Program cuts begin to bleed

Loss of state funds affects cherished plans, services

The state budget ax fell hard and fast on communities north of Boston, slashing money for job training and education, youth and senior services, street and sidewalk repairs, and other critical projects.

Haverhill lost $1 million to help pay down $7.5 million in annual debt owed on the old Hale Hospital, a city-run facility that closed in 2001. Saugus, a town struggling to regain financial stability after years of budget deficits, lost $100,000 for the Council on Aging. In Swampscott, Humphrey Street will have to wait for a makeover after $150,000 to fund streetscape improvements was eliminated.

Everett's plan to team with the Middlesex Boys & Girls Club of Stoneham to provide after-school programs for middle schoolers will probably be put on hold after losing $112,500 of a $150,000 state grant.

"We had been in negotiations," said Erin Deveney, chief of staff to Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria Jr. "Because of this cut, unfortunately, we'll have to probably curtail, delay, or completely eliminate the city's efforts."

The cuts are part of $1 billion in emergency spending reductions ordered last week by Governor Deval Patrick to close a projected $1.4 billion deficit for Massachusetts.

Local aid to cities and towns so far has been spared under Patrick's blueprint to deal with the financial crisis. Still, the sweeping cuts announced Wednesday will impact local services. Community policing, elders services, arts and cultural activities - all rely on state funding. In many cases, the exact amount of a cut is not yet known, officials said.

"This absolutely will affect us," said Revere Police Captain Michael Murphy, referring to the department's community policing grant. "We could lose a few salaries, but we really don't know yet how this will end up."

Saugus Town Manager Andrew R. Bisignani said the impact of community policing funds is also not yet known. But the $100,000 cut to the Council on Aging could jeopardize the town's senior center.

"We already don't have enough money to finish the year," Bisignani said, noting the town already was short $53,000 to maintain services. "This could mean we either have to close the center or reduce its hours."

Nonprofit organizations may also have to rethink operations. The Greater Lynn YMCA, for example, may have to charge for admission to a Friday night program for middle schoolers at its Saugus branch. An $80,000 state grant was cut to $40,000. "We'll have to think about how we handle this," said Bruce Macdonald, the branch's executive director. "Given what the state is facing, I'm just glad we didn't lose the whole grant."

Some municipal leaders, while saying the cuts are painful, also see the glass as half-full.

"The sky is not falling," said Haverhill Mayor James Fiorentini "We've had time to prepare for this. Everyone knows the economy is not good."

He said local budgets probably will be reduced to cope with the loss of $1 million in debt relief for Hale Hospital. He had asked department heads to prepare a list of cuts even before cuts were announced last week. "I'm very grateful the governor didn't cut it all," he said.

Swampscott Town Administrator Andrew Maylor said the loss of funding for Humphrey Street will delay improvements to the town's central business district. But it also appears that cuts to community policing, and special education reimbursement, may not be a insurmountable. "From what we have waded through already, the cuts were less punitive than we thought," he said Thursday afternoon.

Leaders of several small-city job-training programs, for whom state funding is a lifeline, worry that the cuts may be a knockout punch. Centro Latino de Chelsea will have to absorb a $100,000 cut to a $200,000 grant providing adult workforce training. The grant is usually split with the Chelsea Collaborative, another nonprofit, to fund summer jobs programs. Each now will probably end up with $50,000, said Juan R. Vega, executive director of Centro Latino de Chelsea.

The E-Team Machinist Training Program in Lynn may have to close up shop after losing $105,000. State money is the largest single source of funding for the program, run by the Essex County Community Organization. There are 36 students enrolled in the nine-month course, which meets at Lynn high school.

"We don't know what to tell people," said Tony Dunne, the program director. "I'm going to have to ask my teachers if they will go without pay for a while, until we figure out how to pay them."

Katheleen Conti of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Kathy McCabe can be reached at kmccabe@globe.com