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Local Aid and Finance Local officials get fiscal update at MMA meetings
Not surprisingly, the state’s delicate fiscal condition was the main topic of discussion during the recently completed series of MMA Legislative Breakfasts, which were held at nine locations throughout the state during October.
Local officials from around the state crowded into municipal buildings, historic museums and public libraries to hear the latest news on the fiscal issues affecting communities. They heard from MMA staff as well as House members and senators about the state’s declining revenue estimates, the resulting budget cuts, and how municipalities narrowly averted local aid cuts.
In Salem, House Ways and Means Committee Chair Robert DeLeo told the standing-room-only crowd that he spoke for all House members when he said local aid was the last budget item they would consider cutting. He said all members understand the importance of the services cities and towns provide.
Speaking just two days after Gov. Deval Patrick announced his plan to address a budget gap of $1.4 billion, DeLeo said difficult budget cuts were made “with the hope that nothing further will have to be cut this fiscal year.” If things “continue to spiral downward,” however, local aid cuts “cannot be ruled out,” he said.
DeLeo said economists have told legislators that it’ll be at least a year – and possibly two or three – before “things start to turn around.”
Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll, who hosted the meeting, said, “It’s a difficult time to be in local government,” as local officials are “walking as the ground is shifting.”
Co-sponsoring the meeting was MMA President Bruce Tobey, a Gloucester councillor.
The MMA’s Legislative Breakfast meetings bring together municipal officials and legislators to discuss issues affecting local communities. This fall’s meetings were held in Sturbridge, Milford, Dedham, Salem, Stockbridge, Boxborough, Greenfield, Plymouth and New Bedford.
Local Aid and Finance Local officials get fiscal update at MMA meetings
Local officials get fiscal update at MMA meetings
Not surprisingly, the state’s delicate fiscal condition was the main topic of discussion during the recently completed series of MMA Legislative Breakfasts, which were held at nine locations throughout the state during October.Local officials from around the state crowded into municipal buildings, historic museums and public libraries to hear the latest news on the fiscal issues affecting communities. They heard from MMA staff as well as House members and senators about the state’s declining revenue estimates, the resulting budget cuts, and how municipalities narrowly averted local aid cuts.
In Salem, House Ways and Means Committee Chair Robert DeLeo told the standing-room-only crowd that he spoke for all House members when he said local aid was the last budget item they would consider cutting. He said all members understand the importance of the services cities and towns provide.
Speaking just two days after Gov. Deval Patrick announced his plan to address a budget gap of $1.4 billion, DeLeo said difficult budget cuts were made “with the hope that nothing further will have to be cut this fiscal year.” If things “continue to spiral downward,” however, local aid cuts “cannot be ruled out,” he said.
DeLeo said economists have told legislators that it’ll be at least a year – and possibly two or three – before “things start to turn around.”
Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll, who hosted the meeting, said, “It’s a difficult time to be in local government,” as local officials are “walking as the ground is shifting.”
Co-sponsoring the meeting was MMA President Bruce Tobey, a Gloucester councillor.
The MMA’s Legislative Breakfast meetings bring together municipal officials and legislators to discuss issues affecting local communities. This fall’s meetings were held in Sturbridge, Milford, Dedham, Salem, Stockbridge, Boxborough, Greenfield, Plymouth and New Bedford.
Written by Tom Philbin and John Ouellette
