Gov. Baker vows to protect local aid, announces ‘community cabinet’

In his first appearance before a large gathering of local officials, Gov. Charlie Baker this morning promised an ongoing dialogue with local officials, while vowing to be “very aggressive about protecting local aid” and protecting cities and towns from unfunded mandates.
 
Speaking at the opening session of the MMA Annual Meeting & Trade Show in Boston, the governor also announced a new Community Compact Cabinet, created by his first executive order, which he signed this morning. He said the cabinet, to be chaired by Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, is intended to “elevate the administration’s partnership with cities and towns” and allow the governor’s office to work more closely with local officials.
 
The executive order creates a new position, senior commissioner for the Division of Local Services, who will report to the commissioner of the Department of Revenue. The position has been filled by Sean Cronin, previously the deputy town administrator in Brookline.
 
The new cabinet does not replace the Local Government Advisory Commission, which meets regularly with the administration and will be attended by the lieutenant governor. He said the new Community Compact Cabinet would work to “reduce red tape,” “promote best practices” and provide a forum for ongoing conversations among state and local officials.
 
In his 15-minute address, Gov. Baker highlighted the local government experience of himself – as a selectman in Swampscott – as well as Polito (Shrewsbury selectman) and many of his high-level staff. He said his administration understands the challenges faced by local officials.
 
“We have reached deep into local government to make a number of key and important hires, which I hope sent a message to all of you that we were serious about bringing in people in our administration who got it,” he said.
 
As examples, he cited Housing and Economic Development secretary Jay Ash, the former city manager in Chelsea, Ash’s deputy, Carolyn Kirk, the former mayor of Gloucester, and Agricultural Resources Commissioner John Lebeaux, formerly the town administrator in Princeton and a selectman in Shrewsbury.
 
He said his team’s local government experience “will help us do a better job of understanding the consequences, implications and ramifications of the decisions we make.”
 
The Baker administration, he said, sees any unfunded mandate as “just another cut to local aid.”
 
Addressing the state budget gap for this year that he announced has reached $765 million, he said, “I would call it challenging. I don’t think it’s any more than that.”
 
He added, “We made it clear from the very beginning … that the path to balancing this year’s budget for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is not going to run through the Commonwealth’s cities and towns.”
 
The new governor, just two weeks into his term, was warmly received by the 900 local officials in the room, who gave him a standing ovation for his action on his first day in office to release $100 million in Chapter 90 local road funding that had been withheld by the previous administration.
 
“That was our way of saying that, if we make a commitment on something like that, we plan to follow through and deliver on it,” he said.
 
“The most important thing I want you all to hear today is that our doors are open,” he said. “We want to work with you.”