Patrick touts municipal relief proposals at gathering of local officials

January 11, 2008 11:01 AM Email| Comments (0)| Text size – +

By Matt Viser, Globe Staff

He feels their pain. Governor Deval Patrick told city and town officials today that he understands that they are experiencing tight fiscal times. And he offered a solution: his municipal relief legislation.

Speaking at the annual meeting of the Massachusetts Municipal Association, which represents the state's 351 cities and towns, he offered some of his harshest criticism yet of the Legislature as he urged local officials to lobby their state representatives to act on his bill.

"So far not one of the revenue options has been heard for a vote in the Legislature. Not one!" he said, shouting into the microphone. "That is not acceptable. It ought not be acceptable to you, and you have to show up and make that point!"

Patrick's Municipal Partnership Act includes proposals that would allow communities to raise more revenues through, among other things, meals taxes and telecommunications taxes.

Patrick also took a swipe at the administration of former governor Mitt Romney, who trimmed state aid to cities and towns in order to close a state budget gap.

"Our budget will not be balanced on your backs," he told the crowd gathered at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston. "The strategy of the previous administration of shifting state fiscal hardships to cities and towns is no solution. That time is over, it's over. And it's not coming back."

A report issued yesterday by a state budget watchdog group found that city and town governments, who have slashed programs and services or raised taxes in recent years because of tight finances, are likely to face even greater challenges over the next several years.

"The finances are being relentlessly squeezed year by year," said Michael Widmer, president of the business-backed Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation.

Patrick also defended his proposal to license three resort casinos in Massachusetts, saying it would help revitalize the state economy by supporting a new industry.

He reiterated his arguments that expanded gambling would not change the character of the state; that Massachusetts residents spend $900 million to $1.1 billion at Connecticut casinos; and that "for well over 90 percent it is harmless entertainment."