House budget cuts local aid, avoids tax hike

Let's face reality and raise taxes! Do we really want any progress made in fighting crime, gangs, youth programs, taken away due to having to cut police and any positive community programs. Not facing reality is going to affect everyone eventually. We've been playing this game for almost a decade and look where we are.

"We're trying to illustrate the fiscal reality."

Translated: "We're keeping intact the sacred cows of overcompensation, patronage, waste, redundancy and abuse and instead we are making cuts in the most visible, most essential services so we frighten the taxpaying public so much they are shellshocked and submissive when we later raise their taxes and fees."

New House members to be electd next year. Kick all the bums out.

Why not an attempt-just humor us-at internal reform, like getting rid of the Turnpike Authority and other useless redundant state agencies and taking a hard look at pensions and other unsustainable costs before hitting taxpayers up for more money? When will the state be run like a business-and be accountable for mismanagement and inefficiency, nepotism and waste? Didn't the Easter Mass Pike fiasco scare anyone else-who, exactly, is in charge here-and people voted for *more* *bigger* government? Insane.

This is kind of late in the year to be cutting Local Aid. Many Town's finance committees have already done their due dilligence and Town Meetings are taking place within a month.

I think they should raise the sales tax to 10%. Why stop at 6%? Besides, I live in NH and our businesses would enjoy the extra foot traffic from MA residents.

Local aid being cut!!!! What a surprise.
As taxpayers we are getting what we deserve. We had the opportunity to stop the income tax but we did not. Personally I would rather see my property tax double and keep my tax dollars local than let some bureaucrat on the State level decide who gets what.

No salary increases but hit us with doubling of health insurance cost? Why should the state employees shoulder so much? This would double what is taken from my check towards health insurance. State employee salaries are substainly lower than their private sector counterparts as is.

I am sorry but I am so fed up with all us taxpayers getting punished for our goverment screw ups... Why do we need to lose everything and still have to pay more... This is rediculous... Why don't they start with the Goverment employees and put it a max on how much someone who has a goverment job can be paid... why should anyone who works for this state be making over 3 figures a year... Max it out to 75,000 and if you can't survive off it then too bad for you and while they are at start cutting back on people who get public assistance as they do not pay anything back from what they receive anyway and most of them sit on the butts all day while there kids are at school and are completely healthy enough to be working and don't... stop herassing the rest of us who struggle everyweek to make a living off of what is
left of our salaries after all the taxes are taken out...

Good, continue to cut the fat. I won't miss the cops or the overpaid crossing guards. Keep those insurance contributions heading north until they're on-par with the private sector. Gov't should no longer be a place for lazy drop-outs to collect PhD-level salaries.

How many of the 150,000 State Troopers are going to be let go. NONE

Why not raise sales tax by 1%? I just came back from California and their sales tax is 8.75%!!! and I don't hear them complaining. Make the increase sunset legislation to end in two years. Then it goes back to 5%.

This is the "change" YOU voted for. Happy with your vote?

The next step is that since the legislature is cutting meat rather than fat by slashing local aid, we need to reduce state taxes by enough to allow us to divert enough money back to cities and towns to make up for the local aid cuts.

I'd rather made cuts at the state level than make cuts at the local level.

The Governor should NEVER cut money from the Police!!!They work too hard and deserve that Quinn Bill money...I hope they protest and win....

Maybe the criminals should run the streets in Massachusetts....
Kepp the COPS funded not the criminals!!!!!KEEP THE QUINN BILL!!!!!

I wouldn't object to a 1% sales tax increase... but not if it's just to give Deval's friends cushy jobs. Welfare programs can get cut too... Maybe force some of those welfare lifers into getting jobs (and paying taxes).

Sounds great, get rid off the quinn bill, hire flaggers, and bump the medical. We had cops shot at in Boston 2 days ago and one shot in the face in Framingham last night. I am sure there are plenty of people out there that would want take a job where officers are being shot at for $40-$50,000 a year.....I highly doubt it

Are our elected finally getting it, there is no more money left in the pockets of the taxpayers?

We're still looking for the numbers, Matt.

Over in the other lane, readers must have hit a record on Turnpike delays. We don't know why almost everyone in eastern MA doesn't have a transponder by now, since New York EZ-Pass has offered them free for years.

If the Lege-cutters did any work, they would cut the funds for Fast Lane and force the Turnpike to contract to EZ-Pass as other, more frugal states did. Supporting a separate Mass. system is just another make-work project.

Marvelous. Our charleton Governor campaigned on lower property taxes. So what do we get? Lower local aid which will cause cities and towns to RAISE property taxes. And all of the talking heads on TV are reciting the mantra "Public safety, Education" Public Safety, education".Baloney. those in the private sector are being laid off or getting wage cuts. Time for public (self) servants to come to the party!

Did I hear something about cities and towns getting much needed from State Mandates???

Didn't think so....

The BS continues under the Golden Dome.

I saw 6 state police details on route 495 in middleboro today. They are replacing guard rails that appear to be perfectly fine. This type of boondoggle project has been going on for years on this stretch of road. I have yet to see a civilian flagger. i have yet to see a highway project that does not require lots of cops, lots of state trucks and lots of state workers gawking at potholes!!! The inmates are truly running the asylum of this state government. Doesn't anybody with any management skills care about anything other than kissing their bosses rear end.?

Any cuts to the 150,000 a year State Trooper? No, Just cut the local aid.

State budget is up $2.5 billion in two years(June 07 to June 09)! I don't recall people dropping dead in the streets then nor do I notice any great improvement in the state of the state. The roads suck, property taxes haven't come down, pols lining their pockets, the list goes on and on.
Guess what happens if/when taxes are jacked up, the roads will suck, property taxes will be the same, pols will be lining pockets, nothing will change. Might as well keep our money to feed our families...

If the public saw this coming they would have NEVER voted in a Democrat ic Governor at this crucial time. Maybe the people will learn from this. Fat chance! MA will eventually fall into disgrace from its own bloated Democratic mess. You can't blame the Republicans for this situation. Barney and the other boys in DC have been in charge for a few years and this happened on their watch. Bush had no power since the 2004 election. It is sad because my family has lived in MA for 90+ years and I don't see another 90 in my children's future. YES WE CAN

Voters. You got what you deserve. Instead of making Patrick answer tough questions you wasted time with the worthless banter of Christy Mihos and Grace Ross during the debates.

Here they go again, hit the citizens where it hurts and keep all our perks, bloated salaries, jobs for our relatives, friends and neighbors.

THESE GUYS ON THE HILL ARE NOTHING BUT BAFFOONS!

Fire anyone who retired from the state and took another position in state government, it's called double dipping.

Why doesn't the Globe report on how many ex-politicians are on the state payroll, their jobs and salaries.

what a surprise, the Rats sacrifice the monkey spanking idiot Devalue Patrick.

in favor of hackerama big gubernment jobs

No teacher is worth more than $75,000. per year for 182 days in the class room. Stop paying teachers to get degrees beyond what they need for the courses they teach. Cap sick days or do away with them. Receiving a pension based on 80% of your top three years teaching is too generous. Get in line with the private sector. Pensions should not be higher than 65% of your retiring salary. Do away with the Quinn Bill. It doesn't make cops any smarter, it makes them greedier. Cap OT for all police including details. Cap their sick days too. Ditto the firefighters and make drug testing mandatory for all. Calculate their pensions at 65% of their current salary. Freeze all legislative salaries and forbid any raises for future years. Return Public Service to Service instead of the golden, unending payout it has become. Cut, cut cut. No more promises of tax reductions that never come. mASSachusetts has become the home of those seeking handouts, not jobs. Enough is Enough!

Let's face it. Almost all local governments have become havens for the lazy. How many towns would fail to function just fine after a RIF of 30% or more?

Sad but Patrick would probably be reelected if there were an election now. Voters in this state will never learn.

Is it a coincidence that Patrick announced 750 layoffs just before this news? I'd like to see the 750 names. I'm sure this is just a layoff someday, maybe, if the unions don't get mad at us proposal that maybe, someday, might be implemented.

If Question 1 had passed I would have had more than enough money to make up for all the local aid my town gets. But no, the voters wanted it to be sifted through the incompetents on Beacon Hill with a small piece passed back to your town. Stupid Mass. voters.

I think the attendance at the TEA Party outside the State House scared the Democrats. 2,500 people taking the time off of work to rally against over spending has put fear into them. Imagine how much anger that number really represents? By the way...a 1% "point" increase in the state's sales tax is a "20%" increase in the sales tax!

This "journalist" is incompetent.

To all you that pay local real estate tax, remember, many of these police contracts were crafty enough to include language that the city will pick up the full funding of the Quinn bill if the state ever dropped it. So unless you want more layoffs, which unfortunately some of you do, you should hope the state adds it back to the budget, or your town will be obligated to fund it. IMO this is just a political ploy and some politician will look like a hero for getting it put back in the budget.