Showing posts with label Budget. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Budget. Show all posts
Friday, May 22, 2009
Letter from Sen. Rosenberg
This letter to the South Hadley Selectboard concerns local aid for FY 10.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Chapter 70 (education) reductions
From: DLS_Alerts@dor.state.ma.us [mailto:DLS_Alerts@dor.state.ma.us]
Sent: Monday, May 11, 2009 3:55 PM
To: selectmen@southhadley.org
Subject: FY09 Chapter 70 Reductions
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has posted information on their website regarding the FY09 Chapter 70 reductions announced by Governor Patrick on May 7, 2009. These Chapter 70 reductions will be offset, dollar for dollar, with Federal Stimulus Funds.
To view this information, click on or copy and paste to your Internet browser the following link:
http://finance1.doe.mass.edu/chapter70/chapter_09_reduction.html
A joint DLS and DESE memo on the accounting requirements for these federal funds will be issued shortly.
Sent: Monday, May 11, 2009 3:55 PM
To: selectmen@southhadley.org
Subject: FY09 Chapter 70 Reductions
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has posted information on their website regarding the FY09 Chapter 70 reductions announced by Governor Patrick on May 7, 2009. These Chapter 70 reductions will be offset, dollar for dollar, with Federal Stimulus Funds.
To view this information, click on or copy and paste to your Internet browser the following link:
http://finance1.doe.mass.edu/chapter70/chapter_09_reduction.html
A joint DLS and DESE memo on the accounting requirements for these federal funds will be issued shortly.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Daily Hampshire Gazette: "Budget uncertainties delaying Town Meeting action around Valley"
By NICK GRABBE
Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Many towns are delaying their Town Meeting budget debates because of uncertainty over how much state money there will be to help pay for their teachers, police officers and assessors.
"The state aid numbers appear to be changing daily," said Margaret Nartowicz, town administrator in Sunderland, whose Town Meeting met April 24 and will reconvene June 12.
"It's a moving target," said Robert Judge, a selectman in South Hadley, which is expected to postpone its budget debate until mid-June.
"There are too many balls still in the air," said Stephanie O'Keeffe, chairwoman of the Select Board in Amherst, where Town Meeting won't consider financial articles until June 1.
Town Meetings that typically finish their business by tomato-planting time will this year be unsure of their budgets weeks before the new fiscal year starts July 1. It's even possible that there won't be any resolution of the state budget by mid-June, Nartowicz said.
In a normal year, the governor proposes a budget in January and the Legislature gives a signal about state aid to towns by March. Finance committees make spending recommendations and town meetings act on them.
This, however, is not a normal year.
Gov. Deval Patrick's budget cut local aid by 7 percent, and in April the House cut it more, but then proposed raising the sales tax to restore some of that money. The Senate, which hasn't acted on the tax hike, will take declining state revenues into account in forming its budget, which then has to be reconciled with the House version and signed by the governor.
On Monday, the announcement of atrocious April state revenue collections forced everyone to lower their expectations once again. There may have to be more cuts in the current year's state budget as well as next year's.
The Senate held a hearing Tuesday on the collapsing revenue numbers. Senators will face a choice between a tax increase and large budget cuts, or both. Local aid may be on the chopping block again.
The choices for local officials are "extremely deep cuts or catastrophically deep cuts," according to Geoffrey Beckwith of the Massachusetts Municipal Association.
"Every day is a snapshot in time, with revenues going up and down," said Pat Mikes, the MMA's communication director. "For local officials, it might be better to wait and see."
Pelham had its Town Meeting Saturday but delayed its budget debate until June 20.
"How can we tell our departments what's available?" said John Trickey of the Pelham Finance Committee. "The judicious thing to do is to postpone it. I'd hate to pass a budget and then have to cut things."
When Granby Town Meeting convenes Monday, the Board of Selectmen will ask that spending articles be put off until June 15. Westhampton has delayed its budget vote until June 29 and Deerfield to June 22.
But there is a potential downside to the wait-and-see approach.
"The most responsible thing to do is to wait as long as you can," said Amherst Town Manager Larry Shaffer. "But government is a leviathan. It takes time to act. We're not particularly nimble."
Judge, the South Hadley selectman, said one citizen told him that delaying Town Meeting will conflict with their plans for June and make it difficult to get a quorum. This citizen said he believes in the principle of having Town Meeting at a fixed time, he said.
Sunderland, which has the added complication of a Proposition 2½ override, faces the challenge of "not knowing what municipal services are going to look like next year," said Nartowicz. "Contracts, such as for curbside trash pickup, need to be executed with vendors. Things are on hold."
Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Many towns are delaying their Town Meeting budget debates because of uncertainty over how much state money there will be to help pay for their teachers, police officers and assessors.
"The state aid numbers appear to be changing daily," said Margaret Nartowicz, town administrator in Sunderland, whose Town Meeting met April 24 and will reconvene June 12.
"It's a moving target," said Robert Judge, a selectman in South Hadley, which is expected to postpone its budget debate until mid-June.
"There are too many balls still in the air," said Stephanie O'Keeffe, chairwoman of the Select Board in Amherst, where Town Meeting won't consider financial articles until June 1.
Town Meetings that typically finish their business by tomato-planting time will this year be unsure of their budgets weeks before the new fiscal year starts July 1. It's even possible that there won't be any resolution of the state budget by mid-June, Nartowicz said.
In a normal year, the governor proposes a budget in January and the Legislature gives a signal about state aid to towns by March. Finance committees make spending recommendations and town meetings act on them.
This, however, is not a normal year.
Gov. Deval Patrick's budget cut local aid by 7 percent, and in April the House cut it more, but then proposed raising the sales tax to restore some of that money. The Senate, which hasn't acted on the tax hike, will take declining state revenues into account in forming its budget, which then has to be reconciled with the House version and signed by the governor.
On Monday, the announcement of atrocious April state revenue collections forced everyone to lower their expectations once again. There may have to be more cuts in the current year's state budget as well as next year's.
The Senate held a hearing Tuesday on the collapsing revenue numbers. Senators will face a choice between a tax increase and large budget cuts, or both. Local aid may be on the chopping block again.
The choices for local officials are "extremely deep cuts or catastrophically deep cuts," according to Geoffrey Beckwith of the Massachusetts Municipal Association.
"Every day is a snapshot in time, with revenues going up and down," said Pat Mikes, the MMA's communication director. "For local officials, it might be better to wait and see."
Pelham had its Town Meeting Saturday but delayed its budget debate until June 20.
"How can we tell our departments what's available?" said John Trickey of the Pelham Finance Committee. "The judicious thing to do is to postpone it. I'd hate to pass a budget and then have to cut things."
When Granby Town Meeting convenes Monday, the Board of Selectmen will ask that spending articles be put off until June 15. Westhampton has delayed its budget vote until June 29 and Deerfield to June 22.
But there is a potential downside to the wait-and-see approach.
"The most responsible thing to do is to wait as long as you can," said Amherst Town Manager Larry Shaffer. "But government is a leviathan. It takes time to act. We're not particularly nimble."
Judge, the South Hadley selectman, said one citizen told him that delaying Town Meeting will conflict with their plans for June and make it difficult to get a quorum. This citizen said he believes in the principle of having Town Meeting at a fixed time, he said.
Sunderland, which has the added complication of a Proposition 2½ override, faces the challenge of "not knowing what municipal services are going to look like next year," said Nartowicz. "Contracts, such as for curbside trash pickup, need to be executed with vendors. Things are on hold."
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