The Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) will be conducting a public hearing on the upcoming Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 budget. Secretary JudyAnn Bigby, M.D., and the Assistant Secretaries at EOHHS are looking forward to hearing the views of members of the community regarding the agencies under their purview.

When

Friday, December 2, 2011, 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM

Where

Department of Mental Health Western Massachusetts Area Office
Northampton Haskell Building
1 Prince Street
Northampton, MA 01061

The hearing will be tentatively divided as follows:

  • 3:00 to 3:45
    Disabilities and Community Services – MCDHH, MCB, MRC, DDS
  • 3:45 to 4:30
    Health Services - DMH, DPH, DHCFP, MassHealth
  • 4:30 to 5:15
    Veterans, Elder Affairs, Soldiers’ Homes
  • 5:15 to 6:00
    Children, Youth and Families - DCF, DYS, ORI, DTA

Since FY09, the Patrick-Murray Administration, in partnership with the Legislature, has solved over $14 billion in cumulative budgetary shortfalls. Because of several one-time revenue sources and the continued demand for services, FY13 will be challenging and require cuts and reductions and the need for the Administration to make difficult decisions.

To overcome this budget challenge, we will need to work together to reexamine all public services and their delivery and find innovative solutions so that we can continue our mission with minimal disruption. Governor Patrick, Secretary Bigby and all of us at EOHHS are seeking your input about the best ways to preserve core services to the fullest extent possible without additional expenditures.

Due to the number of individuals anticipated to attend the hearings, oral testimony will be limited to three minutes per individual. In the interest of time, representative panels are welcome and will be limited to a total of five minutes of oral testimony. If you need accommodations please call 617-573-1600 and let the receptionist know. Additionally, if you are planning to present oral testimony, you must be in the building by no later than 5:50 p.m.

Written testimony is also strongly encouraged and may be mailed to:

Secretary JudyAnn Bigby, EOHHS
One Ashburton Place, Room 1109
Boston, MA 02108

Or emailed to: eohhshearings@massmail.state.ma.us

This information is provided by the Executive Office of Health and Human Services.