'Working to stay afloat'

By Matt Carroll
Globe Staff
and
and Stephanie Daly
Globe correspondent

Residents in a number of area communities will see fewer police officers and teachers and closed library branches and fire stations as local officials confront the reality of an approximately 30 percent cut in noneducation local aid from the state.

Governor Deval Patrick, by signing the $27 billion state budget on Monday, made official cuts that municipal leaders had known for months were coming. But that knowledge didn’t make it any easier for officials who sent out a stream of pink slips last week.

The state budget for the fiscal year that started on July 1 cut noneducation local aid to most communities by 29.2 percent. That means noneducation aid of $944,497 to Norwell, $1,390,494 to Hingham, and $1,772,437 to Scituate.

Three South Shore communities — Bridgewater, Hanson, and Whitman — had smaller cuts because of variations in the state formula.

‘‘It is one day at a time here; we are working to stay afloat,’’ said interim municipal administrator Jeffrey Ritter of Bridgewater, which saw local aid cut more than $750,000. He said the community has taken difficult steps necessary to plug the fiscal leaks and has a balanced budget.

Like other communities, Bridgewater has cut staff and not filled open jobs. The town, which had about 145 municipal employees, has left 10 positions unfilled and, as of July 1, laid off another 10, including four in the highway department and three police officers. Other employees saw their hours reduced.

The fiscal crisis has left the state — and communities across the Common wealth — scrambling for money as tax revenue has fallen sharply.

Local noneducation aid is a relatively small amount of what communities get from the state budget, but because it can be spent for any purpose it is popular locally. Other state funding is allocated for specific purposes, such as Chapter 70 money for education, and makes up the bulk of the state handout.

Abington officials, for example, expect to get $9.7 million in total state aid this year, with $1.7 million of that for local aid and $7.6 million for education. Most communities have had their Chapter 70 funding cut by about 2 percent from a year ago.

Communities are adopting measures that would have seemed unthinkable a few years ago. For example, an option in the budget allows municipalities to impose a 2 percent tax on hotels/motels or add three-quarters of a percent to the new state 1.25 percent increase on the meals tax.

Braintree has six hotels, which, if taxed, might give the town an extra $250,000, said Mayor Joseph C. Sullivan. Reducing dependency on state aid would be a good step, he added.

The town last year began laying the groundwork for this year by reorganizing, which led to the elimination of 23 positions. This year, the community is not filling 16 positions, including jobs in the Police and Fire departments, and is laying off seven teachers.

Brockton Mayor James Harrington, whose local aid was slashed $7.6 million, to $18.4 million, said the hard-pressed city is eyeing new taxes, such as on hotel rooms. The tax might bring in a couple hundred thousand dollars, he said, not a huge amount, but it would make a difference.

Easton, which recently laid off three firefighters and three police officers and eliminated eight positions in the School Department, is considering the meals tax, said David Colton, town administrator.

The town still has a budget gap. ‘‘I’m not quite sure how we’re going to make up the additional $300,000 yet,’’ said Colton, adding that more layoffs may be coming.

Other towns are also cutting back.

In Kingston, Town Administrator Jill Myers said the cuts by the state were anticipated.
‘‘We expected them,’’ said Myers. ‘‘We forecasted to the Senate’s budget and the budget that was recently signed by the governor, so we were able to work it out.’’

To prepare for the new budget, town employees accepted a freeze on wages for fiscal year 2010.

Walpole closed the East Walpole fire station, leaving just the main station open, as four firefighters are gone, two by layoff.

Total state aid for the town dropped from a projected $11.2 million last year to $9.9 million this year, with no good news expected soon, said Michael Boynton, town administrator.

Marshfield received more than $750,000 less than expected, said Rocco Longo, town administrator. That’s after already laying off 17 teachers, 25 teacher’s aides, two firemen, and one library employee. More than 50 other employees had their hours reduced.

‘‘We are going to be meeting with our fiscal team, and we are going to sit and assess the damage and prepare some recommendations for the selectman and the School Committee,’’ said Longo.

The budget signed by the governor was $400 million less than the budget approved by the House and Senate.

The Legislature may try to override some of the governor’s cuts, but local aid is not expected to be affected.

Matt Carroll can be reached at mcarroll@globe.com.