Saturday, March 16, 2013
Governor Patrick filed a transportation bond bill to fund critical roads, bridges and transit projects.
Information courtesy of Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Department Office of Governor Deval L. Patrick It has long been one of Northborough's "Legislative Top Priorities," discussed this past week at a Board of Selectmen meeting with local representatives. The town's request could come to fruition. Governor Deval Patrick this week filed a transportation bond bill to authorize and fund the 21st Century Transportation Plan “The Way Forward,” the 10-year plan for the next generation of transportation investments to modernize and maintain a transportation system that spurs economic growth and creates jobs across the Commonwealth. The bill invests $13.7 billion over ten years to address a backlog of deferred maintenance and …
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
The town's administration submitted its list of priorities for the legislature for fiscal 2014.
Restore the Circuit-Breaker funding. That's tops in Northborough's annual "State Legislative Issues" list for FY2014. In a letter sent to Gov. Deval Patrick and local legislative representatives and senators, this top priority mirrors Northborough's top concern last year, which is to restore this program that reimburses school districts that are mandated to provide high-cost programs for special education students. As it states in the letter, cuts to this program in the last three fiscal years left reimbursement rates ranging from 40 to 60 percent. In FY2010, these cuts translated into a loss of about $475,000, and in 2011, this loss exceeded $500,000. "This is a significant amount of money for the K-8 schools," said Town Administrator …
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Gov. Deval Patrick recently announced Chapter 90 money for Massachusetts' highway departments. Northborough is getting, roughly, the same as last year.
The House and Senate last Wednesday authorized $200 million in funds for the upcoming fiscal year for the Commonwealth's roads and bridges. Chapter 90 funding aids cities and towns in money for infrastructure repair and other public works-related costs. As with school costs, the amount allocated in federal funding affects greatly the fiscal budget for the town; until the state funding is announced, the administration can only hope to predict incoming sources of state funding. Usually, Chapter 90 allocation is announced much ealier, allowing for towns to accurately balance the amounts into its upcoming fiscal budget. In FY2012, Northborough received $469,731 in Chapter 90 funds. Since the state funded it at the same level for FY2013, Town …
Thursday, February 16, 2012
The town administration, committees and boards have drafted a letter to share with legislators. They call it a list of priorities.
The town of Northborough has drafted a letter that will be sent, soon, to Governor Deval Patrick that outlines the priorities it has. To streamline and focus its efforts, the town implemented this approach four years ago. The letter acts as a bridge to the local legislators, which the town will meet with to discuss the priorities. Though some of the members of the Board of Selectmen are critical that the legislators listen and act upon the requests, Town Administrator John Coderre said the process has had better effects at a town level in turning up the volume on the voice of Northborough. The letter, which begins, "I respectfully request your support for several legislative reform initiatives, outlined in the attached, that could prove …
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Last week, the Patrick-Murray administration announced its fiscal year 2013 budget for Massachusetts.
Based on initial numbers, Town Admininistrator said state local aid seems to be "right on target for now," according to the budget released by the Patrick-Murray Administration on Jan. 25. Governor Deval Patrick filed his FY2013 budget recommendation last Wednesday, calling it "a balanced and fiscally responsible plan that reflects the Governor's unprecedented commitment to education, health care, creating jobs and other key priorities that support long-term job growth and prosperity and will continue to accelerate the Commonwealth's economic recovery. Cherry Sheet estimates differed little with Gov. Patrick's budget. Education items, including Chapter 70 and school transportation, shows an estimated increase from predictions of $116,324…
