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CLT UPDATE
Saturday, May 17, 2014
Another shot at Proposition 2½
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Taxpayers face a whopping $12.2 billion bill to
fix thousands of substandard state bridges — including hundreds
deemed “structurally deficient” according to a new report — a
shocking revelation that comes amid news federal highway repair
dollars could soon slow to a trickle.
“It’s a huge number obviously, but it’s
indicative of the condition of the bridges,” said Tony Puntin,
executive director of the Boston Society of Civil Engineers and a
practicing engineer. “As much as we take for granted our roadway
network, it is the lifeblood of the economy. We as a society have
not kept up with the maintenance.”
Massachusetts has 487 “structurally deficient”
bridges rated in poor condition or worse, according to a new report
from the American Road & Transportation Builders Association that
draws on the latest information amassed by state and federal
agencies. MassDOT officials told the Herald nearly 40 of those
bridges across the state have been closed because of structural
issues.
The new report also shows the state has 2,207
bridges classified as “functionally obsolete” — 43 percent of the
state’s total, the highest percentage in the nation — because they
don’t meet design standards, which can include overly narrow
roadways or lack of sidewalks.
The Boston Herald
Monday, May 12, 2014
Bad bridges crisis hangs over Massachusetts
Taxpayers face $12B fix
The state’s $12.2 billion worth of looming bridge
repairs is bad news for the ballot campaign to dump the new gas tax,
repeal opponents say, because it highlights the need for the tax —
but the anti-tax forces insist they don’t mind raising new revenue
for highways as long as legislators vote on it.
Michael Widmer of the Massachusetts Taxpayers
Foundation, which supports the controversial tax’s links to the cost
of living index, said, “I think the report makes absolutely clear
why the indexing of the gas tax is so important. We’re talking about
asking each motorist to pay $5 more a year, but we get huge benefits
from that, including public safety, because clearly some of these
bridges are not safe. Nobody wants us to reach a point where a
bridge actually fails.”
The state gas tax, which generates some $660
million a year, goes into a fund that pays off bonds that are issued
to fund road and bridge repair projects. A vote by the Legislature
last year increased the gas tax from 21 to 24 cents and tied future
increases to the rate of inflation.
Critics say that is effectively a self-increasing
tax — because the cost of gas directly influences the cost of living
— and that relieves lawmakers of having to vote on future tax hikes.
The Committee to Tank the Automatic Gas Tax Hikes
expects to gather enough signatures to place a question about
repealing the indexing on the November ballot. The group argues the
state should have to petition the Legislature every year to hike the
gas tax if it is necessary. Prior to last year’s increase to 24
cents, the Legislature hadn’t passed a gas tax increase since 1991.
The Boston Herald
Monday, May 12, 2014
Costs loom over gas tax vote bid
City councilors Allison Heartquist and Meghan
Kinsey have introduced a formal request calling for state lawmakers
to create a new mechanism to hike property taxes in order to
increase school spending.
The petition was introduced at last night’s
council meeting, but no final action was taken. It contains one key
difference from current property tax law — in effect, voters would
give city leaders blanket permission to annually increase taxes
above the limits set by state law. Under current law, city leaders
have to ask voters each time they seek to increase taxes beyond the
state’s limits.
“This is like launching a lifeboat,” said Kinsey.
“We don’t know if we’ll need it, but we’d like (access to funds) to
be there if we need it.” ...
They have called for the council to approve a
home rule petition to the state Legislature “to pass an act for the
city of Newburyport relative” to broaden state regulations regarding
“overrides.” Overrides are tax hikes that exceed the limits set by
Proposition 2½, a state law that says the property tax burden can
increase no more than 2.5 percent each year, unless citizens vote to
increase taxes.
The Newburyport Daily News
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Two on Council seek aid for schools
City councilors Monday night sent to
committee an unorthodox proposal that would enable municipal
leaders to more easily raise money for schools in the future....
In an explanatory letter, organizers said the
purpose was to “assure that in the event the City Council and
the voters of the city decide they want to authorize an override
for the schools, that the override amount will always be
directed at the schools.”
After limited discussion, the measure was
sent to the Joint Education Committee, the Budget and Finance
Committee and the Committee of the Whole....
Mayor Donna Holaday expressed strong
opposition at the meeting, calling it “irresponsible.”
“The taxpayers have approved two new school
projects, and are paying for many other improvements in the
city,” said Holaday, who is the chairperson of the School
Committee.
She said that the average taxpayer will be
paying $485 more each per year because of investments in the
schools, and that the upcoming school budget includes a 10.1
percent increase.
Holaday said she would veto the item if it
reaches her desk.
The measure would have to be approved by the
state Legislature, as well as the City Council and also the
mayor.
Kinsey said she helped create the measure
because many parents of school-age children are concerned that
the schools are being underfunded.
The Newburyport Daily News
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Council sends school measure to study
With additional money prioritized for
pre-school, housing supports and child welfare, Senate leaders
on Wednesday presented a $36.25 billion budget plan for next
year that increases total state total spending by almost $1.7
billion from this year....
The Senate Ways and Means Committee released
the bill Wednesday morning in anticipation of a full debate on
the spending plan next week. Senators have until Friday
afternoon to review the document and propose amendments before
the debate begins next Wednesday. A conference committee will
likely spend June trying to merge the House and Senate budgets
into a single plan for the fiscal year that begins on July 1.
The Ways and Means Committee unanimously
endorsed the budget bill, which bears a close resemblance to the
spending plan approved in the House last month and has been
described as the first post-recession budget giving the
Legislature some leeway to invest in new initiatives while also
striving not to overextend in a still fragile economy....
Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr praised
investments in special education, substance abuse, child
welfare, and public safety in the Senate budget, and said the
committee had “made laudable strides in the proposal to reduce
its dependence on the stabilization fund and increasing taxes.”
...
While the budget proposal includes no new
taxes or fees, which must originate in the House, Senate leaders
are relying on $20 million in anticipated slot parlor revenues
and $53 million from casino licensing fees that are in doubt as
anti-gambling advocates are fighting in court to let the voters
decide in November whether to allow a gaming expansion in
Massachusetts.
The budget also relies on $140 million from
the rainy day fund, $412 million in spending controls, and a
total of $250 million in one-time revenues, which is about $30
million less than the House budget, to balance the books....
Like the House, the Senate version also
recommends a $1.8 billion contribution to the state pension fund
to reduce the time it will take to fully fund the pension system
by four years to 2036....
State House News Service
Thursday, May 14, 2014
Senate's annual budget noted for similarities to House spending
plan
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Chip Ford's CLT
Commentary
Advocates of the automatic gas tax
hike are gearing up their opposition campaign early. In the CLT Update of
May 1 ("On
Illegal Government Campaigning"), at that time it was reported
that the Massachusetts Department of Transportation had produced and
circulated "talking points" against the repeal petition drive and
likely November ballot question, I wrote:
Already the Patrick Administration is
pulling out the stops to defeat this ballot question at
any cost. They know when it's on the ballot and before
the voters the automatic gas tax increases is doomed;
they're running scared early — earliest we've ever seen.
Before the MassDOT fingerprints had dried on
those "talking points," out came another the-sky-is-falling
"objective" report, issued by the American Road & Transportation
Builders Association, which we're supposed to believe has no
conflict of interest is its dire forecast.
The Tank the Gas Tax group has yet to achieve
ballot status but already those with a vested interest in keeping
the perpetual tax hike have launched their ballot campaign. Let me
repeat: "They know when it's on the ballot and before the voters the
automatic gas tax increases is doomed; they're running scared early
— earliest we've ever seen."
The Tank the Gas Tax activists are out collecting
their second round of signatures, since the Legislature didn't act
on their petition. What's new —
who expected the cowardly pols to go on record voting it up or down
in an election year? We were all supposed to forget the tax hikes
by now. The group needs to collect an additional 11,485
signatures of registered voters who did not sign the petition
last fall. They're shooting to collect over 20,000 to insure enough
signatures are certified by city and town clerks and the secretary
of state's office. If you want to help out this effort or are
looking to sign one of their petitions, for more information go to
Tank the Gas
Tax.
To paraphrase Thomas Jefferson, eternal vigilance
is the price of keeping Proposition 2½.
The tax-borrow-and-spenders never give up trying to find a way to
make it go away, drive a stake through its heart. A couple of
city councilors in Newburyport have devised the newest scheme — just
exempt their jurisdiction from the limits of Prop 2½.
They want to take Newburyport back to the good old days of unlimited
property tax hikes year after year, and hope property owners within
their borders will simply roll over and show their bellies. A CLT
member wasn't prepared to play dead; she contacted us, ready to
fight back.
This first effort doesn't
look hopeful for the More Is Never Enough (MINE) cabal, as
Mayor Donna Holaday has vowed to veto it if it ever reaches her
desk.
The first step is that Newburyport would need a
home rule petition passed in the Legislature to exempt the city from
the protections of Proposition 2½. We'll be
watching to see if it gets that far, be ready to engage to kill this
potential precedent-setter. You know if something like this
ever gets through in Newburyport or anywhere else, a property
tax-hike tsunami will sweep across Taxachusetts.
The state Senate Ways &
Means Committee this week
released its $36.25 billion budget plan for next year. This would
increase state spending in the coming fiscal year by almost $1.7
billion more than this year, though some $30 million less than the
House budget. More Is Never Enough (MINE), and never will be. We'll
see what the Senate ultimately passes next week, then what comes out of the House/Senate conference committee, but
I'll bet the House gets back that $30 million and perhaps even more
before they're done.
The State House News Service reported: "Like the House, the Senate
version also recommends a $1.8 billion contribution to the state
pension fund to reduce the time it will take to fully fund the
pension system by four years to 2036." This follows the Boston Globe
report on May 1, "Mass.
pension plan ranks worst in US, study finds" so is at least a
step in the right direction, paying down the debt when spending our
money. You can read CLT's memo to the Legislature in response to the
Senate budget
here.
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Chip Ford |
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The Boston Herald
Monday, May 12, 2014
Bad bridges crisis hangs over Massachusetts
Taxpayers face $12B fix
By Erin Smith
Taxpayers face a whopping $12.2 billion bill to fix thousands of
substandard state bridges — including hundreds deemed “structurally
deficient” according to a new report — a shocking revelation that
comes amid news federal highway repair dollars could soon slow to a
trickle.
“It’s a huge number obviously, but it’s indicative of the condition
of the bridges,” said Tony Puntin, executive director of the Boston
Society of Civil Engineers and a practicing engineer. “As much as we
take for granted our roadway network, it is the lifeblood of the
economy. We as a society have not kept up with the maintenance.”
Massachusetts has 487 “structurally deficient” bridges rated in poor
condition or worse, according to a new report from the American Road
& Transportation Builders Association that draws on the latest
information amassed by state and federal agencies. MassDOT officials
told the Herald nearly 40 of those bridges across the state have
been closed because of structural issues.
The new report also shows the state has 2,207 bridges classified as
“functionally obsolete” — 43 percent of the state’s total, the
highest percentage in the nation — because they don’t meet design
standards, which can include overly narrow roadways or lack of
sidewalks. The worst include the Mass Pike bridge westbound over
North Beacon Street in Brighton, Route 128 over the Charles River on
the Newton-Weston town line, as well as a number of highway bridges
over railroad tracks around the state. All of them carry more than
100,000 vehicles a day.
“With the design life being 40 to 50 years, it’s coming to the end
of that. I can see that being a big concern with the amount of truck
traffic they have,” Puntin said. “There needs to be repairs to
deficient bridges and the longer you wait the more expensive it is.
If a bridge isn’t repaired and it goes too long and is deemed unsafe
— whether it’s large or small — then it has to be shut down.”
MassDOT officials say they have repaired one major deteriorating
Pike bridge over Brooks Street in Brighton, but several overpasses
in Brighton and Newton won’t be repaired for at least two or three
years.
The state doesn’t have the money to immediately fix or replace all
4,652 bridges that are listed in various states of deterioration or
flawed designed, among the state’s total 5,136 bridges.
Meanwhile, U.S. transportation officials warn they could be forced
to slow the flow of federal dollars to Massachusetts and other
states for highway and bridge projects by this summer, unless
Congress comes up with a solution. The Highway Trust Fund, which
funds state road and bridge construction, has become depleted
because the federal gas tax — 18.4 cents per gallon and 24.4 cents
per gallon on diesel fuel — has stayed the same since the 1990s,
while cars have become more fuel efficient and construction costs
have skyrocketed.
“While we will take every step possible to continue to fully
reimburse your State for as long as possible, these measures will
effectively require us to delay reimbursements that are owed to your
agency and the transit agencies in your State,” wrote U.S. Secretary
of Transportation Anthony R. Foxx in a letter dated Wednesday to
state transportation directors.
MassDOT officials said toll revenue and state funding also support
roadway and bridge projects but acknowledge the Highway Trust Fund
crisis could have a huge impact.
“This situation could affect about 50 percent of our program by
causing it to stop,” said MassDOT spokesman Michael Verseckes. “We
would also stop advertising federally funded projects.”
The Boston Herald
Monday, May 12, 2014
Costs loom over gas tax vote bid
By Jack Encarnacao
The state’s $12.2 billion worth of looming bridge repairs is bad
news for the ballot campaign to dump the new gas tax, repeal
opponents say, because it highlights the need for the tax — but the
anti-tax forces insist they don’t mind raising new revenue for
highways as long as legislators vote on it.
Michael Widmer of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, which
supports the controversial tax’s links to the cost of living index,
said, “I think the report makes absolutely clear why the indexing of
the gas tax is so important. We’re talking about asking each
motorist to pay $5 more a year, but we get huge benefits from that,
including public safety, because clearly some of these bridges are
not safe. Nobody wants us to reach a point where a bridge actually
fails.”
The state gas tax, which generates some $660 million a year, goes
into a fund that pays off bonds that are issued to fund road and
bridge repair projects. A vote by the Legislature last year
increased the gas tax from 21 to 24 cents and tied future increases
to the rate of inflation.
Critics say that is effectively a self-increasing tax — because the
cost of gas directly influences the cost of living — and that
relieves lawmakers of having to vote on future tax hikes.
The Committee to Tank the Automatic Gas Tax Hikes expects to gather
enough signatures to place a question about repealing the indexing
on the November ballot. The group argues the state should have to
petition the Legislature every year to hike the gas tax if it is
necessary. Prior to last year’s increase to 24 cents, the
Legislature hadn’t passed a gas tax increase since 1991.
On the estimated $12.2 billion in repairs documented by federal
highway authorities, the repeal committee said in a statement: “If
the money is needed, then we just suggest that the Legislature vote
on it. We’ve seen so much waste, fraud, and abuse within this
administration, that if you just give them an open checkbook to our
wallets, they’re going to continue to not be frugal with our tax
dollars.”
The Newburyport Daily News
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Two on Council seek aid for schools
Mayor opposed to plan
By Dyke Hendrickson
NEWBURYPORT — City councilors Allison Heartquist and Meghan Kinsey
have introduced a formal request calling for state lawmakers to
create a new mechanism to hike property taxes in order to increase
school spending.
The petition was introduced at last night’s council meeting, but no
final action was taken. It contains one key difference from current
property tax law — in effect, voters would give city leaders blanket
permission to annually increase taxes above the limits set by state
law. Under current law, city leaders have to ask voters each time
they seek to increase taxes beyond the state’s limits.
“This is like launching a lifeboat,” said Kinsey. “We don’t know if
we’ll need it, but we’d like (access to funds) to be there if we
need it.”
The two councilors, who have children in public schools, have been
leaders in the Port Pride movement in recent months, a group that
took a leading role in the successful campaign to pass a property
tax increase to pay for the new Bresnahan school, as well as
upgrades to the Nock/Molin school and the new senior center.
They have called for the council to approve a home rule petition to
the state Legislature “to pass an act for the city of Newburyport
relative” to broaden state regulations regarding “overrides.”
Overrides are tax hikes that exceed the limits set by Proposition
2½, a state law that says the property tax burden can increase no
more than 2.5 percent each year, unless citizens vote to increase
taxes.
The petition seeks permission to “assess in total taxes in excess of
the amounts allowed under (existing rules) for the sole purpose of
supplementing the education budget from the time of the passage of
the override until such time as an underride vote is taken in
accordance with the procedures set forth” in government regulations.
An “underride” is a citywide vote taken to reduce the amount of
property taxes that the city can collect.
The petition also states that “said amounts shall be equal to 6
percent each year of the total approved amount for the School
Department budget for the city as passed by the City Council and
approved by the mayor.” This is a key difference from the current
practice, which requires municipalities increase taxes by a specific
dollar amount. Also under current law, each time an override amount
is increased, it requires a majority support from voters.
Backers say that the proposed home-rule petition provides “merely
another option for the funding opportunities for the education
budget in Newburyport.”
An explanatory note filed with city officials states “It, in and of
itself, is not an override and it does not remove the underlying
tenants of Proposition 2½ as in order to be put into effect, the
City Council would still need to vote to put this (override) special
act on the ballot and the voters would still need to approve it.”
Organizers said that the actual progress for making their initiative
happen would be that the City Council passes the home rule petition
and sends it to the state delegation.
Next, the state legislature passes the home-rule petition.
If those developments take place, the City Council and the mayor
then have “an additional option with which to address school-funding
issues.”
It is not clear how successful this initiative will be as Mayor
Donna Holaday has declared firm opposition.
Prior to last night’s meeting, Holaday said, “I will not support
this.”
She said that citizens have stepped up to support schools in recent
years, including the passage of increased financial commitment for
two new school projects.
Holaday, who is chairperson of the School Committee, said, “We
provided a 10.1 percent increase in the school budget this year,
which the superintendent of schools says she can work with.
Taxpayers are doing enough.”
The Newburyport Daily News
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Council sends school measure to study
By Dyke Hendrickson
NEWBURYPORT — City councilors Monday night sent to committee an
unorthodox proposal that would enable municipal leaders to more
easily raise money for schools in the future.
Councilors Meghan Kinsey and Allison Heartquist had forwarded a
measure to fellow councilors that proposes to seek a home rule
petition that would “provide another option for the funding
opportunities for the education budget in Newburyport.”
In an explanatory letter, organizers said the purpose was to “assure
that in the event the City Council and the voters of the city decide
they want to authorize an override for the schools, that the
override amount will always be directed at the schools.”
After limited discussion, the measure was sent to the Joint
Education Committee, the Budget and Finance Committee and the
Committee of the Whole.
One reason the Committee of the Whole was included was that some
councilors said they want more information, and the Committee of the
Whole would include all councilors who want to attend.
“I really don’t understand how this works,” said City Councilor
Jared Eigerman, a lawyer. He said he would like the opportunity to
hear more about the proposal in committee.
Mayor Donna Holaday expressed strong opposition at the meeting,
calling it “irresponsible.”
“The taxpayers have approved two new school projects, and are paying
for many other improvements in the city,” said Holaday, who is the
chairperson of the School Committee.
She said that the average taxpayer will be paying $485 more each per
year because of investments in the schools, and that the upcoming
school budget includes a 10.1 percent increase.
Holaday said she would veto the item if it reaches her desk.
The measure would have to be approved by the state Legislature, as
well as the City Council and also the mayor.
Kinsey said she helped create the measure because many parents of
school-age children are concerned that the schools are being
underfunded.
State House News Service
Thursday, May 14, 2014
Senate's annual budget noted for similarities to House spending plan
By Matt Murphy
With additional money prioritized for pre-school, housing supports
and child welfare, Senate leaders on Wednesday presented a $36.25
billion budget plan for next year that increases total state total
spending by almost $1.7 billion from this year.
The Senate budget goes further than the House to chip away at the
waiting list for early education programs and also increases
spending in the embattled Department of Children and Families by
about $25 million to reduce caseloads for social workers and equip
the department with new technology to help track and manage families
under its watch.
Democratic leaders also earmarked millions of dollars to fight “the
scourge of substance abuse” that has emerged in recent months as top
priority for lawmakers in the both the House and Senate, with
overdose deaths tied to heroin and opiates on the rise and making
headlines around the state.
The Senate Ways and Means Committee released the bill Wednesday
morning in anticipation of a full debate on the spending plan next
week. Senators have until Friday afternoon to review the document
and propose amendments before the debate begins next Wednesday. A
conference committee will likely spend June trying to merge the
House and Senate budgets into a single plan for the fiscal year that
begins on July 1.
The Ways and Means Committee unanimously endorsed the budget bill,
which bears a close resemblance to the spending plan approved in the
House last month and has been described as the first post-recession
budget giving the Legislature some leeway to invest in new
initiatives while also striving not to overextend in a still fragile
economy.
The total spending in the Ways and Means budget is $77 million shy
of the final House version and $124 million less than proposed by
Gov. Deval Patrick in January. Leaders are proposing to spend just
under the level of anticipated revenue growth of 4.9 percent in
fiscal 2015.
Senate Ways and Means Chairman Stephen Brewer, a Barre Democrat,
said he was proud that the budget his committee produced, which will
be his last as he plans to retire at the end of the year, makes
strides toward tackling the opioid addiction crisis.
“Everyone has to be in on this because kids are dying,” Brewer said
Wednesday morning.
A day after the Senate unanimously passed legislation aimed at
improving access to treatment and insurance coverage for addiction,
the Senate budget plan includes $18 million for substance abuse
supports, including $10 million for treatment, $5 million for
substance abuse counselors in schools, and additional money to
expand the use of Narcan which can reverse the effects of overdoses.
Brewer said mental health services would also see a $27.8 million
increase under his proposal that keeps Taunton Hospital open and
directs $7.8 million in new funding to the Worcester Recovery Center
to open unused wings with a total of 52 new patient beds.
“We don’t agree on all things but I certainly am very appreciative
of many of the initiatives we’ve embraced in this budget,
particularly on mental health and substance abuse,” said Sen.
Richard Ross, the ranking Republican on the committee who voted in
favor of the proposal.
Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr praised investments in special
education, substance abuse, child welfare, and public safety in the
Senate budget, and said the committee had “made laudable strides in
the proposal to reduce its dependence on the stabilization fund and
increasing taxes.”
“Today’s action by the committee is an important starting point, and
in the days ahead we must work vigorously to secure initiatives to
grow jobs, reform state government, and find savings and
efficiencies to complete the effort,” Tarr said in a statement. “Our
caucus will be offering many ways to do so, and we look forward to
working with our colleagues to build a post-recession Massachusetts
that has efficiency and fiscal discipline in state government, and
an economic climate that promotes prosperity for years to come.”
While the budget proposal includes no new taxes or fees, which must
originate in the House, Senate leaders are relying on $20 million in
anticipated slot parlor revenues and $53 million from casino
licensing fees that are in doubt as anti-gambling advocates are
fighting in court to let the voters decide in November whether to
allow a gaming expansion in Massachusetts.
The budget also relies on $140 million from the rainy day fund, $412
million in spending controls, and a total of $250 million in
one-time revenues, which is about $30 million less than the House
budget, to balance the books.
“This is the best budget I’ve worked on in a recovery economy,” said
Brewer, noting that the total of one-time revenues used in the
budget is the lowest it’s been in a decade. “It does present a
different set of challenges than a hemorrhaging economy.”
The budget reflects the agreement reached early with the House to
increase local aid for public schools by $100 million and boost
unrestricted aid by $25 million over last year, but Brewer said his
committee is also recommending full funding for the special
education circuit breaker and a $17 million increase to $70 million
for regional school transportation.
“This is the highest level in the program’s history,” Brewer said of
the school busing funds.
Geoff Beckwith, executive director of the Massachusetts Municipal
Association, said Brewer and the Ways and Means Committee made local
aid a “very large priority.”
“The investment of additional funds, almost $20 million more, for
regional school transportation will make a huge difference in a lot
of medium-sized and small communities throughout the state, because
as the state gets closer to full funding for that account it frees
up money that can be spent in the classroom on basic education,”
Beckwith said.
At $519 million, funding for the University of Massachusetts should
be sufficient to freeze tuition and fees for students for the second
straight year under a deal reached last year between university
officials and lawmakers to move toward a 50 percent state share of
university funding, Brewer said.
The draft budget, however, allocates less funding than the House did
toward the other public universities and communities colleges -
about $25 million - which could trigger higher student expenses on
those campuses and become a point of contention during debate, said
Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation President Michael Widmer.
“It’s very close to the House. When you step back and look at these
two budgets they’re remarkably similar, one of the most similar
budgets coming out of the House and Senate in all my time and the
bottom line is very close,” Widmer said, calling the approach a
“reasonable” balance between spending increases and reducing the
state’s reliance on one-time money and reserves for budget balance.
Like the House, the Senate version also recommends a $1.8 billion
contribution to the state pension fund to reduce the time it will
take to fully fund the pension system by four years to 2036.
In the area of early education, the Senate Ways and Means budget
proposes to increase funding for income-eligible early education
programming by $17.5 million, surpassing the amount proposed by Gov.
Deval Patrick and approved in by the House for fiscal 2015. Brewer
said the investment will accommodate 3,000 new children, making a
dent in the roughly 25,000 pre-schoolers on waiting lists.
While the Department of Children and Families would receive an
additional $25 million over fiscal 2014 spending levels, Brewer said
the funding would help reduce caseloads, but wouldn’t guarantee that
it was sufficient to meet the goal of a 15-to-1 case ratio per
social worker. He also said the Senate was “less prescriptive” than
the House in setting limits on types of cases DCF social workers can
handle at one time, but set aside $4 million for the Children’s
Trust Fund to augment family home visits.
An additional $12.5 million would be allocated for rental vouchers
to assist 1,000 new families under the budget plan, a residential
assistance programs for families in transition would receive $10.5
million, a $500,000 increase, and household assistance benefits
would be increased to $8,000, from $4,000.
Noah Berger, president of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy
Center, said given the lack of appetite for new taxes the budget
makes “smart” and targeted investments to begin tackling large
issues that will require attention for years to come.
“The focus is clearly on prevention and on investing in young people
at a time when it makes the most difference. Early education
programs, home visiting are really things that can shift a child’s
trajectory toward a much more positive life outcomes,” Berger said.
“It’s limited like the governor’s budget and the House budget by the
fact that there’s no significant new revenue so they’re able to take
small smart steps that will help but they’re really small steps on
very large challenges.”
The budget also includes $12 million for youth summer jobs, $3
million for new drug and specialty courts and $10 million for
municipal library aid.
According to the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the Senate budget
proposal would cut funding for the arts, humanities, and sciences
through the council by $1.5 million, with a $9.6 million funding
level matching the level in the House-approved budget.
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