Bosley Comments On Tough Budget Year
BOSTON – With the conclusion of the Conference Committee late Thursday evening, State Representative Daniel E. Bosley (D – North Adams) commented on the FY 2009 spending plan, saying; “This has been a very tough budget process due to a billion dollar deficit from the beginning. Fortunately, through diligence these past few months, we were able to secure funding for many programs in the 1st Berkshire District and across the Commonwealth that are vital to the prosperity and economic development of the state.”The major programs benefiting Franklin County include:
The Councils on Aging received a $73,000 boost to its overall budget of $8,537,068. As the lead sponsor of this amendment during the initial House budget debate, Representative Bosley was instrumental in securing this funding increase and made a passionate speech on the house floor during the debate. This allotment allows the formula grant to increase from $6.50 per elder to $7 per elder, which is significant considering that it is a tight budget year and the COA has been advocating for this increase for the past two budgets.
In addition to that, $50,000 was earmarked for public safety on the Deerfield and Upper Connecticut River. The main intent of this earmark is to protect property owners along the river in the Town of Charlemont. With two major rafting companies and multiple places to launch a raft or tube, there have been issues of trespassing and property damage to those who reside on the river. These funds will be used in conjunction with the Charlemont Police Department.
In addition to that, Representative Bosley, the House Chair of the Regional Transit Authorities Caucus, alongside the entire western Massachusetts delegation, secured $57,888,391 for RTAs across the Commonwealth, a $2.6 million increase from FY ’08. This funding would ensure that proposed service reductions that threaten to affect consistent transportation and will allow RTAs to provide quality, reliable and cost-effective service for seniors, workers, the disabled and the general public.
According to Bosley, “considering the projected economic recession looming for the next few years, this was a particularly tight budget year for the Commonwealth. In spite of this, Franklin County faired well and I am pleased that many programs received level or increased funding.”
In addition to those achievements, Representative Bosley worked alongside the entire Franklin County Delegation to secure funding for other important local and statewide programs, including:
· The Franklin County Delegation was able to secure $200,000 for the Western MA Enterprise Fund to provide workforce training in Western MA
· Working with the lead sponsor, Representative Kulik, $200,000 was secured for Buy Local programs across the Commonwealth
· $30,101,348 was secured for Adult Basic Education, an increase of $1,000,000 from FY ’08
· Working with the lead sponsor, Representative Guyer, $61,300,000 was secured for regional school transportation, an increase of $3,000,000 from FY ’08
· Working with the lead sponsor, Representative Kulik, $50,000 was secured for the Senior Farm Share Program
· The Franklin County Delegation was able to secure $5,500,000 for the Education Pothole account to fill in inadequacies in the budget
· Representative Bosley secured $1,260,697 for the Small Business Technical Assistance program, which offers community development organizations grants to provide technical assistance or training programs to businesses with 20 employees or fewer
· Representative Bosley was able to secure $200,000 for the Small Business Association of New England’s layoff aversion program
The final Conference Committee Report will be sent to the Governor.
