Bay State employment surging

Johnk at Blue Mass Group notes that Massachusetts employment numbers have been very strong. The state and country are coming from such a deep hole this year...

...it is hard to see out but the numbers look good. What do you think about the state of employment in Massachusetts? Click here to read on!

Commonwealth may have to make cuts before July

The Boston Globe reported in this article that the state may have to make additional cuts in the current year budget. The shortfall of somewhere between $195 to $295 million is said to be due to increased demand at homeless shelters, for MassHealth, and lower than expected revenue and federal aid. The Commonwealth is not allowed by our Constitution to have deficit spending in a fiscal year. The Governor made cuts in October ...

... and the deficit may require added cuts before the end of June. Coming this late in the fiscal year, the cuts have to be done soon and be fairly steep in order to reach the target in the remaining few months on the fiscal year. The article did not give an indication as to where the reductions might fall.
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Governor Patrick had a good week this last week

The Patrick administration announced deals with several public employee unions that included givebacks, wage increase deferments and furloughs that will save the state millions and help public employees avoid layoffs. Despite reducing the state's payroll by a couple thousand workers, the Commonwealth's budget is still seriously in the red. These concessions allow services to continue ...

... and workers to keep their jobs.
On another front, several business and industry groups endorsed Governor Patrick's plan to contain the costs of medical insurance. The cost controls will be implemented on insurer and provider increases if the legislature, the General Court, enacts the plan set out by the Patrick administration.
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State employee unions approve concessions

David at Blue Mass Group has this post about public employee union concessions negotiated with Governor Patrick that will save the Commonwealth tens of millions over the next few years.
I have to give credit where it is due, the Patrick administration and public employees have shown that they are working hard to be fair to taxpayers at a time of fiscal constraint. It takes co-operation and trust ...

... to get this kind of agreement which will help retain workers and services while helping the Commonwealth get through the current economic downturn.
There is more to do especially in the area of pensions but I see this as a credit to both sides.
What do you think? Tell us in comments.
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Bay State leading the way to recovery

David at Blue Mass Group has this post about the improving economic conditions in our Commonwealth. It is still not a pretty picture but we could be much worse.
David gives that governor credit for his performance to date but I have to note that his FY 2011 budget seems to be complete fiction. There is not enough money to meet the funding he proposes in my opinion. We will see what ...

... the state House Ways and Means committee comes out with.
The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center does excellent work in reducing the various budgets to an understandable form. Their analysis of the Governor's budget can be found here
Click here to read on!

State lawmakers call for change

AmberPaw has a post at Blue Mass Group about eight courageous state representatives who are asking for increased democracy in our legislature. I call them courageous because it is very risky politically to go against the power structure. From an op-ed letter in Cape Cod Today, the lawmakers note,

"We clearly see that consolidation of power in the Speaker has given the Massachusetts House a less than democratic form of governance and we believe that the most important thing we can do as members is point out what is so obvious that it has been taken for granted."

In order to correct that situation, Representatives Matthew C. Patrick, Thomas M. Stanley, Lida E. Harkins, William G. Greene, Jr., Will N. Brownsberger, Steven J. D'Amico, Joseph R. Driscoll and John F. Quinn sent a letter to their colleagues asking them to support five initiatives.

To begin this process, we are focusing on five areas that we believe will begin to restore the balance of power in the membership and insure that issues will receive both proper consideration and debate. We have developed specific proposals to:
1. Ensure that Home Rule Petitions can be discharged from the Rules Committee in a timely fashion;
2. Make the state budget process in the House more transparent, and make the House operating budget specifics accessible to all members;
3. Provide a leadership election and committee appointment process that distributes more power to the members and less power to the Speaker;
4. Provide legislators with greater control of the operating budgets for their offices; and
5. Eliminate or narrow legislative exemptions to the open meeting law, public records law, and purchasing standards.

A group, Fix Beacon Hill, was trying to get signatures for a ballot initiative ...

... to change the state constitution and implement some of the changes that the reps are seeking in this case. I posted about the effort here. I think that the effort is now defunct as they were not able to get the requisite number of signatures.
Still the goal of reform in our legislature is a worthy one and I hope that the efforts of the representatives here will receive some publicity and generate interest in change.

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State's first public law school approved at UMass Dartmouth

The state Board of Higher Education approved the merger of Southern New England School of Law with the UMass system. That means that UMass Dartmouth will soon include a law school in their university offerings. Kudos to the many who worked to get this done. Congratulations to Chancellor McCormack, her faculty, and staff. The Fall River Times Herald article on the vote can be found here
No more after the jump


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UMass law school decision Tuesday

The Fall River Herald News reports here that the Board of Higher Education will decide on Tuesday whether to accept the merger of the Southern New England School of Law (SNESL) with the UMass system. SNESL has offered to donate their campus and assets to the UMass system.
Arguments were presented by both sides of the merger question at a meeting of the Board of Higher Education this past Tuesday. The Herald News report on that session is at this link. One argument put forward by Former Attorney General Tom Reilly, who is representing a group of private law schools, is that the method proposed for funding the school is illegal. The proposal is that the new public law school would be largely funded by student fees rather than tuition. Mr. Reilly argued that all payments should be remitted to the state rather than be retained by UMass. If his argument was to be adopted, it would turn higher education funding at UMass on its ear. Fees are currently about 7 times the amount of tuition at UMass campuses and represent the bulk of the system's funding. If the colleges could not retain the fees, it would throw their entire budgets into question.
Massachusetts' financial support of our public universities is among the lowest per capita rate in the nation. The trend of that support has been downward as well. Well educated citizens have much higher earnings (and pay more taxes as a result) over their lifetimes than those without college degrees. I think it is in the best interest of the citizenry to support affordable public universities for that reason. What do you think?

And here is the rest.
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From Governor Patrick- 2011 Governor's budget local aid

Dear Local Official,

As we finalize our Fiscal Year 2011 budget proposal, I am pleased to inform you of my intention to propose funding local aid at more than $5.2 billion next fiscal year.
Despite the fiscal challenges the Commonwealth continues to face, I will propose taking another step forward in our commitment to education by funding Chapter 70 at the highest level in the history of the Commonwealth at $4.048 billion. Every district will be fully funded at foundation, all districts will be held harmless to ensure funding is not less than fiscal year 2010 levels, and all Chapter 70 amounts will be funded by the State, not with deferral stimulus funds.
On the non-school, municipal side, I will propose funding unrestricted general government aid at fiscal year 2010 level of $936 million. I will also propose level funding other key local aid accounts, including payment-in-lieu-of-taxes and regional school transportation.
Chapter 70 and Unrestricted General Government Aid numbers for each community is available at: http://www.mass.gov/Ador/docs/dls/mdmstuf/StateAid/MMA_Sec_3.xls
As is customary, our proposal for all Cherry Sheet accounts will be available when our budget proposal is filed on January 27th.
Through our Fiscal Year 2011 budget, additional filings and submissions to the Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government, our Administration is also proposing a number of new tools to support local governments, including:

o A local pension funding relief initiative to help local systems address unprecedented asset losses in a fiscally responsible way. Communities could save up to $200 million statewide in the first year of the proposed new schedule.

o An optional Early Retirement Incentive program for cities and towns.

o A rate freeze on special education private placements that could save $3.2M .

o Relief from library “maintenance of effort” requirements and decertification rules

o Allowing regional school districts to share superintendents, providing savings and efficiencies.

o Allowing regional school districts greater access to stabilization funds.

o Allowing local government procurement from state energy resource contracts.

o $250K in a reserve account to study the adequacy of the Chapter 70 foundation budget and formula.

o A local aid study commission to evaluate local aid formulas.

We look forward to working with you during the budget process.

Sincerely,

Deval L. Patrick
Governor

The linked spreadsheet shows that the Governor is proposing ...

... to fund the Chapter 70 school aid and unrestricted state aid for Dartmouth at the FY2010 level, about $9.49 million in school aid and $2.22 million in local aid. Not good news.
This is only the beginning of the budget process. The Governor's budget will go to the House. The Ways and Means Committee will modify it, the House passes it, and that budget will go to the Senate. The Senate Budget Committee modifies the House budget and the Senate passes that. The final bills from the Senate and House are reconciled by conference and the two houses pass a final budget which the Governor has line item veto power to modify. Vetoed items can be overridden by the legislature and then the budget is final. Except ... the governor can then reduce some budgets under his 9C authority which has been necessary the past couple years.
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Whew! Quite a week! Town Meeting warrant and other things

Although I do not support his politics, I want to congratulate our new Senator Scott Brown. I hope that he will represent the Commonwealth well in the Senate. I believe that most of his constituents are pro-choice, in favor of equal marriage rights for everyone, against foreign wars, and want to see universal health care enacted. I don't think Senator Brown will advocate for any of those goals. But that is what the residents voted for so perhaps I am mistaken. If you look over the comments on this blog you can see why the parties can't work together. It is possible to have a difference of opinion on policy and not have to demonize the other side. I blame talk radio and the media for fostering this divisiveness. Just listen to Limbaugh or Back. They don't disagree with the president's policies, they attack his patriotism.
Awful, awful stuff.Makes for good entertainment but leaves no room to work together.

The Standard Times reported that my colleague on the Select Board, Mr. Michaud, is planning a run for the State House after running for Select Baord this spring. I have great respect for Mr. Michaud and think he would be a good state rep. Trouble is he would caucus with the tiny Republican contingent. That means that his point of view can be neglected by those with the levers of power, the House Speaker and Senate President. To bad it is that way but it is the reality of the situation.

We are fast approaching the Special Town Meeting that will vote on funding wind turbines, a Padanaram Village bylaw, and adopting a section of Massachusetts General Law that requires retirees to join Medicare. The warrant for the meeting is at this link. There is a presentation from the residents who oppose the turbines circulating and I will post it here when I have a chance.

On February 4th, the selection process for a new Police Chief will be drawing to a close with Select Board interviews of a few finalists. A recruitment firm, Municipal Resources, has been winnowing down the applicants ...

... from the more than 50 who applied. The remaining candidates will be narrowed down through an assessment that will take place the day before with Municipal Resources. I don't know when the Select Board will make their choice. My preference would be to do it that day or by the following Monday, February 8th, at the latest.

The search for a new Director of Budget and Finance is also nearing completion and the field has been narrowed to a few candidates by that committee. The candidates for that job should be coming before the Select Board soon as well.
Click here to read on!

Massachusetts showing signs of recovery

The economy of Massachusett is showing some signs that it is coming out of recession. David over at Blue Mass Group has this post about the improving job market and a recovery in state revenue. The Commonwealth is outpacing the rest of the country on the road to recovery. I know it doesn't feel like that to most people but this is the worst economic downturn in decades.
One reason for that recovery may be that Massachusetts has a skilled and educated work force and a good quality of life for citizens here in the Bay State. CNBC ranked our state as 8th in the nation a place to do business. One statistic that caught my attention ...

... was that our workforce produces a higher per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) than the other seven states ranked above us. CNBC didn't rank the states on that basis but only New York workers produced more value per capita.
Looking at the criteria for workforce, it seems to me that states who have a more unionized workforce were not given high marks. I think that is not correct and may have worked against Massachusetts' ranking.
The worst place to do business according to CNBC, Alaska, don't cha know!

Click here to read on!

Governor Patrick seeks public input for FY2011 budget

The Governor will have a series of public meetings to get public input on the upcoming budget for fiscal year 2011 that begins in July 2010. You can go to the Governor's website at this link to add your comments on a blog.
The meetings are:

Tuesday, December 15 7:30pm
FY 2011 Budget Forum in Melrose(map), Moderated by Governor Deval Patrick

Wednesday, December 16 6:00pm
FY 2011 Budget Hearing in Boston (map), Moderated by Secretary Reville (EOE)

Thursday, December 17 6:00pm
FY 2011 Budget Hearing in Springfield (map), Moderated by Secretary Bialecki (EOHE

This is your chance to make your priorities heard. Go add a comment or attend a forum. If you don't make your thoughts known, ...

... you can't complain if the budget doesn't match your priorities.
Click here to read on!

State Fiscal woes deepen

A report by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation (MTF) predicts that the Commonwealth is still hundreds of million dollars short of a balanced budget for the current fiscal year, FY2010. The prospects are equally bad for next year FY2011 when they predict a $3 billion shortfall in the state budget despite the cuts already made. One fault that the MTF consistently found was the use of one time revenue to plug budget holes. You can read the entire report here.
Given their findings, it would seem that ...

... Dartmouth may see additional cuts to school and local aid before the end of FY2010.
The Governor has not issued a proposed 2011 budget as yet but it is sure to contain even more cuts. Our projection was for a 5% cut in state local aid and a level funded Chapter 70 amount. I have to say that both predictions seem pretty conservative but when you see reports such as this one, it gives you pause.
A major problem is that revenues will inevitably lag the actual recovery and the states and municipalities have been burning through reserves and have little left to fall back on. Our Commonewealth is by no measure in the worst shape among all the staes and I hope that the federal government will provide a lifeline to the states. It is not a good time to be governor anywhere in the nation and I expect that the voters will turn the current occupants out next year. I am not sure that there is much the governors can do about it though.

Click here to read on!

Governor backs UMass law school

The Fall River Herald News reports in this article that Governor Patrick has endorsed the merger of the Southern New England School of Law with the UMass system, UMass Dartmouth in particular.
The article by Grant Welker quotes Governor Patrick

“Our students deserve the same access to opportunity as those in 44 other states and should have the option of a high-quality and affordable public law school,” Patrick said, referring to what would be the state’s first public law school.

The momentum for a public law school ...

... in Dartmouth appears to be building. What do you think about having a public law school in our town and state?
Click here to read on!

DPU Order Allows Start of Wind and Solar Power “Net Metering” on December 1

From the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources

Under Green Community Act provision to spur renewable energy development, customers who generate more power than they use can sell back energy at higher rates

BOSTON – Net metering for wind and solar energy installations, a provision of the Green Communities Act designed to encourage development of renewable power, takes effect on December 1 under an order adopted by Department of Public Utilities (DPU) last Friday (11/13).
Net metering encourages homeowners, businesses, and municipalities to install solar panels and wind turbines by allowing them to earn credit on their electric bills if they generate more power than they need. Under the Green Communities Act signed by Governor Patrick last year, utility companies must compensate their customers for this excess electricity at the retail rate rather than the lower wholesale rate. Additionally, customers may allocate their credits to other customers, allowing those without facilities to take advantage of net metering benefits as well.
The DPU order approved Friday is the last regulatory step needed for electric customers to take advantage of the Act’s net metering provisions. As a result, customers who own renewable energy installations can submit net metering applications to their electric distribution companies beginning December 1. The DPU issued its final net metering regulations in June of this year, followed by a model net metering tariff in August. Friday’s DPU order approves electric utility interconnection tariffs and requires that the electric companies immediately file net metering tariffs that comply with the terms of the model tariff approved in August.
“Businesses, consumers, and cities and towns across Massachusetts are eager for net metering to get underway, increasing the value of renewable power for those who install it,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Ian Bowles, whose office includes the DPU. “This action propels the Commonwealth further along Governor Patrick’s path toward a clean energy future.”
“Net metering will accelerate the development of renewable energy projects across the Commonwealth by putting the economic value ...

... of power generated by these projects on par with electricity purchased from the grid,” said DPU Chairman Paul Hibbard.
Prior to the Green Communities Act, net metering was restricted to on-site renewable energy projects capable of generating 60 kilowatts or less, and customers were able to sell their power back to the grid only at the wholesale rate. Now, customers who own larger wind turbines or solar power installations – up to 2 megawatts, and even larger for municipal and state installations – can sell excess power back to the grid at the higher retail rate. Even customers who do not generate excess power will save money on their electric bills by generating some portion of the electricity they use.
To view the DPU’s final net metering order, click here.

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Courts also feeling the bite of cuts

Amber Paw over at Blue Mass Group has a post here about how the budget crunch is changing the court system. I think this is a problem but I don't have a suggestion as to how to fix it. What do you think can be done?

Jeffrey Manning wrote an article here about why it is so important to allow everyone to be represented by an attorney. He says,

This is the miracle of the Bill of Rights: To protect the individual from the potential oppressiveness of government. If we as a society are to be measured by how we treat the poorest among us, clearly, providing those accused with a lawyer to protect their basic rights as citizens is axiomatic.

I think most would agree Click here to read on!

Mid year cuts spare local aid and Chapter 70 aid

The Governor's mid year budget cuts have spared local aid to municipalities and Chapter 70 school aid. The cuts fell particularly hard upon state employees with some 2000 slated to be laid off. Other cuts fell upon school transportation, special education, early learning and charter schools, as well as social services, such as aid to families, elderly, disabled citizens, the mentally ill, and foster care.
I think that another round of cuts may be needed later in the year, but perhaps the economy will rebound enough. It has to happen quickly to make a difference since tax receipts will lag the upturn.
These reductions in school related spending is an example of the Commonwealth not being able to meet the commitments previously made to localities. These cuts will have to be made up for in local revenue but the municipalities have limited ability to raise it. That is what I was trying to point out in this post.
The cuts to social services fall upon those citizens who are least able to care for themselves, the ill, the disabled, the elderly and children. That's why I think ...

... that the legislature needs to look at increasing state revenues, even though it is not a good time to do so economically. I don't want to pay taxes any more than the next guy but these cuts result in people who have no ability to help themselves not getting help.
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This years 9C cuts from the Governor

Mass.gov has the information on the mid year cuts and a video presentation from Governor Patrick at this link
An itemized list of the cuts can be found here
I'll post more on the impact of these cuts as I am able to analyze the data. This chart shows the reductions in educational funding.

This is not a good year and next year will be worse, I think.
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Governor to announce 9C cuts today

This post at Blue Mass Group says the 9C cuts are due to be announced today and looks at the Tax Expenditure Budget. This oddly named budget details the items which are exempt from taxes in our Commonwealth. The Commonwealth website gives this description,

most state tax codes incorporate a number of exemptions, deductions, credits, and deferrals designed to encourage certain taxpayer activities or to limit the tax burden on certain types of individuals or endeavors. Known as "tax expenditures", these provisions can have a significant impact on state tax revenues.

The amount of potential revenue in the Tax Expenditure Budget ...

... is about $18 billion. A close look at the purpose and need for each item is certainly warranted in this fiscal environment.
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Joint Committee on Revenue meeting report

The legislature's Joint Committee in Revenue was in Fall River on a listening tour last night. I attended the meeting at the UMass Dartmouth Advanced Technology Center along with about 25 others. Representative Rodrigues of Westport hosted the meeting. Representative Kaufman, Senator Downing, and Representative Barrows of the Joint Committee were there as well as Representative D'Amico.
The topic of the evening was property taxes but the Joint Committee allowed comments about any aspect of taxation.
Daphne Kenyon of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy gave a presentation and took questions on property tax in Massachusetts in comparison to other states. Her data showed that Massachusetts property taxes are above the national average as a percentage of income but were the lowest in New England. She pointed out that all New England states have, so called, property tax circuit breaker laws that allow reductions for those whose payments exceed a certain percentage of their total household income. Only Massachusetts limits this tax break to those over 65 years old. Ms. Kenyon noted that the system in other states was more equitable as the age of the taxpayer is not considered. The representatives in attendance estimated that the current Massachusetts property tax circuit breaker costs about $30 million and that opening it up to all property tax payers would cost an additional $30 million. Ms. Kenyon noted that only about half those who are eligible typically apply for the relief.
Senator Downing then gave a presentation on the major sources of revenue and the major expenditures of the state and on the goals for tax policy. The Committee called upon and listened to comments from everyone in attendance if they chose to speak.
A majority of those in attendance were from the Coalition for Social Justice and spoke in favor of returning the income tax to 5.9% in order to bolster state revenue. The arguments were that the income tax was the most equitable, somewhat more stable than sales, excise or capital gains taxes, and that the state was failing to meet the needs of the citizens. Another suggestion was to increase the personal exemption to shift the tax burden away from low wage earners. The consensus of the legislators was that about $1 billion could be raised by a return to 5.9% rate.
When I spoke to the committee, I asked the Committee to consider different tax rates for commercial and industrial properties within the tax classification system. Currently, different rates are allowed between residential and commercial properties but not between different types of commercial properties. For instance, Walmart and CV Variety pay the same commercial property tax rate. I asked if the law could be changed to accommodate different rates within the commercial category although I haven't come up with a mechanism for differentiating the categories.
I also advocated for state tax increases (I prefer the income tax) so that towns are not burdened with increased costs and/or decreased revenues passed down from the Commonwealth. For example, the Commonwealth has discontinued payment for Quinn bill incentives to police officers. The town is left to pick up the state share. The Commonwealth has cut ...

... Chapter 70 school aid and other local aid. The municipalities have no means to increase their revenues in order to meet the added financial burdens even while the Commonwealth mandates our spending for schools, veterans and other expenses. Some small relief was provided by the meals and hotel local option taxes this year, but the property tax levy remains the main source of municipal revenue. Proposition 2-1/2 limits the ability of towns to increase the property tax, so in many cases the only alternative for towns is to cut services.
Mr. Roland Hebert of Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District (SRPEDD) advocated for new fees for regional rail projects in the state, including the commuter rail line from Fall River and New Bedford to Boston. He proposed a greenhouse gas emission tax on motor vehicles to provide the necessary funds. Motor vehicles would be assessed a fee, based on their size and class, when they register with the RMV. The fee revenue could be used to build and maintain public transportation alternatives throughout the Commonwealth according to the information provided by Mr Hebert.
Mr. Yawu Miller of One Massachusetts added his voice to those calling for increased revenue via a return to the 5.9% rate and endorsed a higher personal exemption on the income tax.
Fall River city councilor and mayoral candidate, Ms. Cathy Ann Viveiros asked the legislators to provide tax incentives for market rate housing in urban areas. She noted that Fall River valuations are stagnant or falling and the city's valuations are among the lowest in the Commonwealth.
Click here to read on!