Blue Mass Group

Reality-based commentary on politics.

The Budget is Out – Yes it matters to talk to your elected official

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[Crossposted from ONE Massachusetts]

Today Governor Patrick signed the new state budget while last week ONE Massachusetts launched its 2011 summer campaign. With this campaign we are looking forward to engage our network into documenting systematically local cuts that have happened in our communities because of recent budget cuts and the passage of the new state budget. The documenting of local cuts will help us show local and state elected officials how recent budget cuts have affected the quality of life in cities and towns across Massachusetts.

Photo by Chloe Gotsis

Last Tuesday Newton’s three women legislators told a crowd that the 2011 budget season will go down as one of the toughest in recent memory:

“When we went through the budget this year it really was the most austere of all the years we’ve been working in the Legislature. It’s always difficult to decide what services and programs we cut, but this was particularly difficult,” Khan said, adding . “I think because of the rising costs of health care.” [Full Article: Wicked Local – Newton Tab] 

Meetings with legislators, like the one in Newton, provide their constituents an opportunity to hear from them what their rationale is for the decisions they make on behalf of us and to hold them accountable.

Legislators need to hear and educate themselves from people in their communities about the real consequences their decisions at the State House have in the communities they represent. It is not enough to say that we are going through difficult economic times without offering a solution that would balance the state budget and properly fund our services and programs.

Whether it has been the decrease in youth summer jobs, less mental health workers in hospitals, crowded school classrooms, or less firemen in local stations, we all have experienced first hand the impact recent budget decisions have had on all of us. That’s why we need you to: 1) help us document local budget cuts in as many communities as we can across the state and 2) talk with your local state representative and state senator on how these cuts are affecting us all.

Our youth, seniors, teachers, firemen, policemen can’t wait any longer to have the proper funding to serve our communities. Level funding programs is not enough. We want to keep and increase the funding of all our programs and thrive as a state. Please consider joining our summer campaign and also support an Act to Invest in Our Communities to provide much needed relief to our state and local budgets.

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  1. Gov’s Budget Actions

    and here, in part, is a summary from the State House News Service.

    LEGISLATURE CONSIDERING AMENDMENTS FROM PATRICK TO FOUR AREAS OF BUDGET: The fiscal 2012 budget signed Monday morning by Gov. Deval Patrick and returned to the Legislature amended the portions of the budget dealing with municipal health care reform, electronic benefits transfer cards, a Quinn Bill study commission, and adult day health.
    While the administration last week detailed the four key changes it proposed making to the municipal health reform plan to preserve a “meaningful voice for labor,” the other changes filed Monday included adding a labor representative from the Massachusetts Coalition of Police to a study commission charged with reviewing funding levels and municipal contract obligations related to the police career incentive pay program that was zeroed out in the budget.
    Patrick also endorsed a proposal to require welfare recipients to reimburse the state money spent from Electronic Benefits Transfer cards on alcohol, tobacco and Lottery tickets, but proposed reducing the prison sentence for fraudulently obtaining welfare funds in excess of $100 from 5 years in jail or a House of Correction to 2 ½.

    Patrick said the change is required because houses of correction do not hold inmates sentenced to jail terms longer than 2 ½ years.

    The fourth section amended by the governor deals with a Legislature approved moratorium on changes to adult day health care services. The fiscal 2012 budget funds adult day health for six months with $20 million, but Patrick said the moratorium on changes “sweeps too broadly and will hinder necessary savings initiatives.” Instead, Patrick proposed review by the Executive Office of Health and Human Services of the need for a moratorium on clinical eligibility or level of reimbursement paid to providers of adult day health, services for basic and complex levels of care, and the acceptance and approval of applications for enrollment of new adult day health providers and expansion of the certified capacity of already approved adult day health providers. The review would be completed by Dec. 31, 2011.

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