by Kim Siebert MacPhail
On July 8th, Governor Patrick signed into law a $ 32.5 billion budget that raises local aid to cities and towns over FY12 funding by $289 million.
According to the Massachusetts Municipal Association’s website, here are the ways in which communities like Bedford will benefit:
- $65 million in guaranteed funding for unrestricted municipal aid has been added to local aid distributions known as “Cherry Sheets”;
- $34.7 million has been added to the Chapter 70 education aid account. This guarantees $40 per student minimum aid for all school districts;
- Special education circuit breaker reimbursements have been fully funded at $242 million, an increase of $29 million over fiscal 2012;
- The McKinney-Vento transportation mandate ($11.3 million) has been funded. The mandate,funded largely by individual communities until now, guarantees transportation for homeless children from the community where they receive temporary housing to the community in which they attend school;
- The regional school transportation account has been increased by $2 million to $45.5
million.
The budget also funds a one-time increase of up to $25 million for Community Preservation Act (CPA) matching funds in fiscal 2014. The exact amount of the increase will depend on fiscal 2013 state budget surpluses.
The budget also expands the CPA in that it allows cities and towns to use Community Preservation funds to improve existing recreational and park facilities, rather than to only create new facilities. It also allows communities to consider the possibility of other funding sources for such projects and improvements, such as Community Development Block Grants.
For a more complete summary of how the budget affects aid to cities and towns, see https://www.mma.org/local-aid-and-finance/6692-legislature-enacts-final-fy13-state-budget.
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