Auditor urges the state to boost fuel aid for poor
Thousands of poor people in Massachusetts could be forced to choose between home heating and necessities such as food and medicine if the Legislature does not quickly approve money for state heating oil programs, state Auditor A. Joseph DeNucci warned yesterday.
His report said the state has become complacent about heating-oil subsidies, as the price of oil has dropped from record highs last year.
"I'm concerned that because the cost has leveled off, there might be a false sense of security," DeNucci said in an interview.
His report was issued as wintry weather finally appears to have arrived, after an unusually warm November.
Two years ago, a similar report by DeNucci led to record state subsidies for heating oil. Last year, amid record-high energy prices, state lawmakers and Governor Mitt Romney approved $20 million in subsidies to augment $118 million from the federal government.
But this year, the federal government has pledged only $81 million.
Advocates for the poor have asked lawmakers to set aside up to $30 million, but it is unclear what Governor-elect Deval L. Patrick will do when he takes office in January. During his campaign, Patrick emphasized property tax relief, more education spending, and adding police officers. Heating oil subsides, said advocates for the poor, were scarcely debated.
Patrick "wants 1,000 new policemen on the block; I hope that doesn't come out of fuel assistance money," said Robert M. Coard, president and chief executive of Action for Boston Community Development, which provides heating aid.
A spokesman for Patrick did not return calls yesterday.
Heating oil currently costs $2.35 per gallon. Last year, it averaged $2.42.
"Our assumption is that, as demand increases in the winter, the prices will go up," said Joe Diamond, executive director of the Massachusetts Association for Community Action, whose member groups provide heating assistance to 140,000 households around the state.
Last year, the maximum subsidy was $1,124. Currently, based on what the federal government has contributed, it would be $687.
Raja Mishra can be reached at rmishra@globe.com. 
