State money allocated to Springfield via Chapter 90 is nothing new to the City Council. Every year, the body formally accepts the disbursement. In recent years, city officials have paired it with bonding to maximize road repairs. The annual allocation has also been flat.
On Thursday, following commonwealth’s upper legislative chamber’s announcement, the Massachusetts House of Representatives released committee assignments for the 193rd General Court. For the 413, the changes ranged from minimal to dramatic.
The city of Springfield should thank Charles Ryan, at least partly, for having the breathing room to whether this mother of all crises.
SPRINGFIELD—Despite roughly two hours of often passionate debate, the City Council here unanimously approved Mayor Domenico Sarno’s budget for fiscal year 2022 without cuts. With some help from the American Rescue Plan, the $756 million spending plan largely peels city government off the floor after going into a defensive fiscal crouch during the coronavirus pandemic.
SPRINGFIELD—Aside from a one-liner admonishing a permit-seeker’s counsel to not interrupt the Council president, the sequels to a few permit hearings last Monday were no better than the originals in the preceding weeks.
UPDATED 4:30PM: An earlier version of this post indicated the Springfield City Council will vote to approve the budget this week. That vote will actually be later in June.
Springfield is set to emerge from the pandemic in relatively fiscal good shape as the city’s various organs come together to approve the budget.
HARTFORD—Connecticut was among the first places that took COVID-19 in the gut last spring. The fears of variants haunt everyone here as well. However, the state has become a model for coronavirus response, becoming a leader in testing and vaccination. However, like countless other places
SPRINGFIELD—The City Council virtually returned from August’s semi-recess Monday to find a massive pile of fresh items on the floor requiring attention. The vast majority were financial, but several were also complex. Others fell under the Community Preservation Act (CPA) demanding more scrutiny than the
Blessed are the viewers of public access, for they shall inherit knowledge of their community’s affairs. However, even devotees of Springfield government television may have mistaken what was the central issue during this past week’s budget hearings. If one could get past the City Clerk’s
SPRINGFIELD—Despite the novel coronavirus’ sudden economic upheaval, which has pummeled government tax revenues, the City of Springfield has prepared a budget without layoffs or cuts to services. Yet, the city’s first coronavirus fiscal year will be hard. A spending and hiring freeze dating to March