THOUGHT OF THE DAY - 2/24/2010

Yesterday brought encouraging news for cities and towns as a legislative committee gave its initial approval to a “municipal relief” bill and moved it closer to passage.

The concept of “municipal relief” is nothing more than the idea that helping cities and towns financially does not necessarily involve giving them more money; it can also mean easing burdens, cutting costs and streamlining procedures so local governments have more opportunity to save money. If enough opportunities are created, the savings can really start to add up. And in most cases, the changes being made are systemic, so they will create savings year after year.

This particular bill appears to include provisions like allowing electronic payment systems in cities and towns, opening up new insurance options for municipal employees, and allowing communities to band together for bulk purchasing and mutual aid. (You can read more about the bill in this Associated Press story in today's Boston Herald.)

It remains to be seen what this bill will ultimately look like when it gets to the House for a vote, but in general, I’m a strong advocate for municipal relief. In fact, I have filed several bills of my own which would cut local health care costs and give cities and towns more ways to save money. I’m hopeful that a municipal relief bill will make its way to the House for a vote soon, and when it does, I hope that some of the ideas I have proposed might be included in the final version. I will keep you updated on the bill’s progress.

Do you have any ideas for municipal relief. Please let me know. You can post a comment below.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY – 01/21/2010

Now that the US Senate race is over, some political attention is shifting back to Beacon Hill.

People are asking how Massachusetts political leaders intend to address some of the biggest problems facing our state.

Tonight, we might get a glimpse into some of those proposals when Governor Deval Patrick delivers his annual State of the Commonwealth Address.

I will be listening intently to what the Governor says in his remarks, and specifically what he envisions for the upcoming year. And, I’ll be looking for him to make specific proposals to move our state forward in several ways, including:

• FIXING THE ECONOMY – In order to be successful tonight, I think Governor Patrick needs to prove that he has a plan to fix our state’s economy. He needs to demonstrate that he can bring jobs back to Massachusetts and trigger investment here.
 
• FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY – I want Governor Patrick to show me that he will balance the budget this year and control state spending, while holding the line on new taxes and fees.
 
• GOOD GOVERNMENT – I will be watching to see if Governor Patrick has any new ideas to make government less costly, more efficient, increasingly transparent, and completely accountable to those it serves.
 
• RIGHT PRIORITIES – In addition to the above, I hope Governor Patrick will convince me that he is getting back to basics and putting emphasis on the right priorities this year, things like supporting cities and towns with local aid, improving our schools and making our streets safer.
 
• LEADERSHIP – Most of all, I think Governor Patrick needs to lay out a vision for how to make Massachusetts a better place and how he intends to take the lead in making that vision a reality.

It sounds like a tall order, but that’s what I think our state needs in order to succeed. Interestingly, it looks like the editors over at The Boston Globe will be looking for more or less the same thing. There’s an editorial in today’s Globe that calls on the Governor to show “what else he will do to promote government that is both responsive and frugal.”

We’ll see what happens when the speech starts at 7 p.m. tonight. I’ll be sure to let you know what I think. Until then, I’d love it if you’d let me know what you think. What should Governor Patrick talk about tonight? Please post a comment below and let me know.

Thought of the Day - 10/28/2009

An editorial in the Worcester Telegram today highlights a great example of how, in its haste to look as though it is “doing something,” the Legislature can sometimes pass laws that have unintended and negative consequences.

In response to a slew of ethical indisgressions by Beacon Hill leaders, the Legislature this year passed an ethics reform law that was supposed to restore integrity to the institution by banning public officials from accepting gifts, increasing the penalties for breaking ethics laws and other changes. These were positive steps forward.

However, the legislation also includes a requirement that cities and towns must subject every one of their full-time and part-time employees—including volunteers—to take a yearly online test that is supposed to teach them the state’s conflict-of-interest rules.

Since this law passed, I have heard from local town officials who are very concerned about the prospect of taking employees away from their jobs to complete this task. They are also concerned about the potential cost of meeting this requirement during a time when cities and towns barely have enough in their coffers to make ends meet.

Throughout Massachusetts, city and town officials are struggling to find places to cut and ways to streamline their operations so that they can continue providing very essential services to Massachusetts residents. It is in the state’s best interest to offer a helping hand in that endeavor, not make it more difficult by instituting unfunded mandates such as the new online ethics test requirement.

For too long, the state has called on local communities to bear the brunt of tough fiscal times, while at the same time increasing burdens on them in other areas. Local aid payments to cities and towns have decreased and could go even lower in the coming weeks. Legislation to provide financial relief to municipalities, including several bills I’ve filed myself, have remained in committee and have not seen action on the House and Senate floors. There has been no pension reform and no changes to onerous public bidding laws.

Sooner or later, state government will have to deal with the consequences of this behavior toward cities and towns. I hope that through the continued advocacy of city and town officials, myself, and like-minded legislators, we can turn this around.

Thank you to all those who posted comments on the blog yesterday. What do you think about this issue?