Local Aid Cut, Mayor Expects Layoffs
Medford Faces Tough Budget
Story Updated 4:37PM Wednesday, January 28, 2009
– Allison Goldsberry
Medford Mayor Michael McGlynn and dozens of other public officials received some bad news from Governor Deval Patrick on Friday: local aid will be cut by $128 million to help the state close an expected $1 billion deficit.
Medford will see an immediate local aid cut of $1 million and even more next year, which could result in multiple rounds of lay-offs, according to Mayor McGlynn.
According to numbers just released from the Governor’s office, Medford will be cut by $1,436,971 for this year. And it gets worse next year- Medford’s local aid is projected to be cut by a staggering $3,235,013.
Malden will lose $1,521,574 this year, while Cambridge is losing $2,605,447 and Somerville $2,935,217. It appears cities are receiving the deepest cuts, as they tend to receive more aid. Boston alone will lose more than $22 million.
“We just don’t have 2 million bucks that’s sitting around,” McGlynn told the Boston Globe in an interview after the Governor’s meeting last week.
McGlynn said some of the city’s newest employees will likely be laid off, given how union contracts are structured.
Despite the local aid cuts, the Governor said he will not cut education aid.
The Governor has also re-introduced a municipal relief bill in an effort to give communities more options to save money and raise revenue. He has encouraged such things as a 1% tax on meals and hotel rooms, closing a telecommunications tax loophole, and regionalization of some services among cities and towns to save money.
Governor Patrick also pushed for communities to join the state Group Insurance Commission as a way to save money on health care costs. The measure has been widely criticized by major labor unions, who are in favor of keeping their existing coverage, and union resistance has prevented many communities from joining the GIC.
In his address to public officials on Friday, the Governor urged communities to create their own group health insurance plans, and will soon require getting all municipal retirees into Medicare.
It is unclear if Medford will adopt any of the Governor’s cost-saving suggestions. City Councilor Robert Penta introduced a resolution in early 2007 asking for the Council to support the Municipal Relief Act, an earlier version of the Governor’s current relief plan, but the Council balked at imposing meals and hotel taxes.
In the mean time, Mayor McGlynn and public officials across the country are anxiously waiting to see if President Obama and Congress will deliver on a promise of an economic stimulus package. McGlynn said the city submitted about ten different “shovel-ready†projects to the state in anticipation of the federal aid. However, that money might never come, and if it does, there is no guarantee it will be distributed to local communities.
School Superintendent Roy Belson said some of the “shovel-ready†projects include the high school’s pool, science labs, and fields, as well as converting Hormel Stadium to artificial turf.
Belson also attended the Governor’s address on Friday. Even though Governor Patrick pledged not to cut education funding, Medford’s local aid cut will have an unpleasant ripple affect across the entire budget.
“The picture was not rosy,” Belson told the Globe.
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