State aid cuts affect some local communities more than others

Communities across the commonwealth are bracing for Thursday when Gov. Deval Patrick is expected to announce budget cuts, which will hit some communities harder than others.Saugus has spent the last two years recovering from its own financial disaster and officials are not looking forward to having a second economic crisis thrust upon them. However, Town Manager Andrew Bisignani said he doesn’t believe the cuts will be as hard on Saugus as it will be for other communities.”In Saugus less than 16 percent of our revenue is state aid,” he said. “Other communities get as much as 60 percent of their budgets from the state.”Lynn Mayor Edward Clancy said it could be Armageddon for his city, which counts 58 percent of its budget as state aid.”I’ve been saying this for a long time,” Clancy said Monday. “We are in a devastating position.”Clancy said the inability to raise taxes, which are at levy capacity, combined with state aid cuts, leaves services caught in the crossfire.While he doesn’t expect Thursday’s revelations to result in layoffs yet, it is, he said, a bleak situation, nonetheless.Revere is also facing a possible bleak situation since it relies on state aid for 35 percent of its budget, followed by Peabody which picks up 20 percent of its budget from state aid.Peabody Mayor Michael Bonfanti and his staff has been preparing for these cuts since they were first announced months ago. He asked all departments to trim 5 percent from their current budget and ordered that all potential hires come across his desk first. But, it’s all in preparation – Bonfanti said there’s no telling just how much Peabody will be affected.”It’ll have a devastating impact on us all,” he said. “Until (Patrick) gets the 9C authority and makes those cuts official, we’re just not sure.”Bonfanti said it’s not only how much, but when the cuts would have to be made.”When you have 9C cuts in the middle of a budget cycle, it really causes some disruption,” he said. “If (Patrick) says to hold off until the next fiscal cycle, that’d be helpful.”A proposed 10 percent cut in local aid would equal at least $3.2 million for the city of Peabody, said Bonfanti. And with those cuts, could come the loss of several programs, including those for after-school children and adults with mental health disabilities.”Some things don’t impact you directly,” he said. “They do so indirectly.”Even smaller towns such as Nahant are primed to feel the pinch of Thursday’s announcement. Nahant’s budget is comprised of 8 percent state aid and a 5 percent cut would result in the loss of $25,000. Town officials said they hope the cut won’t result in layoffs or a cut in services but Town Administrator Mark Cullinan said he won’t truly know the impact until he knows the cuts.Like Bisignani in Saugus and Clancy in Lynn, Cullinan is also looking at the budget cuts with an eye on fiscal 2010, which starts July 1.The mid-year budget cuts are also coming with a warning that state aid will likely be cut another 5 to 10 percent in fiscal 2010.Clancy said winnowing the number of city employees through attrition and other small cuts might get the city any cuts announced Thursday, but it won’t get it through 2010. At that point, he said the city would definitely be looking at layoffs.”The bottom line is is the bottom line,” Clancy said. “I can’t print money and some times people who work here or do business with us don’t seem to recognize that fact.”