The Senate’s high price range author once more expressed reservation Thursday towards Gov. Maura Healey’s plan to make use of surplus {dollars} from the pandemic to pay down huge shelter prices and a deficit this fiscal yr.
Growing doubt within the Legislature round handing more cash to the shelter system comes earlier than the governor has formally filed a invoice with the Legislature, although she did lay out detailed concepts in a report back to high Democrats in December.
Senate Ways and Means Chair Michael Rodrigues mentioned he’s “very protective” of reserve funds.
“I am very protective of the reserve funds that we’ve worked hard to build up, that we’ve acted responsibly over the years to build up. So I’m very protective of them, including the stabilization fund,” the Westport Democrat mentioned, echoing feedback he made final week.
In the primary bi-weekly report submitted to the Legislature final month on the emergency shelter system, Healey floated utilizing $700 million in surplus revenues held in a transitional account to cowl a $224 million price range deficit this yr and a $915 million shelter tab within the subsequent.
Administration and Finance Secretary Matthew Gorzkowicz and Housing Secretary Ed Augustus mentioned the shelter system’s funding problem is a two fiscal yr “problem.”
“The state has the resources available in transitional escrow to put a plan in place that will address FY24 and much of FY25 without requiring offsetting budget cuts to other programs to meet the spending requirements of the family shelter crisis,” the 2 secretaries mentioned within the report.
Gorzkowicz and Augustus mentioned within the Dec. 18 report that the administration deliberate to file a supplemental price range within the “coming weeks” in an effort to place the {dollars} to make use of. About a month later, a spokesman for the Executive Office of Administration and Finance mentioned Thursday there was no replace on timing.
Not all leaders on Beacon Hill are expressly onboard with the thought of shuttling more cash to the shelter system.
House Speaker Ron Mariano expressed hesitancy Wednesday with allocating extra {dollars} to the emergency help shelter system as Massachusetts faces income headwinds. He didn’t immediately tackle whether or not he agreed with Healey’s proposal.
“I mean, obviously, it’s a concern as revenues continue to bottom out and flatten. It becomes harder and harder to support some of these things,” he mentioned.
The Healey administration this week mentioned Massachusetts is predicted to gather $1 billion much less in revenues than initially anticipated when lawmakers crafted the fiscal yr 2024 price range.
In an effort to steadiness the price range, Healey reduce $375 million in spending this fiscal yr and scraped up $625 million in different revenues to shut the hole. But impending monetary challenges have raised questions on shelter spending, which have greater than tripled within the final yr.
Rodrigues mentioned Healey’s determination to chop the price range this fiscal yr was “responsible” and argued the financial system is predicted to develop subsequent fiscal yr, although at a a lot smaller share than earlier yr.
“The governor had to take action that no governor wants to take action on in making cuts midterm. She is the fourth government in a row that had to take those actions,” he mentioned. “I think she did so in a responsible manner.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com”