Governor details local aid cuts for current year

Yesterday Governor Patrick announced local aid cuts for the current fiscal year which started in July of 08. The Governor said that $128 million would be cut from local aid. Details in this Standard Times article here While the cuts are not welcome, they are smaller than I feared. I thought that the cuts may approach $300 million.
Governor Patrick also proposed allowing local communities to assess a tax on restaurant meals. The proposal has two parts, statewide and local increases of 1%, The article states,...

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Gov. Patrick is also proposing ways to help municipalities raise money other than the property tax. He will file a new Municipal Partnership Act next week that calls for an increase of 1 percentage point in the state meals and hotel room taxes.
The current meals tax is 5 percent. The current hotel room tax can reach 9.7 percent, with 4 percent going to municipalities.
The statewide meals and hotel tax hikes, which need approval from the Legislature, would be distributed to cities and towns through the Lottery formula. A small portion would go toward tourism promotion.
On top of the statewide tax, Gov. Patrick is again proposing to let cities and towns raise both the meals and rooms taxes by another percentage point. And he wants to lift the century-old tax exemption on utility poles and wires.