Healey, Driscoll Outline Municipal Funding Plans at MMA Conference
The conference ran 'The Tonight Show' skit that had three Boston stars reading off the names of all 351 cities and towns.
Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll have the Massachusetts Municipal Association's annual conference a small preview of the upcoming budget and other initiatives at Friday morning's opening session.
Healey expounded on her State of the Commonwealth address given Thursday night, and the state's efforts to maintain its even keel despite a less than helpful federal government.
"They're driving prices up and they're making things more difficult for all of us, whether that's freezing food and health benefits or cutting off services with for veterans," said the governor. on Friday. "Last month we're dealing with taking away health care. I mean, the hits just keep coming. But you know, we just have to stand strong together.
"And I think now more than ever, we just need to double down on our partnership and our collaboration."
She reminded the gathering during her talk that America was founded because of Massachusetts, and that we still vote in town meetings, and play catch on town commons where the militia once drilled.
"I think we can be a really positive response and a role model, frankly, for the country right now, people who are looking for stability, common sense, and a focus on their lives, what matters to them," the governor said.
She said her administration will continue working on health insurance, education, housing and energy.
The state's goal to fill the gap of 220,000 homes by 2035 is almost halfway there with 100,000 homes built, permitted or under construction, Healey said. Unused state land has been turned to housing and there are efforts to encourage turning vacant office space to the same use.
In her State of the State, she announced plans to expand down payment assistance for first-time homebuyers to $25,000.
"We are going to continue to stay laser focused on building more and building faster," Healey said. "I know your communities depend on it. Our economy depends on it."
Driscoll added that the lack of housing is affecting municipalities' ability to find staffing as much as it's affecting businesses.
"One of the biggest challenges I heard when we were on municipal listening sessions, is 'I can't hire people,'" she said. "We really want to focus on how we can have some solid Workforce Initiatives, but housing is a big piece of that."
A major challenge is the federal government's pulling of health care funding but the state was able to keep 270,000 people on health care.
"They were people who were going to see their premiums skyrocket, effectively taken insurance away from them, and we were able to keep them covered," she said. In addition, she plans to reform prior reauthorization for treatments and put together a working group to look at short and long-term solutions for health-affordability.
In energy, the power line opened with HydroQuebec will supply about 20 percent of the state's energy and is projected to reduce ratepayer costs overall by $50 million, and further regional partnerships will look for ways to proved cheaper energy costs. Consumers will also see a 25 percent reduction on electricity and 10 percent off gas bills for February and March.
Driscoll updated the conference on what the administration is planning in terms of its proposed $10.4 billion aid funding.
"That's an increase in chapter 70 [education aid], in veterans benefits and in UGGA [Unrestricted General Government Aid]," said Driscoll, updating the local leaders on municipal matters. "We're going to have more to say on budgets in terms of additional opportunities for us to celebrate the good work you're doing and enhance it.
"I want you to know this is a key priority throughout the entire budget process."
The unrestricted aid is proposed to increase by 2.5 percent, at about $33 million and Student Opportunity Act will get $7.6 billion for its seventh and final year, a $242 million increase, and rural school by $8 million for a total of $20 million.
The administration also Friday morning refiled a Chapter 90 transportation bill of $1.2 billion, with a 50 percent increase over what was proposed for the five-year plan last year, she said to applause, adding they are still looking at the formula mileage to give rural communities more of a bump.
"We have many municipal bridges that just missed the threshold for qualifying for state funding because they may be just a few feet short," the lieutenant governor said. "We've already identified 18 bridges, many of which are closed, a lot of which are in Western Mass that we are going to lean into, put investment to get those bridges reopened."
As a former mayor, Driscoll said she was very aware how difficult large infrastructure projects can be for communities. The One-Stop for Growth portal has opened for applications and communities should have something under construction, in the pipeline and under design to take advantage of those programs.
The conference, Connect 351, brought hundreds of local officials and municipal employees to the Thomas Menino Convention Center for workshops, trade show and networking.
The three-event kicked off Thursday, and Friday's morning session started with "Three Guys From Boston" video, in which Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Jimmy Fallon named off every town in the state.
Boston Mayor Brianna Wu welcomed the conference; Timothy Shriver, president of the Special Olympics was the keynote speaker on building skills to treat others with dignity to ease divisions and violence; U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey were to speak on Saturday morning.
MMA Executive Director Adam Chapdelaine pointed to the analysis done on municipal finance and recommendations that came out of it.
Communities are facing a funding gap with three out of four bumping up against their levy limits under Proposition 2 1/2, and unrestricted state aid lower than it was two decades ago based on inflation.
"This isn't just a rainy day. This is a structural issue. When all of you are cutting, you are not cutting fat, you are now cutting bone," he said.
"The message that we need to carry, and we will carry, to Beacon Hill, is that the competitiveness and success of the commonwealth depends on the fiscal health of cities and towns."
Tags: healey, MMA, state officials,
