State budget woes worsen; cuts expected in aid to cities and towns

January 13, 2009 05:07 PM Email| Comments (5)| Text size – +

Governor Patrick spoke to the Globe last week about the state's dire fiscal outlook.

By Matt Viser, Globe Staff

Governor Deval Patrick is facing another massive midyear budget gap, which is expected to trigger another round of widescale layoffs and budget cuts, as well as cuts in aid the state provides to cities and towns.

House and Senate lawmakers are expected tomorrow to grant Patrick expanded budget-cutting powers that will allow him to close the $1.1 billion gap. The expanded powers will allow the governor to unilaterally cut the $5.3 billion in local aid, which is yet another indication of impact the national recession is having on state services.

The cuts will come on top of those made just three months ago, when the governor announced a $1.4 billion budget shortfall that triggered cuts in almost every state department and spurred several protests on Beacon Hill.

The previous cuts were painful, but slicing local aid – which funds things like teachers, trash collections, and snow plowing -- is where budget problems begin to impact residents in their local communities.

State revenues have been declining for months, causing state officials to revise their estimates. When the budget was initially approved in July, state officials anticipated $21.4 billion. They revised that down to $20.3 billion in October, and to $19.4 billion this afternoon.

While administration officials announced today that the faltering revenues would trigger up to $1.1 billion in cuts, they have so far declined to say how they would make them, including how much would come from local aid reductions.

House Republicans have been pushing Patrick to release a detailed budget plan before they vote today on whether to give him expanded budget-cutting powers. Today, they sent the governor a letter asking him to present his plans.

“The Governor should spell out exactly how much money he plans to cut, what accounts he will be targeting, and what mechanism he plans to use when making his 9C cuts,” House Minority Leader Brad Jones said. “Until he can give us those answers, the Legislature should not be so quick to cede unilateral budget-cutting authority to the governor.”

The last time there were midyear cuts to local aid was in January 2003, when Governor Mitt Romney sliced $114 million. Romney cut more than $500 million in state aid between 2002 and 2004, and about 14,500 teachers, police offices, librarians, and others lost their jobs in those years.

Romney was lambasted for making those cuts, and local officials say they have never recovered; after adjusting for inflation, cities and towns receive $566 million less than before Romney's cuts, Beckwith said.

Matt Viser can be reached at maviser@globe.com.

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5 comments so far...

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Posted by Pete Farias January 13, 09 06:06 PM

Not every department was cut three months ago. the Governor requested every state agency to come back with 8% cut to operating budgets. The Trial court was one of the few that followed the Governor's request. Some like state Police, DOC, and others did not come close.

The Governor should not punish those departments that complied three months ago. go after the non complying departments first.

Posted by grandlax January 13, 09 06:46 PM

grandlax:
if what you say is true, and i have no reason to think that it's not, it's really sad and sort of backwards, no? i would rather other departments like parks and do-nothing miscellaneous other workers get cut than things like the police and Trial Court---when another criminal is let out and commits another crime, or when murder and robbery rates go up, i can predict that we'll hear a chorus of "get those judges out of there!" and "police officers don't do anything!" we have to have priorities here: law enforcement and justice or some trees.....i'd want both, but in lean times, i choose the former

Posted by scotland January 13, 09 08:09 PM

We as Americans need to take a real good look as to what got us to this point. States running out of money and so called tax revenues, local property taxes rising when home values are rapidly declining and god forbid the possible loss of jobs in the public sector. Where is the money that honest citizens fork over in the form of property, sales, excise, gasoline, luxury, meals, liquor, cigarette, corporate, business, lottery, income, capital earnings ( probably many more not mentioned) being spent. How much did the state workers pension plan loose in the market crash? The national and international financial fiasco is rapidly appearing to reveal the gigantic PONZI SCHEME in which we are victim.

Posted by hadenoughBS January 13, 09 10:08 PM

The police and the Doc are stealing from the people. "scotland" if you knew that these two sectors were getting paid alot of money to do nothing you would think twice about believing the scare tactic about criminals. A chief of police started trial today in the plymouth superior court on a case that has been going on for four years, that cost the tax payers 139,000 times 4= 556,000. There was a story in the paper yesterday stating how many officers are getting paid tax free money for injuries and there was over 40 making over 50,000 a year, and that was only one town.

Go to the Mass.gov site to see the salaries of the DOC and state police, They are hiding some startlinjg facts that would show they are controlling public oppinion by fear while making a hundred thousand a year for doing next to no work. The criminals are running the system.

Posted by toomanyprosecutions January 13, 09 10:10 PM