Patrick proposes new fee on criminals

Governor Deval Patrick said yesterday that he had come up with a way to pay for more police officers in Massachusetts: charge convicted criminals a fee.

Unveiling his most detailed account yet of his plans for next year's state budget, Patrick said he would propose a "safety fee," which every person convicted of a crime would have to pay.

The program is modeled on a similar fee the state now levies against people who violate the law, a program that generate s about $6 million annually to pay for services for witnesses and victims of crime. Those fees range from $90 for anyone over age 17 convicted of a felony to $50 for those convicted of a misdemeanor and $45 for anyone who commits a civil motor vehicle infraction, such as speeding.

Patrick said he had not yet set the amount of the proposed fee. But he estimated that it would raise $10 million annually, about half of the $20 million he expects to spend to hire 250 additional police officers in the new fiscal year, which begins July 1. Patrick said he wants to eventually add 1,000 new police officers to the streets, at a cost of $85 million.

"There are debts to society that have to be paid by people who break our laws, some of that by jail time, some of that by fees," Patrick said at a press conference at the State House. "I don't imagine it's going to be so onerous that it's impossible to pay, but I do think it's fair to have people who are at the center of causing and committing crime to help us pay."

Reacting to Patrick's announcement, advocates of prisoners' rights said the plan was unfair.

Leslie Walker, executive director of Massachusetts Correctional Legal Services, which represents inmates, said about 85 percent of convicted criminals in Massachusetts earn less than $11,000 a year at the time of their convictions. In prison, only about 10 percent of inmates work, earning $1.50 a day.

"While this may sound logical initially," Walker said of the proposed fee, "most defendants are indigent and are already assessed a number of fees. Those who are sent to prison have to pay to see doctors, and get haircuts, and who ends up paying? Their families."

"I'm dubious because disproportionately the people in the criminal justice system are people who don't have a lot of money," said Sarah Wunsch, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts. "It seems to me imposing fees on people who don't have a lot of money is not the way to go."

Patrick, in a speech earlier yesterday to the Massachusetts Municipal Association, also promised to deliver a "modest increase" in state aid to cities and towns, mainly to pay for elementary and high school education. He also said he wants to hear ideas from local officials as he considers whether to abolish a property tax exemption for telecommunications companies and to legalize casino gambling or slot machines.

Finally, he suggested allowing cities and towns to join the Group Insurance Commission, the health insurance program for state workers, which he said would save communities millions of dollars annually.

"We didn't come here today with a big bag of free cash, nor a series of set mandates," Patrick told hundreds of local officials at the annual meeting of the association, which represents the interests of city and town governments. "We came with a few ideas about a grand bargain we want to make with you: what we can do, what we think you can do, and what we ought to do together to build stronger cities and towns and ultimately a stronger Commonwealth."

Pressed by local officials in a question-and-answer session, Patrick declined to say how much he would deliver in additional local aid, though he said the bulk would be funneled to schools. This fiscal year, the state provided about $4.9 billion in local aid, including $3.5 billion for schools. According to the municipal association, funding for grades K-12 has decreased by $682 million since fiscal year 2002, when adjusted for inflation.

Citing a looming budget gap that he says could top $1 billion, Patrick said affording an increase in state funding for local services would "be neither easy nor instant." State funding, in addition to schools, helps pay for trash collection, police and firefighters, and other services.

"Because the strength of our communities is central to everything else," Patrick said to applause at the Hynes Convention Center , "I will not decrease local aid. In fact, we plan a modest increase."

Patrick also pledged to support legislation that would allow cities and towns to hike the state's 5 percent meals tax to as much as 8 percent.

"Many cities and towns need alternative revenue sources, beyond property taxes, to support the services your residents want," Patrick told the local officials. "I trust you and your neighbors to determine whether a 1, 2, or 3 percent increment on lunch at the local pub is appropriate and fair."

Many local officials, including Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino, have unsuccessfully pressured the Legislature to grant them the power to raise such taxes. Yesterday, they welcomed Patrick's support.

"That's essential," said Geoff Beckwith , executive director of the municipal association . "The local option tax for meals, we believe, is long overdue. Most communities in the country have the ability to diversify their tax base, beyond their local property tax, and in Massachusetts, we don't have that ability."

Critics said that among the items Patrick proposed yesterday, the meals tax seems most likely to generate opposition in the Legislature.

"It's families that end up paying those taxes, and that makes Massachusetts less affordable," said Senate minority leader Richard R. Tisei , a Wakefield Republican. "In Boston, they point out, it's tourists who end up paying a lot of the tax, but when you really boil it down, it's average families who want to go out for dinner, and it's additional costs that you're putting on them."

Patrick said he harbored "misgivings" about legalizing casinos because of their potential to increase crime and tax the poor. But he said he wanted to "hear all sides" as he makes up his mind.

He also said he wanted to hear from all sides as he considers repealing a property tax exemption for telecommunications companies. Patrick said the tax made sense to help the industry grow when it was in its infancy, but now he questions its merit. If the exemption were repealed, Menino said, Boston would be able to deliver an average of $200 in property annual tax relief to city homeowners.

"Our job is to consider whether that exemption is right today," Patrick said, adding he wanted to "balance all of the interests."

Michael Levenson can be reached at mlevenson@globe.com.