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

Groups from diverse perspectives — the Boston Foundation, Stand for Children, the Massachusetts Municipal Association, the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation — are pushing for change in municipal health insurance. I think that the legislature is really beginning to focus on making something happen and I am starting to be hopeful that we’ll have a bill this spring.

The flash news in the Governor’s state of the state address was that he intends to file a budget (due next week) that preserves local aid at last year’s level.

On Tuesday, the Governor signed into law a bill eliminating any question about the exemption from Proposition 2.5 of the Wellington School bond issue. I am extremely grateful to the Governor, to my colleagues in the House, and to Senator Tolman and his colleagues in the Senate for moving the bill through so quickly.

For over 5 years, the Town of Belmont has been designing the reconstruction of Belmont Street and Trapelo Road — the busiest traffic corridor in town.

State-federal funding for the actual construction may still be five years away, but the good news is that the state has finally placed the project in its long term funding plans.

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.

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.

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).

An outline of the financial issues that will be front and center throughout the coming legislative session.

March 12, 2009,  the House voted to match the local aid levels proposed in the Governor’s budget — relatively substantial overall increases in Chapter 70 and a protection of municipalities from a shortfall in the lottery fund.