McGlynn, Mayors Meet with Top State Officials

Leaders Discuss Federal Stimulus Cash, Transportation Reform, Local Projects

Mayor Michael McGlynn met this week in Taunton with state Transportation Secretary James Aloisi, infrastructure investment czar Jeffrey Simon, and the state’s Education General Counsel Nicholas Martinelli at the March meeting of the Massachusetts Mayors’ Association, a member group of the Massachusetts Municipal Association, to discuss transportation reform and using federal stimulus funding for education and infrastructure projects.

On Wednesday, March 25, Mayor McGlynn joined with his colleagues from across the state in a wide-ranging discussion on the proposed legislation to reform the state’s transportation agencies, the federal Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and the fiscal challenges cities face as they work to deliver essential services as revenues decline due to deep local aid cuts.

Secretary Aloisi outlined the dramatic impact that the national recession has had on Massachusetts’ ability to aggressively address its decaying transportation infrastructure and the funding of the system, since the state budget has lost over $2 billion in expected revenues this year, and faces a potential $4 billion budget gap for next year. The Secretary said that the Patrick Administration is committed to working in partnership with mayors and other local leaders to navigate through the fiscal crisis by making investments to stimulate the local economy.

Jeffrey Simon, Director of Infrastructure Investment, presented an overview of the federal stimulus funds available to cities and towns in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) passed by Congress in February. Nicholas Martinelli, General Counsel, Executive Office of Education, discussed Governor Patrick’s plan regarding the ARRA funds for education, particularly the allocation methods and criteria for use. Massachusetts will receive hundreds of millions of dollars to be used for investments in capital projects, education and other critical areas to further stimulate the economy.

Mayor McGlynn is calling for a fair distribution of these funds so that every community has the ability to benefit. The city was recently left out of a $168 million plan by Gov. Patrick to boost education funding in school districts across the state.

“There is no more important issue facing our city than preparing for and dealing with the deep fiscal challenges brought on by the national recession. We must do all that is necessary to protect essential services, and work with state and federal leaders to get the reforms, resources and tools we need to manage during very difficult times while trying to build our city’s economic vitality. This includes putting federal stimulus dollars to work in our cities,” said Mayor McGlynn.

The Massachusetts Municipal Association (MMA) also provided an analysis of the deteriorating fiscal condition in cities and towns triggered by the tumbling economy. The MMA update stressed the need for reform and revenue options to protect essential services, balance local budgets, reduce the number of layoffs of municipal and school employees, and decrease reliance on property taxes. The reform agenda calls on the state to allow cities and towns to modernize their health insurance plans outside of collective bargaining, authorize local meals and hotel taxes, close the telecommunications tax loopholes that cost communities as much as $75 million statewide, and fix the flaws in charter school funding that harm school districts all across the state.

The mayors continued to stress the need for the Governor and the state legislature to support reform legislation to give communities the ability to control skyrocketing health insurance costs. They said cities and towns have worked hard to control health insurance costs as best they can, but they operate under a state law that reflects a double standard. Municipalities are required to negotiate and receive union approval to implement significant changes in their health insurance plans, while the state has exempted itself from this requirement, and implements basic decisions on health insurance outside of collective bargaining. The reform legislation would end this double standard, and give cities and towns the same authority as the state in designing health insurance plans for employees. This one reform is the most effective way to bring immediate fiscal relief to all cities and towns, and is urgently overdue, said the mayors.

“I am very pleased that Mayor McGlynn attended and participated in this important meeting. Cities will only make progress if the state and federal government work in concert with Massachusetts communities to protect local revenues, create jobs and invest in local services that are vital to sustaining the economy, and Mayor McGlynn is a leader in this vital work,” said Mayor Robert Dolan of Melrose, President of the Massachusetts Mayors’ Association.

– InsideMedford.com