News:
Easton Receives S.A.F.E. Grant
Town Boards May Go Paperless
Dear
Easton
Resident,
Thank
you for the privilege of representing
Easton
in the Massachusetts Senate. Allow me to
provide an overview of state budget deliberations in preparation for your
Fiscal Year 2009 municipal budget.
The
Senate just released its Fiscal Year 2009 budget. This plan increases local aid by 4.43 percent
over last year’s budget, and includes an increase of $223 million to Chapter 70
education aid. Considering the budget
projects 3.8 percent baseline growth in the state’s tax revenue, this increase
clearly demonstrates our commitment to cities, towns and schools.
Additional
highlights in the Senate’s budget include:
- A $5 million increase
for universal pre-kindergarten grants
- $21.3 million in
funding for community policing grants
- $27.4 million in
workforce training grants
- Over $1 million in
additional funding for home care programming, which assists elders with
personal and supportive services allowing them to remain in the community
- $138.4 million or 8.1 percent increase for
housing programs
Also, Senator
Creedon, and Representatives Creedon, Flynn and Canavan and I recently voted to pass a Joint Local Aid Resolution containing good news for Easton.
- An 11.8 percent increase in Chapter 70 state aid
to Easton Schools. ($9,794,246
compared to $8,764,374 in FY08)
- Overall Local Aid to
Easton
will increase 8.3 percent. ($12,999,748
compared to $12,002,930 in FY08)
We
continue our focus at the State House on strengthening the
Massachusetts
economy. These economic development initiatives are
aimed at creating good jobs, fortifying our transportation infrastructure,
increasing our affordable housing supply and ensuring quality, affordable
health insurance for every resident.
The
Senate approved a life sciences bill which provides $500 million in capital
funding for life sciences construction and improvement projects and supports
$250 million in tax incentives for life sciences companies that commit to job
creation. We’ve already seen the
positive results in my district as Organogenesis announced that it will add
several hundred jobs (with an average salary of $77,000) and build its world
headquarters in
Canton
.
We
also passed a $1.35 billion housing bond bill that I authored with
Representative Honan of
Boston
. This legislation will help develop and
preserve a diverse housing stock throughout
Massachusetts
,
and help meet the demand for affordable housing among seniors and the disabled
while enabling more young families to stay in
Massachusetts
and strengthen our economy.
Last
month, the Senate approved legislation authorizing $150 million in local
transportation aid and $2.4 billion in federal funds for road-and-bridge
projects while also installing strict cost-containment reforms to help close
the $15-billion to $19-billion transportation funding gap.
Maintaining
and improving our transportation infrastructure is one of the biggest
challenges we face in
Massachusetts
. By containing costs and insisting on
accountability we generate greater confidence in the safety and durability of
our roads, bridges and public transportation system.
The
Senate also recently passed the next phase of the Commonwealth’s two-year-old
health care reform with a package of new initiatives aimed at bringing down
escalating health care costs and creating greater access to primary care.
This
comprehensive plan seeks to build on the success we have had in
Massachusetts
ensuring
access to quality, affordable health care for everyone. Spiraling costs threaten to derail our
progress and this bill provides the tools needed to help contain them.
Together
we face a tough economic outlook at the local, state and national level. I am very encouraged however by the
commitment to economic development shown by my colleagues at the State House
and the men and women serving their communities in town government. This is a partnership which will help
Massachusetts
weather
the difficult challenges ahead.
I
am happy to hear your thoughts and suggestions at my office (617-722-1643),
home (617-696-0200) or by e-mail (BJoyce@senate.state.ma.us). Thank you for the continued opportunity to
work on your behalf.
Sincerely,
Brian A. Joyce
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