Gov. Deval Patrick has launched his plan to close the state's $600 million budget gap with a blend of cuts in state services and up to 2,000 job cuts, while thus far leaving aid to cities and towns unscathed.
In a somber Friday address to the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce, Patrick said he would immediately begin cutting $277 million in executive branch budgets he controls. He did not specify exactly where but said, "That will affect the level and quality of many of the services that you and others expect from your government."
The governor, however, is also said he would ask the Legislature for permission to cut $75 million in budgets he does not control, including those for the legislative and judicial branches.
In addition, he said he planned to tap $60 million left over from the fiscal year that ended June 30, as well as $62 million in federal stimulus funds, to avoid even deeper cuts.
Dwindling tax collections forced four rounds of budget cuts last year, and their continuation is prompting the latest trimming in the state's $28 billion budget.
Sen. Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, said the state cuts are a step in the right direction even if they are much later coming than he had hoped, and he noted the status of the state's aid to cities and towns.
"There is good news and bad news," Tarr said.
"The governor has made it a point to protect local aid for those who desperately need it," he said, "but the bad news is the economy continues to contract and we are not taking advantage of long-term savings that can be achieved by structural reforms."
Tarr said the depth and scope of the announcement could have been avoided if Patrick had taken action more than a year ago to capture savings.
Tarr noted that one of Patrick's budget-driven proposals — to eliminate Bunker Hill and Evacuation Day holidays — for Boston and Suffolk County is something state Republicans have been proposing for years.
"They are steps in the right direction, but we have proposed a number of other things to save even more money that have been left on the table," Tarr said. "Those should be taken up immediately to avoid harsh cuts in human services."
A number of communities, including Gloucester, began the new fiscal year with a spending budget showing a decrease from the previous year. But city officials have noted the impact of the budget cuts — notably through a series of early-retirement packages and job cuts through that attrition last spring. And the city is moving forward projecting overall revenues based on the state promised by Beacon Hill from the July 1 start of the new fiscal year.
Patrick warned the state's public employee labor unions they had to choose between job cuts and wage concessions.
Executive branch managers — including himself — must take nine furlough days this year, after taking five over the last fiscal year, which ended June 30.
"While we will keep talking, we cannot talk indefinitely," the governor told the unions.
Katie Curley can be reached at kcurley@gloucestertimes.com
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