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.
Click here to read on!

Police Chief retiring

Police Chief Mark Pacheco will be retiring on January 11, 2010. The Chief is an exemplary public servant and a very effective administrator. I have great respect and admiration for the job he does. Thank you for your many years of service to the department and the town.
The Select Board had been searching for a Deputy Police Chief with the expectation that the Deputy could work alongside the Chief for a year or so before being called upon to assume the Chief's job. The Chief's retirement in January changes things from my perspective and I would advocate that we start a new search for the Chief's position rather than a Deputy Chief.

As with the Deputy Police Chief, I think the search should include those within and outside the department.
Click here to read on!

Repossession blues - Dylan Friday

Some things never change
Click here to read on!

US House bill on health care reform

From the Committee on Education and Labor website, this link has the details of the house version. This page has links to the full bill as well as summaries of the bill.

We are closing in on the goal, affordable universal health care insurance.
Click here to read on!

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.
Click here to read on!

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.
Click here to read on!

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!

Wind Turbines approved for Clean Renewable Energy Bonds

This news from Dr. DiPippo of the Alternative Energy Committee.

Hi all,
I just heard from Simon Thomas that our application to the IRS for $2 million of CREBs has been APPROVED!
The cut-off sum was $2.5 million. We are not alone in Mass as 4 other projects were also approved.
This is huge for us in terms of financing the project. Everything just got even better than Pete calculated. This means that we will be able to float bonds at about 1% to cover about 20% of the anticipated total cost, thus saving us roughly $50 thousand per year over the financing period. Now all we need to do is get a bank to take the bonds. BofA has the main bank in this market. Ed: Cover yourself with glory before you leave us!
All the more important for us to get that NSTAR interconnect study commissioned since there will now be a flood of towns seeking net metering with NSTAR and the other Discos.
Best regards,
Ron DiPippo, Ph.D.

Information on Clean Renewable Energy Bonds (CREBs) at this link.
The town is planning a public forum ...

... on the Dartmouth wind turbine project in order to inform the public. Tentatively date is the first week of December. I will publish the time, date and location when it is finalized.
Discos above is short for electric power distribution company, not nightclubs that play Bee Gees music.
Cue negative comment from Frank1 ........ Now!
Click here to read on!

Joint Committee on Revenue meeting tomorrow in Fall River

The General Court’s Joint Committee on Revenue, on its listening tour, hosts a session on taxes and municipal budgets at the UMass Dartmouth Advanced Technology Center in Fall River tomorrow from 6 to 8PM. A blog post from One Massachusetts about the Worcester event can be found here. At that meeting Massachusetts Municipal Association Director Mr. Beckwith ...

... noted that many towns are struggling with unfunded mandates — like the Quinn Bill, SPED and charter schools — that he says have become the equivalent of earmarks on communities property taxes.

This meeting is your chance to have the ear of those on Beacon Hill regarding taxation in the state.
As I posted here last month, Massachusetts is ranked 38th in total taxation among the 50 states. The Commonwealth does not have adequate resources ...

... to maintain many of its traditional and some of its mandatory functions. The question is what to do. I would like to see an increase in income tax and a higher personal deduction for taxpayers. What are your thoughts? Will you attend the meeting and what will you say?
Want to reform Beacon Hill? Find out how here!
Click here to read on!