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Local Aid and Finance Amid 9C debate, MMA calls for reforms
With the Legislature expected to grant Gov. Deval Patrick expanded authority to cut the state budget in the middle of the fiscal year, the MMA is warning that local aid cuts would severely damage municipal services and increase pressure on the property tax.
The MMA is calling on legislators to take up a package of vital reforms that are necessary for cities and towns to navigate through the fiscal crisis.
The four reforms are:
• Closure of a telecommunications property tax loophole that costs cities and towns $80 million in lost revenue
• Empowering cities and towns to modernize their health insurance plans outside of collective bargaining
• Fixing the flawed charter school funding scheme
• Allowing local option taxes, including a local meals tax and an increase in the local hotel-motel tax
The MMA had presented its four-point reform plan on Dec. 3 when testifying before the Legislature’s Special Municipal Relief Commission.
Despite budget cuts made just two months ago, the governor said the state still faces a fiscal 2009 budget deficit of at least $1 billion, due primarily to plummeting state tax revenues, especially capital gains tax collections and declining sales taxes.
He said he would likely seek to close nearly the entire gap with additional cuts and efficiencies, since any potential for additional revenues would be unlikely to make a difference this late in the current fiscal year.
The Legislature is expected to debate expansion of the governor’s Section 9C budget cutting authority tomorrow. State House News Service reported that legislative leaders have indicated that they might cap the amount that the governor could reduce state aid to cities and towns, as the Legislature did in 2003 when then-Gov. Mitt Romney slashed $343 million in late January, including $114 million in local aid.
Patrick said he had not made a decision about the size of the local aid reduction, State House News reported.
The news service also reported that administration and legislative officials appear to have agreed on broad themes of the budget solutions, even if specific numbers have not been discussed.
• MMA’s Jan. 12 letter to legislators urging prompt consideration of reform package
• MMA’s Jan. 5 letter to legislators outlining detailed reform package
Local Aid and Finance Amid 9C debate, MMA calls for reforms
Amid 9C debate, MMA calls for reforms
With the Legislature expected to grant Gov. Deval Patrick expanded authority to cut the state budget in the middle of the fiscal year, the MMA is warning that local aid cuts would severely damage municipal services and increase pressure on the property tax.
The MMA is calling on legislators to take up a package of vital reforms that are necessary for cities and towns to navigate through the fiscal crisis.
The four reforms are:
• Closure of a telecommunications property tax loophole that costs cities and towns $80 million in lost revenue
• Empowering cities and towns to modernize their health insurance plans outside of collective bargaining
• Fixing the flawed charter school funding scheme
• Allowing local option taxes, including a local meals tax and an increase in the local hotel-motel tax
The MMA had presented its four-point reform plan on Dec. 3 when testifying before the Legislature’s Special Municipal Relief Commission.
Despite budget cuts made just two months ago, the governor said the state still faces a fiscal 2009 budget deficit of at least $1 billion, due primarily to plummeting state tax revenues, especially capital gains tax collections and declining sales taxes.
He said he would likely seek to close nearly the entire gap with additional cuts and efficiencies, since any potential for additional revenues would be unlikely to make a difference this late in the current fiscal year.
The Legislature is expected to debate expansion of the governor’s Section 9C budget cutting authority tomorrow. State House News Service reported that legislative leaders have indicated that they might cap the amount that the governor could reduce state aid to cities and towns, as the Legislature did in 2003 when then-Gov. Mitt Romney slashed $343 million in late January, including $114 million in local aid.
Patrick said he had not made a decision about the size of the local aid reduction, State House News reported.
The news service also reported that administration and legislative officials appear to have agreed on broad themes of the budget solutions, even if specific numbers have not been discussed.
• MMA’s Jan. 12 letter to legislators urging prompt consideration of reform package
• MMA’s Jan. 5 letter to legislators outlining detailed reform package
Written by MMA Publications/Web Director John Ouellette
