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July 20, 2010

Mayors let down by state's relief bill

Bonfanti says the legislation 'not really what we wanted'

By Chris Cassidy STAFF WRITER

North Shore mayors say a municipal relief bill passed by state lawmakers last week left out one crucial element — the relief.

Faced with crippling health care costs and dramatic local aid cuts, mayors and town managers had hoped for a substantive fix to their fiscal woes.

Instead, Beacon Hill legislators handed them tools that will provide only modest assistance, at best, they said.

"Any help right now is positive," Peabody Mayor Michael Bonfanti said. "But it's not really what we wanted."

Bonfanti compared the bill, which now awaits Gov. Deval Patrick's signature, to a disappointing Christmas morning. This year, Bonfanti and others won't be getting the one item at the top of their legislative wish lists — greater control over union health insurance costs, known as "plan design."

"Numbers one, two and three were all the health care pieces," said Beverly Mayor Bill Scanlon, who's also the president of the Massachusetts Municipal Association. "That's the biggie, and we didn't get it."

But the mayors didn't completely dismiss the bill, which they agree will bring some positive changes.

Perhaps the most significant is a component that gives cities and towns an extra 10 years to fully fund their pension systems, which would free up more money to fund other services and avoid a spike in pension costs to compensate for the losses on Wall Street.

Another change would allow cities and towns to embark on smaller projects without having to follow a strict bidding process, something expected to save staff time.

Cities and towns could also offer an early retirement program to employees, though Scanlon didn't expect Beverly would institute such an incentive.

Further language makes it easier for cities and towns to regionalize some services.

"This bill won't solve the fiscal crisis, but it will provide important relief," said Geoffrey Beckwith, executive director of the Massachusetts Municipal Association.

Many of the provisions make straightforward changes that should have been enacted years ago, Beckwith said.

Meanwhile, plan design, Beckwith said, could have saved cities and towns $100 million in the first year.

"That measure must be a top-priority, front-burner issue immediately," he said.

Unions fiercely oppose the idea, arguing it circumvents collective bargaining and would wipe out contracts negotiated in good faith.

Overall, the legislation amounts to something of a life preserver for cities and towns, Bonfanti said.

What they need, they contend, is a swift rescue.

"I think it's a start," Bonfanti said. "I'll just let it go at that."

Staff writer Chris Cassidy can be reached at ccassidy@salem news.com.

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Mayors let down by state's relief bill
by By Chris Cassidy , STAFF WRITER , Tue Jul 20, 2010, 06:45 AM EDT
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