Don't spend the money yet, but....

Now that the stimulus bill is law, we're beginning to get some idea of what might happen for municipalities. Commissioner of Education Mitchell Chester sent a memo to school superintendents and charter school directors (but apparently not to us municipal types) announcing funding. The Gazette published a list with specific numbers for various districts, but as the Commissioner's letter notes "much needs to be done before we can make commitments to your districts for a specific amount of funds under any of these programs." Allocations from the federal "stabilization fund" are determined by the governor and Governor Patrick promised (at the MMA annual meeting) to attempt to use the money to help reduce the deficits towns face.

Late Friday the Lt. Governor's office sent out an email advising that the lists published on the state's recovery web site (and reported in area papers) are a "work in progress" and "no decisions have been made relative to funding or priorities." It notes that most municipal projects are on the "unreviewed" list but will be evaluated and considered for funding. This is welcome news, given the reaction to the "state approved, shovel ready" list which contains a lot of requests from charter schools. The list was also heavily weighted toward communities that have ready access to planners and designers and have projects on the shelf.

The unreviewed list is 187 pages long and one wonders just how much the wish list got pared down in the preliminary review process. Greenfield's $250,000,000 biomass plant is there and I have difficulty believing that project would be designed, permitted and bid out in six months or that the Buckland highway and public safety complex (at $0) is feasible in that timeframe. Amherst drivers will be happy to note that the town listed a $4.8 million request for backlogged projects identified through its pavement management program.

Working through all this will be a major task in what is already a very difficult budget year. I'm waiting for the House Ways and Means Committee to report out its budget (towns have an able advocate in Steve Kulik) and proposals from the Municipal Relief Commission co-chaired by Stan Rosenberg. Those efforts should frame what the next fiscal year will look like. In the meantime, we'll keep looking for those black swans.