Budget Monitor: The Fiscal Year 2012 General Appropriations Act

Explore our online budget database Is our research helpful to you? Support our work Contact Info   Noah Berger   President    nberger@massbudget.org   (617) 426-1228 x102  Budget Monitor: The Fiscal Year 2012 General Appropriations Act    July 19, 2011      The Governor and Legislature have now finished work on a budget for Fiscal Year 2012 that addresses a $1.9 billion gap primarily with a combination of cuts and reforms. The outlook for the future remains uncertain.  On the bright side, state tax revenue collections have been significantly exceeding projections.  (Data released today indicate that the FY 2011 tax revenue total was $723 million above the revised estimate).  But there are also reasons for concern:  the national economic recovery remains fragile; while the FY 2012 budget relies on less temporary revenue than the FY 2011 budget, it still relies on close to half a billion dollars of such revenue; and the budget assumes significant Medicaid savings that will be very challenging to achieve in full.       The FY 2012 budget includes deep cuts in a number of areas including $24 million from the Judiciary (including probation) and over $60 million in public higher education.  The final version of the budget also includes $460 million less in local aid in FY 2012 than in the original FY 2009 budget, after accounting for inflation.    This Budget Monitor discusses in more detail several reform initiatives, the funding proposals in the state budget, and the temporary and ongoing revenue initiatives on which the budget depends. The Monitor also compares proposed funding levels for FY 2012 to the FY 2011 levels, and, in some cases to previous years' funding levels.    The report is available at www.massbudget.org or by clicking here.     See MassBudget's Budget Browser to explore Massachusetts state budgets from Fiscal Year 2001 to the present, as well as budget proposals for the next fiscal year as they are offered by the Governor and the Legislature.     MassBudget provides independent research and analysis of state budget and tax policies, as well as economic issues, with particular attention to the effects on low- and moderate-income people.

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Preliminary Analysis: The Governor's Fiscal Year 2012 Budget Vetoes

Explore our online budget database Is our research helpful to you? Support our work Contact Info   Noah Berger   President    nberger@massbudget.org   (617) 426-1228 x102  Preliminary Analysis: The Governor's Fiscal Year 2012 Budget Vetoes  July 11, 2011  Presented with a budget that implemented a fourth year of budget cuts across state government, Governor Patrick today signed that document without using his line-item veto authority to impose any additional cuts.    In signing the budget, the Governor highlighted several reform initiatives in the budget, including: changes in the indigent defense system that aim to save money by shifting some cases from privately contracted lawyers to public defenders; an initiative to try to place homeless families more quickly in permanent housing rather than shelter; and the creation of a new office of Performance, Accountability and Transparency. The Governor vetoed several outside sections and returned a number of them with proposed amendments.  Outside sections are parts of the budget that don't appropriate money.  This preliminary analysis of the Governor's vetoes briefly describes outside sections the Governor vetoed and amendments he proposed to other outside sections. The report is available at www.massbudget.org or by clicking here.     See MassBudget's Budget Browser to explore Massachusetts state budgets from Fiscal Year 2001 to the present, as well as budget proposals for the next fiscal year as they are offered by the Governor and the Legislature.     MassBudget provides independent research and analysis of state budget and tax policies, as well as economic issues, with particular attention to the effects on low- and moderate-income people.

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"the ability of the town to respond to emergencies"

The budget cuts about 31 positions, including two firefighters, two police officers, 5.5 library jobs, four Public Works jobs and more than 14 school positions. It represents a 1.3 percent increase over this year's $88.1 million budget. 

Cuts are needed because of decreased state aid, local revenue and $2 million less in federal school stimulus money. Increased contractual obligations and health insurance costs have led to a rise in the school budget, administrators have said. 

Town Administrator Jeffrey Nutting said on Wednesday that there would be three to four layoffs on the town hall side. The rest of the positions are already vacant or will be by the start of the fiscal year next month.

Read more: http://www.milforddailynews.com/archive/x1125485939/Franklin-OKs-89M-budget#ixzz1OrbdjsOl

Franklin Public Schools - Budget Book FY 2012

The School Budget Book for Fiscal Year 2012 (FY 2012) is ready for review. Each section is stored as it's own file.

1. Executive Summary
2. District Improvement Plan (DIP)
3. Achievement Profile
4. Enrollment
5. Frequently Asked Questions
6. Overview
7. ECDC
8. Davis Thayer
9. Jefferson
10. Keller
11. Kennedy
12. Oak St
13. Parmenter
14. Horace Mann MS
15. Remington MS
16. Annie Sullivan MS
17. Franklin High School
18. Central Office
19. Curriculum-Instruction
20. Pupil Personnel Services
21. Transportation
22. Grant Budgets

You can also review the folder of all the documents made public on Franklin Matters here


Franklin, MA

Franklin, MA: School Budget Book - FY 2012

The full and complete budget book for the FY 2012 school budget. This is scheduled for discussion Tuesday at the School Committee meeting beginning at 7:00 PM.

- The Budget Book is not available yet. Due to the way it was packaged with Adobe, it is not viewable via my normal sources - I'll correct it as soon as possible.

You can view the presentation from Saturday
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2011/01/budget-workshop-preliminary-school.html

and the document handout (which is the intro to the Budget Book)
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2011/01/school-budget-workshop-hand-out-from.html


Note: email subscribers will need to click through to Franklin Matters to view the document.

Franklin, MA

Budget Workshop: Preliminary School Budget

The presentation used during Saturday's budget workshop for the FY 2012 budget for the Franklin (MA) Public Schools.

Franklin Public Schools FY2012 Preliminary Budget


My notes reported live from the Budget workshop can be found here and here

Note: Email subscribers will need to click through to Franklin Matters to view the document


Franklin, MA

"a tough budget season for the town of Franklin"

Under Patrick's plan, local aid to Franklin would be cut by $228,753.

In fiscal 2011, the town's aid from the state was reduced by more than $1 million, according to state Department of Revenue figures.

Patrick's plan, unveiled this week, would cut the fiscal 2012 budget by $570 million. Aid to cities and towns would be reduced by $65 million, but Chapter 70 funding for public schools would rise by $140 million.

"It sounds like the governor wants to preserve school funding," Town Council Vice Chairman Stephen Whalen said. "If that helps us not have as big a deficit with the schools, then that's great."

School budgeting is always challenging because it involves special education and other costs that are difficult to control, Whalen said.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here

Additional information on the FY 2012 budget can be found here

Friendly reminder: the School budget workshop is Saturday, Jan 29th beginning at 8:30 AM in the Municipal Bldg, 3rd floor Training Room.



Franklin, MA

Preliminary Analysis: The Governor's Fiscal Year 2012 Budget

Explore our online budget database Is our research helpful to you? Support our work Contact Info   Noah Berger   President   nberger@massbudget.org   (617) 426-1228 x102   Tom Benner   Communications Director   tbenner@massbudget.org   (617) 426-1228 x100 Preliminary Analysis: The Governor's Fiscal Year 2012 Budget Wednesday, January 26, 2011    The Governor's budget proposal (House 1) for Fiscal Year 2012 recommends both significant reforms and deep cuts.  While the national economy is still struggling to recover from a recession worse than any since the depression of the 1930s, the assistance that the federal government had provided to reduce the severity of state budget cuts during this economic crisis is ending.   As a result, the coming budget year will likely be even more challenging than the past three. This Preliminary Analysis provides a quick overview of the Governor's budget proposal. The report, Preliminary Analysis: The Governor's Fiscal Year 2012 Budget, is available at www.massbudget.org or by clicking here. A more complete analysis will be provided in our Budget Monitor, which will be released late next week. MassBudget provides independent research and analysis of state budget and tax policies, as well as economic issues, with particular attention to the effects on low- and moderate-income people.

FY2012 Local Aid Proposals

The FY2012 local aid estimates based on Governor Deval Patrick's budget proposal have been posted to the Division of Local Services' web site at the link below:

http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=dorsubtopic&L=5&L0=Home&L1=Local+Officials&L2=Municipal+Data+and+Financial+Management&L3=Cherry+Sheets&L4=FY2012+Cherry+Sheets&sid=Ador

The Governor's budget proposal recommends funding FY2012 Chapter 70 at $3.990 billion or $139.3 million higher than FY2011.  The Governor's budget also recommends reducing Unrestricted General Government Aid by $65 million to $834.0 million in FY2012.  Most other cherry sheet accounts are funded at the FY2011 level.

Please be advised that these estimates are based on the appropriation levels appearing in the Governor's FY2012 budget proposal (House 1) and may change as the legislative process unfolds and proposed appropriation levels change.

Please note that Charter School and School Choice assessments may change significantly when updated to reflect spring enrollment data and final tuition rates.

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (ESE) has published the Chapter 70 aid calculations, minimum contributions and net school spending requirements on the Office of School Finance website at:

 http://finance1.doe.mass.edu/chapter70/chapter_12p.html

To review additional information about how the estimates were determined and what may cause them to change in the future, click on the link at the bottom for an index of the FY2012 programs and links to individual explanations.

If you have questions about these estimates please call Lisa Juszkiewicz at (617) 626-2386, or Jared Curtis at (617) 626-2320.

From the MA DLS email

State Budget updates

The Legislature and the administration of Gov. Deval Patrick yesterday set the consensus revenue figure for FY12 at $20.525 billion. This revenue figure will now be the starting point for budget proposals that will come from the Governor, House and Senate.

The Governor's proposal, to be released later this month, will deal with a structural deficit of approximately $1.5 billion created largely by the absence of federal stimulus funds, limited state reserves, case load pressures and inflationary growth, particularly in health care related programs. As he indicated in his inaugural address, Gov. Patrick's proposed budget is expected to highlight investments in education, health care and in job creation, as well as to propose government reforms.

Read the full post on the DOR website here

Nearly all future state and municipal employees would work five years longer, contribute more to their pensions, and have their benefits slashed if they retire early under a bill Governor Deval Patrick and legislative leaders unveiled yesterday.

Eighteen months after state leaders eliminated loopholes in the pension system, the new proposal would go beyond merely curbing abuses. It would, Patrick said, fundamentally change retirement benefits for thousands of future teachers, police officers, firefighters, and other public workers, in an attempt to save $5 billion over the next 30 years.

Read the full post here on the Budget Blues website

Why should the State budget matter to Franklin? 
Half, yes, you heard that correctly - half our school budget is funded by the State.



Franklin, MA

Fiscal year 2012 - budget information

This page collects all the writing and information on the FY 2012 budget

Long Range Financial Planning Committee meetings

• Long Range Financial Planning Committee 02/23/11
• Long Range Financial Planning Committee 02/09/11
• Long Range Financial Planning Committee 01/05/11

School Budget Workshop
Preliminary School Budget document
Handout for the Workshop
Workshop notes - part 1
Workshop notes - part 2

School Space needs report

Kindergarten: full vs. half-day
My analysis from 2010 can be found here

School budget hearing (held 2/15/11)


Center for American Progress report touts Franklin as a high performing district


Mass Budget's analysis of the Gov Budget (1/26/11)

Gov Patrick's full budget for FY 2012 (1/26/11)

Gov Patrick's local aid and Chap 70 (1/26/11)

Gov Patrick proposes local aid cuts (1/21/11)

Chapter 70 info from MASSBudget (1/5/11)

Capital expenditures from 'free cash' FY 2010 (12/8/10)

Jeff Nutting's outlook from November 2010 (11/03/10)

Town Budget workshop from Jan 2010
This three hour meeting was recorded and the documents used are all available here
The numbers will change for this year but the story behind the numbers won't differ much.

Citizens against waste - question collection


Franklin, MA

In the News - field hockey clinic, Elks fund raiser, shortfall foreseen

Franklin High School field hockey coaches holding instructional clinic

from The Milford Daily News News RSS by GateHouse Media, Inc.

Franklin Elks host fundraiser

from The Milford Daily News News RSS by GateHouse Media, Inc.

Shortfall may mean loss of jobs

from The Milford Daily News News RSS by Ashley Studley, Daily News staff

Franklin, MA