On balance the budget passed by the legislature and under review by Governor Charlie Baker is not bad. Like many a budget, it includes goodies for members, some substantive, others less so. One non-politician political winner is the poor, who saw the Earned Income Tax
On Wednesday, the commonwealth and its 351 municipalities began anew, as localities closed the books on fiscal year 2015 and began FY2016. The state itself has not delivered a full-year spending plan. Others squeezed it in at the last minute. Springfield did not get its
SPRINGFIELD—With the close of the fiscal year anon, the City Council spent much of its time Monday night approving budget transfers to balance out accounts. There was a fair amount of policy afoot, too, from historic preservation to labor relations, although little of it generated
SPRINGFIELD—For the second year in a row, Mayor Domenic Sarno’s municipal budget achieved passage without any modification from the City Council. The $594.9 million spending plan was touted for needing no reserves or layoffs to bridge deficits. However, councilors did express reservations about the city’s
This week the Massachusetts Senate made a long overdue move in a fiscally responsible way that reflects the needs of our commonwealth and its neediest citizens. By a 29-11 vote—sufficient to override a veto if the House concurs—the Senate voted to permanently freeze the income
SPRINGFIELD—Cameras and unfunded mandates were the order of the day at the City Council Monday night. These two items dominated much of the agenda with the remainder of the agenda dispensed somewhat expediently. Council President Michael Fenton informed the Council at-large Councilor Thomas Ashe and
SPRINGFIELD—In a rather subdued press conference for the fairly good news, Mayor Domenic Sarno flanked by Chief of Staff Denise Jordan and Chief Administrative and Financial Officer Timothy Plante formally released the municipal budget for fiscal year 2016. Measuring in at just a few million
UPDATED 5/7/15 4:03PM: To reflect a correction. A previous version of this story indicated that local aid formulas from the state were affected by property values. While this is true, the implications upon Proposition 2 ½ and property taxes, and not local aid, is the
SPRINGFIELD—Following a more scintillating conversation with the city’s State Senators on the budget, the City Council held its first full meeting in nearly a month clearing end of fiscal year transfers, committee reports and somewhat embarrassing special act. Following one of the bigger WTF moments
SPRINGFIELD—As it capped off 2014, the City Council formally and narrowly approved the tax rates for residential and commercial property following the annual deliberation over which group of tax payers were more in greater need of relief. On a 7-6 vote, the Council approved rates that