Moore’s funding priorities for district projects and programs included in Legislature’s spending plan
July 2, 2007...Today, as many residents kicked off their Independence Day festivities, Sen. Richard T. Moore, D-Uxbridge and his Senate colleagues gave the residents of the Worcester and Norfolk district some more celebratory news. Senators filed into the chambers to adopt a $26.8 billion Fiscal Year 2008 budget plan that included many items that will directly benefit the people of the Worcester and Norfolk District.
“Today, with the steadfast support from my colleagues in the House and solid understanding from legislative leaders, we have worked diligently to present a balanced and responsible budget,” said Moore. “This final compromise reached between the two branches includes a variety of proposals to fund local projects and programs as well as make significant increases in statewide health care services.”
Moore gave special credit to Representatives George Peterson, R-Grafton; Paul Kujawski, D-Webster; Paul Frost, R-Auburn; Geraldo Alicea, D-Charlton; John V. Fernandes, D-Milford and Jennifer Callahan, D-Sutton, for their efforts to gain approval of the long list of items contained in the final budget document.
Among Senator Moore’s district budget priorities that were included in the conference committee report were:
- Blackstone Valley Tech Nursing Program. $100,000 for the planning and implementation of a post-secondary nursing program in response to the critical nursing shortage. The program would be conducted in partnership with Milford Regional Medical Center and Quinsigamond Community College.
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- Dudley Police Patrols. This $100,000 in funding is a continuation of a policing grant initiated last year for the town of Dudley.
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- Violence and Hate Crimes Prevention Program in Southbridge.
$100,000 in continued funding from last year for a pilot program in Southbridge for preventing violence and hate crimes in grades K-12.
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- Draper Re-use Committee Development Planning Grant. $15,000 for the continuation of a planning grant from last year to assist the Draper Mill Re-Use Committee develop and execute a comprehensive redevelopment plan for the Draper Mill Complex – a sprawling 21 acre vacant mill complex in the center of Hopedale. The mill has been vacant for over 20 years and presently possesses a significant safety threat. Furthermore, the sheer size of the property means that any redevelopment will have dramatic impacts on all facets of town life.
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- Webster Lake Sediment Control. Provides $168,000 for sediment control in Webster Lake. Funding will be used to bring the drainage areas surrounding the lake up to today’s standards. This is the continuation of a long-term sediment control program for Webster Lake.
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- Blackstone Veterans Park Recreation Area.
$25,000 for a grant to assist the town of Blackstone to develop the Veterans Park Recreation area including the development of an irrigation system, grading of fields, development of softball and soccer fields, installation of a playground area and equipment, repairs to the parking lot and entrance.
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- Boys and Girls Clubs. $3.3 million for the Massachusetts Alliance for Boys and Girls Clubs to help fund programs at the Blackstone Valley and Webster-Dudley clubs. This earmark, a $300,000 increase over last year, is distributed equitably to all Boys and Girls Clubs across the state and supports vital programs for our youth.
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- Millville Elementary Water Contamination
Remediation. $35,000 for expenses relating to mitigating contamination to Millville Elementary School’s drinking water supply and restoring supply to drinkable quality.
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- Milford Youth Center. $35,000 for the continuation of a matching grant for the Milford Youth Center from the United Way of Massachusetts. The grant would be used to meet programming needs.
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- Teen Pregnancy Prevention. $50,000 for the continuation and expansion of teen pregnancy prevention programs in Southbridge.
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- Uxbridge Youth Center. $50,000 for programs at the Uxbridge Youth Center.
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- Claflin Hill Symphony Orchestra. $50,000 for the continuation of a grant from last year to the Claflin Hill Symphony Orchestra in Milford.
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Sen. Moore secured several provisions in the compromise plan he strongly supported including:
- Quality and Cost Council. $1 million to fund the new Quality and Cost Council that was established as part of thee state’s health care reform law. The Council is vital to the success of health care reform and this funding is necessary to enable the Council to collect information on the price of health care services and the performance of health care provider and institutions. That data will be used to help set health care quality improvement and cost containment goals in the Commonwealth.
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- Infection Control Program. $1 million for a hospital infection prevention and control program within the Department of Public Health. This funding would allow for the continuation of this program to assist health care facilities reduce their rate of hospital acquired infections.
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- Nursing and Allied Health Initiative. $1 million in funding to help to continue work of ensuring that Massachusetts has enough highly qualified nurses to care for its population.
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- S.A.F.E Program. $1,780,666 to support and expand the Commonwealth's Student Awareness of Fire Education (SAFE) program to include outreach and education to prevent falls in the senior citizen community. Many of the causes of falls are also hazards in the event of a fire or other emergency. In FY 2005, the SAFE program began making grants available for elder fire-safety education. This amendment would require that these grants also incorporate falls prevention initiatives.
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- Camp Marion. $100,000 in funding for a major recreational enhancement initiative for the historic park situated on Lake Singletary in Sutton. This money will be used to do a feasibility study and design for facility enhancement at Camp Marion for community and youth services.
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- Caryville Senior Housing Project Contamination Services. $100,000 in funding for a contamination remediation program at this public/private redevelopment project in Bellingham. These funds will help maintain public confidence in the safety of the drinking supply and to prevent further contamination to neighborhood.
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- End of Life Commission. $100,000 to continue funding for the commission which acts as a mechanism to create visibility and dialogue around sensitive end of life issues and improve state agency efforts in this area.
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- Commonwealth Care Outreach. $3.5 million in funding to enable community organizations, hospitals and health centers to provide much-needed educational and enrollment services for the Commonwealth's new health care reform law.
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- Universal Immunization Program. The Senate took great strides in preventive health by including funding for Rotavirus ($5.6 million) and Meningacocil ($4.3 million) vaccines - two of the three vaccines the CDC recommends for universal distribution.
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- Lake Singletary Water Quality Management. $50,000 for the ongoing work to ensure safe water quality and water levels around this major recreational lake in Sutton. In particular, these funds will be targeted for the controlling of major fluctuations in the lake’s water levels that contribute to poor water quality and increased problems related to surface recreational hazards.
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- Pharmacy Outreach. $600,000 for the MassMedline program, operated under a contract with the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, that helps to enroll eligible seniors in Prescription Advantage and assists those who call the toll-free phone number with gaining access to free or low cost prescription drugs that are available from pharmaceutical company community benefit programs. Since its inception, it has saved consumers tens of millions of dollars.
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- Comprehensive Family Planning Services. $7.2 million to increase access to comprehensive family planning services including HIV counseling and testing, HPV immunizations and fund community based education, outreach and follow up to at risk populations.
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- Mass BioTeach Program. $750,000 to fund the Mass BioTeach Program, a collaborative program between the Commonwealth Corporation and the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council to outfit every high school in the Commonwealth with bio-technology lab equipment by 2010.
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- Regional School Transportation. $58,300,000 to maintain regional school transportation for students to participate in extracurricular activities. This amount reimburses school districts for 90% of their costs, and puts the Legislature back on the path to 100% reimbursement in the next few years.
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- Pediatric Palliative Care. $800,000 for the pediatric palliative care program to continue serving children with life-limiting illnesses and their families.
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The final version of the budget now goes to the Governor for his consideration.
For more information on the FY 2008 Senate budget or a complete list of local aid funds for each town, log onto Senator Moore’s website at
www.senatormoore.com/budget
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