A Local Look At Governor Patrick's Budget Numbers

Governor Patrick has now released his budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year.  Despite media headlines about budget cuts, it is the first $30+ billion budget in the Commonwealth's history!

Local officials might think that higher spending is good news for local communities, because it would help lower property taxes.  Unfortunately, that's not the case.  Local aid was cut about 7% across the board.  Most of the increased spending is going to Medicaid (known in Massachusetts as MassHealth), as an increasing number of residents enroll in the program.

Here's how local aid looks for the moment:

Unrestricted Municipal Aid (UMA), state aid that supplements local governance, was cut 7.23% across the board.  At the same time, except for the Haverhill Public School System and Whittier Tech, Chapter 70 aid increased only .54%.  (Both the Haverhill schools and Whittier saw substantial Chapter 70 increases.)

With the decrease in UMA and increase in Chapter 70, most communities in the 2nd Essex will see minor (but not unimportant) losses in state aid under the Governor's proposal over the FY-2011 Budget.

The Governor's budget is the first step towards finalizing the budget in June.  In the intervening time, both the House and Senate will release their competing proposals -- we'll be sure to blog about new developments.

Friends of Jim Young Fundraiser

Last September, Merrimac's Jim Young was severely injured on the job for Georgetown Electric in an electrical accident. Because of the accident, Jim lost both his arms.  Jim volunteers at many local clubs and is also one of Merrimac's Light Commissioners.

 

On Saturday, January 22, at the Moose Lodge in Merrimac, the Friends of Jim Young are hosting a fundraiser to benefit the Young family. There will be a DJ, dancing, silent auctions, raffles and more!  The event kicks of at 7 P.M.

 

Tickets can be purchased at the event -- $15 per person and $25 per couple. Contact Lisa O'Neil for more information on raffle or event tickets at 978-394-1182.

Bates Bridge Update

With the New Year comes new information on the Bates Bridge project: you can see work in the river everyday – and it’s now 9% complete.

In spite of a cold November & December, crews are working from two barges on the river and have finished installing cofferdams for what will be piers 3 and 4 of the new bridge. Contractor Cianbro has also started installing piling for a retaining wall on the Haverhill side.

With almost all overhead and underground utility relocations completed on the Haverhill side along Groveland Street, Old Ferry Road and Orchard Avenue, the work is going much more slowly on the Groveland side along Main Street. We’ll stay on that.

To see pictures of the construction progress, go to the Groveland/Haverhill Bates Bridge Reconstruction page.

"Spotlight Georgetown" Talks Bates Bridge Project

Heidi Michitson recently sat down with Beverly Enos -- host of "Spotlight Georgetown," -- to talk about the Groveland/Haverhill Bridge Reconstruction Project.  The interview will air on GCTV (Georgetown Community Television) starting this Friday, January 7th.  Showtimes are Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays at 8 A.M. and 8 P.M.

Photo: Georgetown Record

GCTV is channel 9 for Comcast subscribers and channel 42 for Verizon subscribers.