A PROMISE TO KEEP: 5%
A Ballot Committee of
Citizens for Limited Taxation & Government
PO Box 408 * Peabody, MA 01960
Phone:(617) 248-0022 /(978) 538-3900 E-Mail: cltg@cltg.org
Visit our web-page at: http://cltg.org
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*** Promise Update ***
Tuesday, September 23, 1997

1. First Statewide Mall Weekend Ahead!
2. "Record surplus for Mass."

Greetings activists!

Last week was the first of many 16-hours-a-day seven-day work weeks ahead in the next two months for us as we scrambled double-time to pick up the 20,000 petitions printed by the Secretary of State and get them to the printer, along with the petitioner’s packages. The almost-9,000 packages should be in the mail and on their way to our members across the state, so watch for the arrival of yours.

Please . . . please . . . *please*, read the petitioning instructions and tips BEFORE you do anything else—before you start out doing the *WRONG* thing. Some doing the *wrong thing* wastes time and energy in *EVERY* petition with which I’ve ever been involved.

That is why we invest so much time and money sending them to all our volunteers!

We also ordered another 10,000 petition blanks printed, as we’d just about run out after the membership mailing, which I picked up yesterday. So far, this drive has cost us close to $10,000 in just printing and mailing costs (which the "Promise" ballot committee has *borrowed* from our parent organization, Citizens for Limited Taxation & Government, and which will need to be repaid).

This weekend—September 27th and 28th—is our first of three Statewide Malls Weekends. A list of malls we’ve reserved tables at for petitioning follows.

But we still need volunteers to help spread the workload among many rather than the usual few. If you can help at one of the mall tables for a few hours, please contact us immediately so we can plug you in:

cltg@cltg.org
(617) 248-0022 [Chip Faulkner]
(978) 538-3900 [Chip Ford]

We’re planning to be at the following this coming Saturday (10:00 AM - 6:00 PM) and Sunday (Noon - 5:00 PM):
Auburn Mall - Auburn
Berkshire Mall - Lanesboro
Burlington Mall - Burlington
Cape Cod Mall - Hyannis
Dedham Mall - Dedham
Fairfield Mall - Chicopee
Greendale Mall - Worcester
(Hampshire Mall - Hadley -?)
Hanover Mall - Hanover
Holyoke Mall (at Ingleside) - Holyoke
Independence Mall - Kingston
Liberty Tree Mall - Danvers
Natick Mall - Framingham/Natick
Northshore Mall - Peabody
Searstown Mall - Leominster
Silver City Galleria - Taunton
South Shore Plaza - Braintree
Square One Mall - Saugus
Westgate Mall - Brockton

*** WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT AND HELP ! ***
More for "welfare," but count the number of times "tax cut" or "taxpayer refund" is mentioned in the following report on the state’s enormous and historical revenue surplus! ---
*** WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT AND HELP ! ***
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The Boston Herald
Tuesday, September 23, 1997
Business Section (Pg. 23)
Record surplus for Mass.
By Bernard J. Wolfson

A booming economy with moderate spending helped push the Bay State’s budget surplus to a record $795 million in fiscal 1997, according to estimates by a Boston-based watchdog group.

The Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation [*not to be confused with Citizens for Limited Taxation & Government—Chip*] said the record windfall will provide extra cash for capital projects while filling the state’s "rainy day" stabilization fund to near its current ceiling of $900 million. It will also offer a hedge against future increases in the state’s welfare caseload, the foundation said.

"Both the administration and the Legislature deserve credit for a series of prudent decisions that—in combination with a robust economy—put the commonwealth in the best financial shape of the decade," the group said in its two-page report.

The projected surplus is nearly double last year’s $446 million figure.

With the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, the books haven’t closed yet, and the state comptroller’s office isn’t expected to publish the official numbers until Oct. 31.

But Michael Widmer, the foundation’s president, said his group has held many discussions with state finance officials. "These will be close to the final numbers," he said.

According to the foundation, fiscal 1997 tax receipts will rise about $810 million, or 6.7 percent, to $12.861 billion. Total revenue will hit $18.7 billion, compared with estimated spending of $17.6 billion and an additional $305 million in authorized funds to be carried over to 1998.

The state is expected to allocate $349 million of the surplus for capital spending, $280 million for the "rainy day" fund and $128 million for welfare cases, the foundation said.

The rainy day fund, used to cope with recessions and other fiscal emergencies, will hit $850 million, an all-time record. As recently as 1990, the fund was empty.

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You can e-mail A Promise to Keep: 5% at --> cltg@cltg.org
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