Monday, April 29, 2013
Peabody Republican Leah Cole will officially take office on Beacon Hill May 1, representing the 12th Essex District.
Peabody's new state representative will finally be sworn into office this week, just shy of a month after winning a closely contested three-way special election. Leah Cole tells Peabody Patch a ceremony is scheduled for Wednesday morning at the State House and she's ready to get to work. Cole, a 24-year-old Republican, narrowly defeated seasoned city politicians Beverley Griffin Dunne and David Gravel on April 2 in what was her first ever bid for public office. Cole is the 30th member of the GOP in the Mass. House of Representatives, which finally passed a $34 billion budget onto the Senate last week. She will, however, still get a chance to have a say on next year's state budget. Once the Senate agrees on a spending plan, the budget will …
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Veteran lawmaker and 96 of his colleagues backing $500 million transportation plan that seeks to do far less than ambitious $1.9 billion tax increase governor outlined in January. The Senate is scheduled to consider the House bill Thursday.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
The veteran lawmaker and 96 of his colleagues are backing a $500 million transportation plan that seeks to do far less than the ambitious $1.9 billion tax increase the governor outlined in January.
State Rep. Ted Speliotis says that unlike down in the nation's capitol, Massachusetts has to live within its means. That's why he voted Monday night after about 10 hours of debate for a transportation bill and tax plan Gov. Deval Patrick has threatened to veto. The bill approved by the House of Representatives in a 97-55 vote would generate $500 million in new taxes in order to close the MBTA's operating deficit, stop borrowing money to pay for state transportation employees' salaries and invest another $100 million in the upkeep of local roads and sidewalks. The House plan, which fell several votes short of a veto-proof margin, would increase the gas tax by 3 cents, hike tobacco taxes and impose a tax on information technology services. …
Monday, January 28, 2013
Peabody, along with many other cities and towns, would see an increase in local aid under Gov. Patrick's proposed budget.
Under the governor's budget plan for Fiscal 2014, Peabody, along with many other cities and towns, would get a decent bump in state aid. We're talking around 2 percent, in fact. According to local aid budget documents available on the state's website, Peabody is due to receive $25.48 million in total aid from the state by the close of Fiscal 2013 in June. The figures for FY14, however, total at $26 million. That's still about $3.5 million shy, however, of what Peabody received back in 2007, which has steadily decreased each year since then except for in FY2012. The increase of $523,873 for FY2014 would be evenly split between education and general government aid. The Chapter 70 allotment is slated for a $153,725 increase, along with $86,…
Peabody could see more state money if legislators approve the Fiscal 2014 budget proposed by Gov. Deval Patrick, but that's not a given at this point.
Within the ambitious state budget proposed by Gov. Deval Patrick last week, which seeks to focus on education and transportation funding, Peabody is slated to get a 2 percent increase in state aid. State Rep. Ted Speliotis (D-Danvers), who also represents West Peabody, called it a "good bump," but also warned that it may be a "tease" from Patrick, who is hoping to get legislators to approve a proposed increase in the income tax and so-called "sin taxes" on candy and cigarettes. Given the still sluggish state of the economy and job growth, he argues now is not the right time to raise taxes. New state Sen. Joan Lovely briefly addressed the proposed budget on Friday at a forum of North Shore small business owners. She was noncommittal in her …
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
The plan focuses on investments in transportation and education while calling for an income tax increase coupled with a lower sales tax.
Gov. Deval Patrick, in submitting his $34.8 billion budget to the legislature on Wednesday, said the proposed income tax hike is part of a comprehensive package aimed at investing in the state's infrastructure and in driving growth. The proposal asks for an increase in the income tax from 5.25 percent to 6.25 percent coupled with a reduction in the sales tax from 6.25 percent to 4.5 percent. It also doubles personal exemptions. Despite the proposed income tax hike, Patrick says that low- and modest-income workers will pay less in taxes under his proposal, and only the "more fortunate see a larger increase." "I do not submit this proposal lightly. I understand that many households in Massachusetts continue to struggle from the impact of …
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Sen. Berry tacked on several additions to the Senate's version of the FY13 state budget, which is more than $32 billion. The amendments address everything from helping increase municipal recycling programs to creating a safety symposium for mental health
Karl
12:04 pm on Wednesday, April 10, 2013
So Ted, is there anything in this budget that addresses all the waste, fraud and abuse that runs rampant through the MBTA? Until you do that I won't support raising my taxes to pay for any of this and WILL remember it on election day. more ›