the programs they care deeply about.

Just one example is the push-back against Patrick's "plans to furlough workers and possibly cap staffing at the Massachusetts Disability Determination Services... a belt-tightening move that could worsen a Social Security backlog, leaving tens of thousands of disabled citizens desperately waiting for benefits." [Herald Article]

Another example is Tuesday's rally to protest cuts to Clubhouse services, with folks lining up from the plaza near the Department of Mental Health, proceeding to the front of the State House and ending at Governor Patrick's office.

In the past, these pleas have too often come in the form of "don't cut me, make cuts somewhere else!!" Thankfully, this is beginning to change.
Many of those mental health advocates are not only asking for their program to be spared cuts - they are joining ONE Massachusetts in our Virtual Rally - telling Governor Patrick to take a balanced approach to resolving our budget shortfall - closing the gap between shrinking revenues and the increasing need for services to in a time when all families have been hit hard in their own budgets!

This means not only making cuts, but looking to increase our state revenue in ways that are stable, adequate, and balanced. It also means taking a thoughtful, careful look at the loopholes included in our Tax Expenditure Budget.

ONE Massachusetts announces the official launch of its third Virtual Rally to Support Our State!

Economic troubles nationwide have been adding pressure to our state's structural deficit - reducing state revenues while increasing the need for services by residents hit hard in their own budgets.

We need to explore all options such as judicious use of federal funds, rainy day funds as well as revenue increases and spending cuts. Taking a balanced approach will start us on a path to recovery.

Now is the time to join the Virtual Rally – tell Governor Deval Patrick to take a balanced approach to resolving our budget shortfall when he makes his 9C recommendations on October 29th.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN THE VIRTUAL RALLY:

1. Contact Governor Deval Patrick.
   Tell our Governor that you support a balanced approach to our current state fiscal crisis. We need to address our current state fiscal crisis with a combination of federal funds, rainy day funds, minimum cuts and more revenue options.

   Office of Governor Deval Patrick:
   Massachusetts State House - Room 280
   Phone: 617.725.4005 or 888.870.7770

2. Customize your message. tell the governor why supporting and taking a balanced approach to the state fiscal crisis is important to your local community!
3. Pass this on to your personal and professional networks via Facebook, mailing lists, or dining room table - and recruit five of your friends and neighbors to do the same. [DOWNLOAD THE VIRTUAL RALLY FLYER]    [DOWLOAD THE VIRTUAL RALLY FLYER IN SPANISH]
4. Let us know how it went! Once you've called Governor Patrick, Twitter about it with the tag: #MassRevenues
   

AP's headline was a bit of a cheap shot, but Friday was still a bad news day for the Governor announcing the likelhood of even more cuts. .

BOSTON—Gov. Deval Patrick summoned reporters to his office Friday to deliver sobering news: Tax collections were far below projections during September and short by nearly as much for the first quarter of the state's fiscal year......

Patrick denied any effort to minimize the impact of bad news. In the case of the tax shortfall, he explained that his Cabinet routinely meets on Fridays, and this week's was the first such meeting since the fiscal quarter ended.

"We wanted to have a chance to talk about those numbers with the Cabinet before we made the announcement, and so we're telling you -- as I told you I would -- just as soon as I had them," the governor explained.

Jim O'Sullivan from the State House News had the facts on the short fall..

Regular sales tax revenues climbed $32 million, the Department of Revenue said, but fell $28 million short of projections. Retail industry business collections climbed $24 million, 24 percent, driven by an increase of up to $9 million from alcohol, which had previously been exempt from that tax.

Business-to-business sales were flat, despite the tax increase. While the federal “Cash-for-Clunkers” program drove motor vehicle sales taxes in July and August, that trend fell off with the program’s end, bringing collections in $5 million below estimates for September.

Corporate and business taxes plummeted 29.6 percent, to $144 million below benchmark, which Department of Revenue officials attributed “at least in part to the impact of the declining economy on corporate profits, use of transferable tax credits, and faster processing of refunds this September.”

Officials defended the sales tax hike, saying the revenue picture would be worse without the increase. Sales tax collections climbed 13.8 percent from a year ago, but still fell $37 million below the monthly benchmark. The increase took effect Aug. 1, with post-tax hike collections reflected in the September numbers.

“Clearly, the rate increase in sales tax has mitigated the effects on the sales tax revenues from the underlying economy and the fact that people are not spending as much,” said outgoing Patrick budget chief Leslie Kirwan. “So it would be a worse situation without the tax that was ultimately included in the budget.”

the House's bad news bear W&M Chair Charlie Muphy was quoted..

Murphy said September’s tax collections will likely prompt a more assertive effort from the Patrick administration to obtain expanded budget-cutting authority from the Legislature. Patrick has already requested the power to cut spending beyond executive branch agencies, but has been ignored so far by lawmakers uneasy with ceding that power.

“He’s asked, but from what I can tell it’s been asked but it really hasn’t been pushed a great deal. And I suspect that push will be made much more aggressively,” Murphy told the News Service.

One last picture of Leslie Kirwan as she gets ready to leave for a more peaceful job as Dean for Administration and Finance for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University, where she only has to deal with a couple hundred tenured professors and academic politics, which as everyone knows is sweetness and light.

As she begins to hand over the reins to Under Secretary Jay Gonzalez, Lesley will be engaged in round the clock meetings with the Governor to review the September revenue figures and the recommendations for 9C cuts  that have been submitted by the various Executive Agencies earlier this month. 

The “may” in the headline of Matt Viser’s very clear and informative story in the Globe today is countered by the Mass Taxpayer's Mike Widmer’s “O Lordy” exclamation as he estimates that our revenue predictions may be $500 million or more too high for this fiscal year.

Experienced advocates from all sectors (municipal officials and activists from the environmental, human services, affordable housing, social services, public safety, transportation etc etc communities), who are already working to reform and repair public structures at the state and local level just went on overtime building a case to the Governor that their program should be spared from 9C cuts.

And some of them are triple time working together through ONE Massachusetts to advocate for the obvious alternative to 9C cuts, which is, to be blunt, additional adequate and balanced revenues.  And one place to look is the Tax Expenditure Budget  to find those potential revenues.

Talk about civic engagement!!

César Chávez used to tell his organizers in the middle of the grape boycott being carried out in far away liberal political circles --- "keep your eye on the grape".

He meant: keep working in the fields with the farm workers who pick the grapes and support their efforts to build a union capable of winning a living wage and safe working contitions. Say thank you to the glamorous movie stars and politicans who join us on our marches, but your primary attention should be directed to the folk in the fields.

Our message to local activists in the ONE Mass Networks working accross the state in their communities to rebuild and repar the public structures that educate their children, keep their air and water clean and their streets safe, protect their enviornment and strengthen their business community --- is similar.

It's  time to "keep your eyes on the revenues" that support our healthy communities, because we are facing two more rounds of cuts --9C cuts in October and FY 11 Budget cuts in January. What is this 9C stuff?

The State House News reports in the Globe that Secretary Kirwin's words to the Cities and Towns was pretty grim. Declining revenues, dwindling reserves and federal funds = more cuts.

Question: What happens when state revenues start to decline?

Answer: 9C cuts.

Most of us know the FY 09 state budget is over $1 billion out of balance. Since our September Insider Budget Briefing on 9C cuts, Governor Deval Patrick has invoked his emergency fiscal powers under Section 9C of Chapter 29 to reduce allotments in certain line items in the just finished FY 09 state budget.

Materials from the IBB can be found in Additional Information.

UPDATE

Next week's Insider Budget Briefing will highlight progress - and provide next steps - on the 9C cuts. Please join us NEXT WEDNESDAY, Wednesday, October 29th at 4:30pm in the 9th floor conference room at 30 Winter St to hear from experienced advocates such as:

We have had the benefit of the knowledge and experience of Noah Berger from the Mass Budget and Policy Center who helped us
understand the broader context of 9C cuts and from Elaine O' Reilly from Governmental Strategies who shared her strategies for guiding her clients through the prospect and reality of 9C cuts in both 2001 and 2006. Materials from the IBB can be found in Additional Information below.

This campaign -with-no-name conference calls have included folks from the Administration led by Challotte Golar Richie, Senior Advisor for Federal, State and Community Affairs who has facilitated a round of meetings with key members of the Administration and the Governor to hear from various constituencies, including IBB participants, about the human impact of the proposed 9C cuts.