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| Subject: Bad Times | |
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Author: Poor |
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Date Posted: 10:28:08 10/30/08 Thu Efforts to balance the state budget have hurt communities that host state correctional facilities because, despite assurances by state officials that aid to towns and cities would be spared, mitigation funds for costs associated with prisons were some of the first dollars slashed. For Norfolk, which hosts MCI-Norfolk, that means a loss of $192,000 in expected revenue, which will affect capital projects. For neighboring Walpole, where MCI-Cedar Junction is located, the figure is $750,000, leaving officials predicting shortfalls that may be made up with town and school reserve funds. "That cut will be an immediate impact on our budget," Walpole Town Administrator Michael Boynton said. After learning of their loss, Norfolk officials immediately canceled fall Town Meeting, an effort that saved between $4,000 and $5,000, Town Administrator Jack Hathaway said. He said action planned for the fall meeting will be taken up in the spring. Ramesh Advani, chairman of the town's Board of Selectmen, said the cut in funds will hurt projects the town is planning. "Hurt is putting it mildly," Advani said. "We were going to use this for capital projects, and now it's gone." Governor Deval Patrick spared local aid in making $1 billion in cuts to the state budget last month. The cuts were necessary due to dramatically lagging tax revenue. Cynthia Roy, a spokeswoman for the governor's budget office, would not address the situations in Norfolk and Walpole directly, but said: "Given difficult circumstances, everyone will have to share in the pain and take steps to ensure that vital programs and services across the state can remain intact." "Unfortunately," Roy said, "compromise is part of that plan." She stressed that 22 cents of every dollar of state spending goes to local aid. In Norfolk, the town was already reeling from a failed $414,000 override this spring to boost the schools, municipal departments, and a much-needed new public safety facility. Now, the town is in financial jeopardy, Advani said. Among other things, officials planned to use the state mitigation funding for a final $10,000 payment for library equipment that was spread out for three years and due now. "We will have to do a reserve fund transfer, because if we don't pay it, we will be defaulting," Advani said. "It's a little bit of a disaster." Money also was to be set aside to begin the process of buying a back-up ambulance, but that isn't going to happen, officials said. Instead, they will sell some Department of Public Works equipment to pay for repairs they hope will give the old ambulance a few more years in service. And a $17,000 payment to the school district to fund smoke detectors for the aging Freeman-Centennial Elementary School will now be up to school officials to handle, Advani said. The added expense comes at a time that the Norfolk School Committee has already imposed a $90 bus fee to help fill shortfalls in the current year's spending plan that appeared when the override failed. That was disappointing for new School Superintendent Donnie LeClerc, who had to find $140,000 in cuts on his first day on the job last summer. "It's unfortunate because we thought we had this one in the bag," LeClerc said. "I'm not sure what we're going to do." The 60-year-old school was built with fire alarms, of course, he said, but does not have smoke alarms. Because of the school's age, the alarms are not required by code unless a major upgrade is performed. LeClerc said the absence of detectors is not a safety issue, but they would have added a layer of protection for the students and teachers. LeClerc said even before the loss of mitigation funds the school system was looking at $500,000 in cuts. "That's scary," he said. "But, there's only so much you can do. You can't find the money by cutting a few pencils or a few reams of paper. That's cutting into teacher salaries and how many students are going to be in classes." [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] |
| Subject | Author | Date |
| Re: Bad Times | Meh | 23:00:52 02/24/09 Tue |
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