“Democratic leaders on Beacon Hill dealt a heavy blow to already-struggling municipal budgets last week by announcing that they intend to cut local aid by 4 percent in FY2011, amounting to a reduction of $200 million. I am disappointed that the legislative leadership is attempting to balance this year’s state budget at the expense of cities and towns.
While the press release distributed by the House Speaker, Senate President and Ways and Means chairs last Friday purported to speak on behalf of the entire Legislature, the House and Senate do still get a chance to vote on this proposed resolution. When we do, I will stand up against this cut for cities and towns, advocate for at least level-funding the local aid account, and I will urge my colleagues to do the same.
Times are tough and spending cuts need to be made, but our cities and towns should not be the place we look to make sacrifices. We need to keep our commitment to provide resources to our communities so that they can, in turn, continue providing vital local services to the hard-working people of Massachusetts.”
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