Governor Patrick is filing is budget plan for Fiscal Year 2011 tomorrow, and today's morning papers are providing our first glance into what his plans might include.
According to the Boston Globe, Governor Patrick is proposing to change several laws related to state pension benefits as a way of cutting down on pension costs and closing loopholes that allow unfair benefits. In a separate story, the paper reports that the Governor is proposing to consolidate energy costs within the executive branch.
Together, these proposals could save millions of dollars a year.
I give credit to the Governor for taking these steps to help balance our budget and keep costs down. But, I wonder if they are mostly symbolic, or if they are actually indicative of a budget that starts making more responsible choices than we’ve been accustomed to.
Yesterday, the Beacon Hill Institute put out a press release advocating for a Tax and Expenditure Limitation (TEL) on state spending. That sort of plan would limit line item expenditure growth to the rate of inflation, adjusted for population growth. There are lots of details that would have to be worked out, but overall, I think this is the sort of bold reform we need to bring our budget back under control.
We need to get our state fiscal priorities back in order, and there’s no better time than right now.
I hope Governor Patrick’s budget will include solid ideas to save our state money, and that it will place a priority on local aid, health and human services spending, education, job creation and housing. These are the things Massachusetts residents need the most in this current economy.
I also call upon the Governor to submit a budget that’s free of new taxes, and which includes bold reforms that will streamline state government and improve our delivery of core services while eliminating waste, duplication and inefficiency, and stripping out spending on unnecessary programs or programs that could wait until a better day to be funded.
We will see tomorrow what Governor Patrick ends up proposing in his budget, what his priorities are and how they would affect the quality of life of citizens across our state during the coming year.
And, if I’m not satisfied by the Governor’s solutions, I will start working immediately to make sure the budget that comes out of the Legislature this summer is one we can be proud of, and one that will protect people and communities the right way.
