![]() |
|
|---|---|
Budget Home | Executive Summary | Table of Contents | Section 2| Section 2B | Section 2D Local Aid | Outside Sections | Amendments | Downloads |
|
Executive Summary
Through this executive summary, the Senate Committee on Ways and Means provides highlights of its fiscal year 2007 budget recommendations which focus on building a better future
for the Commonwealth.
Local
Aid
There
is no question that the Commonwealth’s 351 cities and towns have struggled
financially over the past several years.
It is essential that reinvesting at the local level is a top priority.
In order to facilitate that investment, the Committee’s recommendations include
substantial increases in the area of local aid.
Lottery Aid
In
response to the state’s continuing recovery from the fiscal crisis of past
years, the Committee recommendations “uncap” the lottery revenue
distribution. All of the state’s share
of lottery profits will be distributed directly to cities and towns, resulting
in a $158.7 million in increase in aid to municipalities.
Payment in Lieu of Taxes
To reimburse
communities which host state land, these recommendations increase Payment in
Lieu of Taxes Payments (PILOT) by $9.2 million for a total of $25.3
million. This funding will enable cities
and towns with state-owned land within its borders to recover more of the
property tax revenue they have recently been unable to collect.
Chapter 70
The Senate Committee on Ways
and Means’ recommendations for Chapter 70 funding in fiscal year 2007 take an
important step forward in addressing issues of equity and adequacy in education
spending. Aided by the work of the
Senate Task Force on Education Finance in 2004 and the Joint Committee on
Education’s listening tour, our plan will provide immediate help to school
districts and create a framework of reform that can be built upon in future
years. In addition to structural
changes, the Committee is recommending an increase in Chapter 70 aid of more
than $210 million over fiscal year 2006, and maps out a commitment over the
next five years.
The Committee’s plan makes
targeted increases to the foundation budget and works to ensure fairness in the
calculation of state aid and local contributions. Changes to the foundation budget will better
reflect actual district need and spending.
To gain a more accurate picture of municipal ability to pay, aggregate
income and property values are weighed equally.
Additionally, the plan guarantees that, over five years, each school
district will receive state aid amounting to at least 20 percent of its
foundation budget. Finally, the plan increases
both the assumed in-district special education enrollment as well as the
per-pupil allotments for English language learners and students from low-income
families.
Education