Will Brownsberger -- State Representative, Democrat, 24th Middlesex District

Legislators received this communication from the Patrick Administration on October 15.

The Governor and the legislature are circling uncomfortably around the issue of how much to cut the present fiscal year’s budget and whether or not the cuts must affect local aid. Next year’s budget is also looking grim

Over the last two days, the legislature has taken final action on the budget for Fiscal 2010.

A number of folks have in touch with me about saving the zoo from the Governor’s veto pen. I am supportive of doing that in principle.

Yesterday, I sat in on a meeting where the Boston Metropolitan Planning Organization struggled to define the long-term parameters of a financially realistic Transportation Improvement Plan. Locally, the tight planning environment will likely mean further delay in the Belmont-Trapelo Corridor project (my primary concern in the meeting) and perhaps other projects.

I voted this afternoon for the FY2010 budget which passed with 110 votes in the House and 31 in the Senate, in both branches more than the 2/3 needed to override a possible veto.

The legislature balanced the Fiscal 2010 budget primarily through program cuts and cost-savings, with important help from the federal government and with limited reliance on new revenues and rainy day fund usage.

The House-Senate conference committee report on the budget is now available online. This post provides local aid numbers. The budget is now final, subject only to veto by the Governor.

I’ve been hearing recently from dozens of people who are concerned about possible cuts in valuable state programs.  I’ve also heard from many who are concerned about possible tax increases.

Many have been in touch with me regarding a large cut to state funding for the Boston Medical Center. I have researched this issue and communicated concern to legislators involved in the negotiations (which relate to a supplemental budget, not the FY2010 budget).

The final Senate budget is based on a lower revenue estimate than the House budget and includes lower numbers for local aid and many other critical programs.

The just-released Senate budget draft is based on tax revenue estimates of $18.0 billion, down over $1.5 billion from the estimates used by the Governor and the House budgeteers. As a result, it includes cuts in local aid and other key programs.

Table of the actions taken by the House on particular line items that I have been contacted about by constituents. For local aid issues, the Quinn Bill and employee health contributions, please dedicated posts on those issues.

Like roughly 80% of Massachusetts workers, public employees receive health insurance as part of their compensation.   The issue of how much active employees should contribute to the cost of that insurance has been controversial in every recent budget season.    Since the cost of public employee health insurance is just under $1 billion, the employee share [...]

Perhaps the main things to underline at this stage are: (a) nothing at all is settled yet about the budget, reform or revenue; (b) all the major players endorse the principle of reform before revenue and are trying to do the right thing.

I have been contacted by a number of folks about the Quinn bill — the police education incentive — on both sides of the issue.  Today the House voted to compromise and to fund the incentive, but at a reduced state contribution level.  I supported the compromise.

The House just voted it’s local aid resolution.  Based on the sales tax vote taken yesterday, the House was able to allocate an additional $205 million to local aid.   See figures here for Arlington, Belmont and Cambridge.

Even with the sales tax increase, the budget will sustain deep cuts and Massachusetts will have a roughly average tax burden compared to other states. The increase will fund local aid, Big Dig debt and limited restorations of key programs.

The House Ways and Means Committee released its budget today (4/15/2009).  The Committee made deep cuts in many state services, but only relatively modest additional cuts in local aid.  

The Governor’s announcement today of an allocation of stimulus funds for
education was good news for Belmont and Arlington (not for Cambridge).