Monday, April 15, 2013
State Rep. Jonathan Hecht sees some good signs in the budget passed by the House.
The Fiscal 2014 town budget will be tight, but the budget passed by the House of Representatives provides some hope that state funding won't be as bad as expected. Watertown will receive slightly more Chapter 70 school funding as well as some extra local aid money, but Watertown State Rep. Jonathan Hecht said the biggest improvement comes in special education dollars. "The other good thing is the Special Education Circuit Breaker is pretty strong," Hecht said. The money provided by the state goes to the highest cost special education students. The district pays the first $40,000, or so, for each student, said District Business Director Jack Loughran, and the state reimburses part of anything beyond that. The Circuit Breaker law calls …
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Going to the residents for more taxes may not be popular, but local legislators say they like that the budget focuses on education and transportation.
Watertown's state legislators like the areas that the governor's budget proposal prioritizes — education and transportation — but they worry about how residents will be asked to pay for the budget. The $34.8 billion budget filed by Gov. Deval Patrick on Wednesday includes an increase of the income tax along with a decrease in the sales tax, and has a focus on education and transportation. State Sen. Will Brownsberger, D-Belmont, agreed with the governor that money should be used to boost public transportation. "Like most legislators and most careful observers, and in fact, most leaders in the business community, I am convinced that we have to substantially increase our investment in transportation infrastructure, especially the MBTA," …
Investing in education and transportation will boost the economy, the governor said Thursday.
The tax increases Gov. Deval Patrick has requested will be used to invest in places like education and transportation in an effort to boost the state's economy, he said Thursday morning after an event at the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown. In his budget proposal, released Wednesday, Patrick asked for an increase in the income tax - while cutting the sales tax - as a way to get more revenue for the state. He will have to make the case to Massachusetts residents that the money will not just go into old programs. "That’s part of my job, which is to make it clear to people that we are asking that they contribute more, but it is in order to get more," Patrick said. "This is a budget about growth, and growing job opportunity. By …
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Perkins School for The Blind
175 N Beacon St, Watertown, MA
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Wednesday, January 23, 2013
The plan focuses on investments in transportation and education while calling for an income tax increase coupled with a lower sales tax.
In submitting his $34.8 billion budget to the Legislature Wednesday, Patrick said the proposed income tax hike is part of a comprehensive package aimed at investing in the state's infrastructure and in driving growth. The proposal asks for an increase in the income tax from 5.25 percent to 6.25 percent coupled with a reduction in the sales tax from 6.25 percent to 4.5 percent. It also doubles personal exemptions. Despite the proposed income tax hike, Patrick says that low and modest-income workers will pay less in taxes under his proposal, and only the "more fortunate see a larger increase." "I do not submit this proposal lightly. I understand that many households in Massachusetts continue to struggle from the impact of the Great …
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
The governor's budget in $32.1 million slimmer that that proposed by the Legislature.
Gov. Deval Patrick largely passed on Sunday the 2013 budget hammered out by the House and Senate, but vetoed 10 line items that totaled about $32.1 million in spending from the $32.5 billion plan. His vetoes included a plan to keep the 169-bed Taunton State Psychiatric Hospital open with 45 beds. Instead, Patrick wants to close the hospital altogether to shave $5.1 milllion from the budget. But his veto of the scaled-back plan presented by the Legislature stirred controversy in light the dwindling state resources dedicated to those with psychiatric problems. South Shore legislators have already said they will seek to override it, according to the Boston Globe. The governor also cut $10 million each from the Probation Department and from…
Sunday, June 10, 2012
State Sen. Will Brownsberger writes that the state budget looks good for cities and towns, but the future remains uncertain.
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Sunday, June 10, 2012
The following was submitted by State. Sen. Will Brownsberger, D-Belmont, who represents Watertown: How is the state doing financially? What can cities and towns expect from the state? In short, the answers are: Pretty well and cities and towns can expect continued moderate aid growth, but the outlook is uncertain and the state is likely to continue to neglect real needs. The state seems to be wrapping up the current fiscal year in good condition. Year to date tax collections through May are essentially right on target – just $12 million under a target of $21 billion. Supplemental spending – spending above the annual budget level – has run well below last year's level. The state's "rainy day" fund should finish the year at $1.4 billion, …
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
State Rep. Hecht told the Town Council that the Special Education Circuit Breaker will be increased by as much as $500,000, and the town will get more money for roadwork.
The approval of the state budget did not come until after the start of the new budget year, but for Watertown officials the wait was worth it - worth more than $700,000, in fact. The fiscal 2012 budget signed by Gov. Deval Patrick on Monday includes an increase of Special Education Circuit Breaker funds – which could be as high as $500,000 – and $156,000 added to the Chapter 90 roads funds, State Rep. Jonathan Hecht told the Town Council Tuesday. “The Special Education Circuit Breaker is a concern for all communities, particularly Watertown because of the large special education population,” Hecht said. The House proposal was to increase the circuit breaker funds by more than $80 million, while the Senate proposal called for a $61 million …
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Nate
7:54 pm on Friday, January 25, 2013
These go along to get along politicians make the governors destruction of Massachusetts easy. Remember this on election day voters. more ›