The Massachusetts state budget, which both legislative chambers on Beacon Hill passed Monday, was late. It passed 31 days after the last budget expired on June 30. A 10-day period for Governor Maura Healey has begun when she will review the document and issue any vetoes.
On June 20, for the first time since the shroud of the coronavirus fell upon Springfield, city councilors confronted Mayor Domenic Sarno, faccie e faccie, in chambers as he presented his budget for new fiscal year.
The budget process is always political. This is true whether the context is the hottest set of races Springfield has seen in a decade or not. Yet, on display at the City Council meeting last Monday was proof that chambers had become an area in the city’s political battlefield this cycle.
State money allocated to Springfield via Chapter 90 is nothing new to the City Council. Every year, the body formally accepts the disbursement. In recent years, city officials have paired it with bonding to maximize road repairs. The annual allocation has also been flat.
On Thursday, following commonwealth’s upper legislative chamber’s announcement, the Massachusetts House of Representatives released committee assignments for the 193rd General Court. For the 413, the changes ranged from minimal to dramatic.
The city of Springfield should thank Charles Ryan, at least partly, for having the breathing room to whether this mother of all crises.
SPRINGFIELD—Despite roughly two hours of often passionate debate, the City Council here unanimously approved Mayor Domenico Sarno’s budget for fiscal year 2022 without cuts. With some help from the American Rescue Plan, the $756 million spending plan largely peels city government off the floor after going into a defensive fiscal crouch during the coronavirus pandemic.
SPRINGFIELD—Aside from a one-liner admonishing a permit-seeker’s counsel to not interrupt the Council president, the sequels to a few permit hearings last Monday were no better than the originals in the preceding weeks.
UPDATED 4:30PM: An earlier version of this post indicated the Springfield City Council will vote to approve the budget this week. That vote will actually be later in June.
Springfield is set to emerge from the pandemic in relatively fiscal good shape as the city’s various organs come together to approve the budget.
HARTFORD—Connecticut was among the first places that took COVID-19 in the gut last spring. The fears of variants haunt everyone here as well. However, the state has become a model for coronavirus response, becoming a leader in testing and vaccination. However, like countless other places