Who is a member?
Our members are the local governments of Massachusetts and their elected and appointed leadership.
Dear Senator,
On behalf of the cities and towns of the Commonwealth, the Massachusetts Municipal Association would like to thank President Therese Murray, Chairman Stephen Brewer, the members of the Senate Ways and Means Committee and all members of the Senate for the strong support given to cities and towns in the fiscal 2014 budget recommendation (S. 3) before you for consideration this week.
We would also like to thank the Senate for the strong vote last month in favor of transportation finance legislation that would provide needed funds for critical transportation investments, including a $300 million Chapter 90 program, and provide some measure of support for operational spending next year. As you know, the MMA was an early endorser of the joint House-Senate framework that is now on the verge of enactment.
The MMA supports the Senate Ways and Means Committee recommendation to increase the appropriation for Chapter 70 school aid by $130 million over the fiscal 2013 level of funding, $15 million more than voted by the House last month. We support the language in Section 3 that would begin a limited, four-year phase-in of including the health care cost of retired teachers as “net school spending” under Chapter 70. This is an important change that would more accurately count school spending and bring greater integrity to the state’s system of school finance.
We also applaud the recommendation to cover the estimated full state share of the special education “circuit breaker” program at $253 million, an increase of $10 million over the current fiscal 2013 level of funding. We support the $3 million appropriation to reimburse cities and towns for the cost of transporting students to out-of-district vocational education programs. These core Senate Ways and Means Committee budget initiatives are deeply appreciated and are very important at the local level for the support of public schools.
Of the 725 amendments filed for consideration this week, there are many that would add funding to joint state-local programs where the state’s share is significantly underfunded or make changes to laws. Below we provide comments on those matters that are most important to local government. Please contact us regarding any of these issues if further information would be helpful or you would like comments on any amendment not covered in this letter.
Unrestricted General Government Aid (UGGA)
Adequate funding for Unrestricted General Government Aid (UGGA) is the top priority for cities and towns in every corner of Massachusetts. Cities and towns rely on this essential local aid account to fund vital municipal and education programs, including police, fire and emergency response, public works, libraries, youth and senior programs, local schools, and much more. As you know, this account has been cut by $416 million since fiscal 2008, leaving local government with fewer resources to provide the basic services that taxpayers and businesses depend on every day. As a result of this reduction, reliance on the property tax to fund municipal budgets is at its highest point in 30 years. The Senate Ways and Means budget would level-fund UGGA at $899 million, in contrast with the House budget, which would increase the UGGA distribution by $21 million, bringing municipal aid up to $920 million for fiscal 2014. The House budget reflects expected growth in Lottery revenues next year, which is now the main revenue source for UGGA distributions, and provides communities with a 2.3 percent increase, which is very modest when compared to the 4.4 percent growth in state spending that is contemplated in the Legislature’s fiscal 2014 budget framework.
We ask you to support Amendment 49 filed by Senator Donoghue and others that would use $21 million from the fiscal 2013 year-end surplus to bring UGGA distributions to cities and towns up to $920 million in fiscal 2014. This is an essential amendment to provide much-needed assistance to every city and town.
Reimbursements for School Aid Deductions for Charter School Tuition
It is vitally important to fund the Charter School Reimbursement Account in order to protect regular public schools from financial harm due to the diversion of Chapter 70 aid to charter schools. Underfunding the reimbursement reduces funding for programs for the 97 percent of schoolchildren in traditional schools. The DESE estimates that it would require $103 million to fully fund the state’s obligation to cover a portion of the loss of Chapter 70 school aid deducted from local public schools and paid as tuition to charter schools, as required in the 2010 education reform law reimbursement formula. Overall, the DESE expects that cities and towns will be required to divert $407 million of their Chapter 70 aid to fund charter schools in fiscal 2014, $53 million more than in fiscal 2013, which demonstrates the importance of funding this key account to ease the blow to local districts that educate the vast majority of students.
Currently, the appropriation for fiscal 2013 totals $70 million. The Governor in a supplemental budget bill has recommended $8 million to fully fund the state’s obligation this year.
We ask you to support Amendment 384 filed by Senator Chang-Diaz and others to fully fund the state’s share next year at $103 million. This is a very important priority for those communities that host charter schools; without full funding, programs for students in the traditional public school system will be harmed.
Oppose Amendment 58, Which Would Undermine the Public Safety Residency Law
We strongly urge you to oppose Amendment 58, which would amend Section 37 of S. 3 and effectively eliminate the statutory 10-mile residency requirement for police officers and firefighters by unilaterally increasing the limit to 35 miles. Police officers and firefighters are required by law to live within 10 miles of the community in which they work. Many cities and towns have included residency provisions in their collective bargaining contracts, and this amendment would interfere with those agreements, disrupting the management of their public safety departments. A majority of communities have not included any residency provisions in their contracts, as the 10-mile range works well for them, and these localities would suddenly face serious management and logistical issues.
We ask you to support Amendment 445 filed by Senator Brownsberger that would strike Section 37 in the budget bill and leave the residency law unchanged. As written, Section 37 would be a major policy change that would impact police and fire departments across the Commonwealth. We believe that the state law works as it is written. No bills have been filed regarding the public safety residency issue, and thus we ask you to keep the law in place, rather than acting on an issue that hasn’t even been the subject of legislation or public hearings.
McKinney-Vento Mandate Reimbursement
We ask you to support Amendment 361 filed by Senator Lovely and Amendment 390 filed by Senator Creem that would increase from $6.1 million to $11.3 million the appropriation to pay for the unfunded state mandate to provide transportation services to homeless students to schools outside the local school district. This would level-fund the program at the fiscal 2013 amount, following the recent reversal of the 9C cut imposed by the Governor in December.
Shannon Anti-Gang Grants Program
We support Amendment 436 filed by Senator Donoghue and others that would increase funding for the Shannon Anti-Gang Grant Program from $6.3 million to $7.8 million. This program is crucial to assist those communities dealing with very challenging public safety and gang-related issues.
Student Transportation Reimbursements
We ask you to support Amendment 322 filed by Senator Moore that would add $2 million to reimbursements to school districts to help pay for a portion of the costs of transporting students (increasing the account to $51.5 million). DESE estimates that it would require $78 million to cover the state’s full share of this program, which demonstrates how far the Commonwealth is from meeting its commitment. The additional funding would certainly help all communities in regional school districts. It is important to note that this amendment would build on the impressive and very much appreciated increase proposed in the Senate Ways and Means Committee budget.
Payment-in-Lieu-of-Taxes for State-owned Land (PILOT)
We ask you to support Amendment 55 filed by Senator Rodrigues that would increase from $26.3 million to $27.3 million the reimbursements paid under the law to cities and towns that host and provide municipal services to state facilities. PILOT payments are vitally important for those cities and towns that host state facilities, and the program has been underfunded for many years.
Paying for Emergency Medical Services
We ask you to support Amendment 110 filed by Senator Donnelly that would strike Section 92 of S. 3, as that section would make a detrimental change to how cities and towns set fees for emergency medical services. Cities and towns set fees and charges for a wide variety of municipal services, strictly limited by state law to the cost of providing the service. This is the same rule that applies to local rate setting for emergency ambulance services and ensures that rates are reasonable and prevents insurance companies from shifting costs to local property taxpayers through below-cost reimbursements. The Senate approved legislation last session that clarified this authority, but that important measure was vetoed by the Governor. While Section 92 would address the increasingly problematic “pay-the-patient” tactic used by insurance companies, it would take a step back by allowing the commissioner of insurance to set local rates through regulation, and it would undermine a local process that is currently fair and working well across the Commonwealth.
Employer Medical Assistance Contribution
We ask you to support Amendment 632 filed by Senator Creem that would explicitly exempt governmental entities from making employer medical assistance contributions for purposes of unemployment insurance. Historically, the Commonwealth, municipalities and other governmental units have not been assessed this fee. This amendment would codify that practice in law by exempting governmental employers, and this clarification would avoid unintended confusion in the future and make certain that cities and towns would not be subject to an unnecessary and costly mandate.
Protection of the Public from West Nile Virus
Last year, 33 Massachusetts residents contracted West Nile Virus. We ask you to support Amendment 63 filed by Senator Ross to allow municipal health departments, public works staff, and mosquito control agencies to use their own trained workers and seasonal employees to control Culex mosquitoes that are developing in catch basins, instead of being required to use highly specialized professional pesticide applicators.
The pesticide applicator’s exam is based on 400 pages of material that covers the use of a wide variety of pesticides used for vegetation management, rodent control and insect control. For a seasonal position, the volume of study material is an inappropriate requirement. The metropolitan Boston area alone has thousands of catch basins, and this amendment would allow cities and towns to continue to use seasonal and other employees to dispense packets in catch basins to kill West Nile infected larvae before they pose a threat to humans. This amendment would allow municipalities to continue to use seasonal and other workers to respond to the risk of West Nile Virus.
Summary
The tragic events at the Boston marathon last month have demonstrated the resiliency and strength that defines Massachusetts. Images of the heroism of our public safety professionals, the bravery of volunteers and neighbors and strangers, and the skill of doctors, nurses and first responders will be with all of us forever. As the Commonwealth moves forward, we will do so together, focusing on those issues, priorities and challenges that unite us and make this a special place. Local officials deeply appreciate the strong and abiding partnership with the Senate and look forward to working with you in the days, months and years ahead in this spirit.
If you have any questions or would like any additional information regarding the fiscal 2014 state budget, please do not hesitate to contact me or MMA Legislative Director John Robertson at (617) 426-7272 ext. 122 or jrobertson@mma.org at any time.
Thank you again for your very strong support for cities and towns during the fiscal 2014 state budget process.
Sincerely,
Geoffrey C. Beckwith
Executive Director, MMA