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Spending plan includes funding for district projects and programs
June 30, 2006
– As the July 4th weekend approaches and neighbors fire up their grilles and local residents gather, the Legislature gave them another reason to celebrate. On a rare and busy Friday afternoon session, Senator Richard T. Moore (D-Uxbridge) and his Senate colleagues adopted a $25.7 billion Fiscal Year 2007 budget plan that included many items that will benefit the people of the Worcester and Norfolk District.
“With the support and hard work from my colleagues in the House and the guidance of leadership, I am pleased this budget report includes many of my priorities that will directly benefit my district,” said Moore. “My colleagues and I have a strong working relationship and we worked diligently to get many of these items included in the conference report. This budget report illustrates to our towns that we have listened and now we have delivered.”
He gave special credit to Representatives Marie J. Parente (D-Milford), George Peterson (R-Grafton), Paul Kujawski (D-Webster), Paul Frost (R-Auburn), Mark Carron (D-Southbridge), and Jennifer Callahan (D-Sutton) in announcing the approval of the long list of items contained in the budget document.
LOCAL PROJECTS RECEIVE
FUNDING
Among Senator Moore's district budget priorities that were included in the conference report were:
- Massachusetts Alliance of Boys and Girls Clubs.
$3,000,000 for matching grants to boys’ and girls’ clubs, YMCA and YWCA organizations, nonprofit community centers and youth development programs.
The Southbridge, Dudley-Webster, and Blackstone Valley Boys
and Girls Clubs will each receive grants from this funding.
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- Southern Worcester Development Corporation: $100,000 grant to the Southern Worcester Development Corporation.
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- Uxbridge Youth Center: $50,000 for youth counseling,
GED/School-to-Career-Program, drug prevention, and at-risk youth services at the Uxbridge Youth Center.
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- Family Health Services: $5,364,721 to family planning clinics, rape crisis centers and primary care services for women and children. These appropriations will help fund family health services in Southbridge and Milford.
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- Teen Pregnancy Prevention: $2,022,357 in total funding. The town of Southbridge will receive $50,000 for their teen pregnancy prevention services.
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- School Health Services and School Based Health Centers:
$16,730,544 to (1) strengthen the infrastructure of school health services in the areas of personnel and policy development, programming and interdisciplinary collaboration; (2) develop linkages between school health services programs and community health providers; (3) incorporate health education programs, including tobacco prevention and cessation activities, in school curricula and in the provision of school based health services; and (4) incorporate obesity prevention programs, including nutrition and wellness programs, in school curricula to address the nutrition and lifestyle habits needed for healthy development. $300,000 for mental health and substance abuse services in school-based health centers. $15,000 for school nurses and school based health centers.
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- Business Retention Program: $75,000 for a business retention program in the town of Millville operated by the Blackstone Valley Chamber of Commerce.
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- Draper Mill Re-Use Project: $25,000 grant to the Milford Area Chamber of Commerce to support the Draper Re-Use Project in the town of Hopedale.
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- Tourism Grants: $100,000 for the Southern Worcester Development Corporation; $50,000 to the Claflin Hill Symphony Orchestra; $300,000 for the Sturbridge Heritage and Preservation Partnership; $100,000 for a public safety program in Dudley; $50,000 for the restoration and repairs of the Historical Asa Waters Mansion in
Milbury; $35,000 to the Bellingham historical commission renovations program; and $25,000 for the Sturbridge Area Tourist Association; $100,000 for Clara Barton Birthplace Museum
Inc
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- Public Safety Programs: $100,000 for a public safety program in Dudley; $25,000 for the Route 16/Hopedale Street public safety program in Hopedale
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- Milford Recreation Program: $100,000 for the operations of a Milford recreation program.
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- Violence and Hate Crimes Prevention Pilot Program:
$150,000 for a pilot program Southbridge for preventing violence and hate crimes in Kindergarten though grade 8.
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- Workforce Development Initiative: $500,000 for the Massachusetts Nursing and Allied Health Workforce Development Initiative to develop and support strategies that increase the number of Massachusetts public higher education faculty members and students who participate in programs that support careers in fields related to nursing and allied health.
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- High School Science Program: $750,000 for a high school science program in biotechnology by Commonwealth Corporation, in consultation with the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, including teacher and guidance counselor training, biotechnology lab equipment, and biotechnology lab supplies evaluation and technical assistance; $200,000 as a matching fund, to the Commonwealth Corporation for high school science teacher training program upon a 100% match from the private sector.
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- Worcester County Sheriff: $43,645,877 for the operation of the jail, house of correction and any other facilities under the administration of the sheriff of Worcester County.
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- Registry of Motor Vehicles
Offices: Requires the RMV to operate a full-service branch in the towns of Southbridge and Milford.
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- Pharmacy Outreach Program: $600,000 for the operation of the pharmacy outreach program.
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- Transportation Pilot Program
in Hopedale: $25,000 shall be expended for a transportation pilot program in Hopedale.
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- Mendon Highway Traffic Study:
$30,000 for a highway traffic study in Mendon.
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- Blackstone Regional Recycling Center: $15,000 to the Blackstone Regional Recycling Center.
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- Blackstone Water
Contamination Monitoring: Provides $15,000 to the town of Blackstone for expenses incurred in response to the contamination of the town’s water supply in March 2006. Funds will cover costs associated with providing police and fire overtime as well as the cost of providing bottled water to residents in the immediate aftermath of the contamination.
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- Webster Lake Sediment Control Program: Provides $168,000 for sediment control in Webster Lake. Funding will be used to bring the drainage areas surrounding Webster Lake up to today’s standards.
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- 495/MetroWest Corridor Partnership: $250,000 for the 495/MetroWest Corridor Partnership.
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LOCAL AID
One of the cornerstones of the conference report is increasing local aid. The final bill includes much of the Senate’s recommendations on addressing both the inequities in the Chapter 70 education aid distribution as well as the inadequacies in each district’s foundation budget. In total, $3.505 billion is appropriated – $216 million over FY06 and an increase over both the Senate and House plans.
Senator Moore agrees that these changes are a first step towards continuing Chapter 70 reform. The next step is for the Education Committee to make recommendations for statutory changes to the calculation of the foundation budget and the distribution of aid.
Two other sources of local aid for general government purposes also saw increases in this year’s budget.
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Lottery Aid - In response to the state’s continuing recovery from the fiscal crisis of past years, the Committee recommendations “uncap” the lottery revenue distribution. All of the state’s share of lottery profits will be distributed directly to cities and towns, resulting in a $158.7 million in increase in aid to municipalities.
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Payment in Lieu of Taxes - To reimburse communities which host state land, these recommendations increase Payment in Lieu of Taxes Payments (PILOT) by $9.2 million for a total of $25.3 million. This funding will enable cities and towns with state-owned land within its borders to recover more of the property tax revenue they have recently been unable to collect.
The final version of the budget now goes to the Governor for his consideration.
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