State Budget Recommends More than $60 Million for Haverhill

Haverhill Rep. Brian S. Dempsey, chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means.

Haverhill stands to receive more than $60 million is state aid during the year that begins July 1, according to a legislative budget recommendation written by Rep. Brian S. Dempsey, chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means.

The city would receive about $3 million more than the current year. Totals include more than $52 million for local education, nearly $10 million for general government services and $2.4 million toward debt payments on the former city-owned hale Hospital.

“The FY18 budget proposal provides a balance between fiscally responsible decision making and targeted investments in our local communities,” said Dempsey. “The support for Haverhill in the House budget will help strengthen our community and ensure continued growth for our city.”

The proposed budget also adds $4 million to the state’s share of the Special Education Circuit Breaker—a program for provide partially reimbursing communities for high-cost special education pupils. An additional $1 million for regional school rransportation and charter school reimbursements is also recommended.

Following the sale of Hale Hospital 15 years ago, the city became responsible for a then-estimated $85 million in debt, including workers’ pension and health care that it agreed to pay over 20 years. Over the years since, Dempsey has secured $19.2 million from the state to help make payments.

Other budget items are a $15 million rate reserve for early educators, helping to raise salaries and to better recruit and retain high quality staff, and money to pay for a new veteran’s tax credit. The proposed two-year, $2,000 credit will be available to eligible businesses for hiring veterans.

6 thoughts on “State Budget Recommends More than $60 Million for Haverhill

  1. Someone trying to buy votes of Haverhill voters with education money do you suppose? AND without any plan, Dempsey wants an increase in funding. WHERE IS THE PLAN TO MAKE HIS CASE?????

    Where was Dempsey when $18M was being spent on salary increases for Legislatures? Tweet, Tweet – the silence was deafening….. No response from MOST Legislators, most thankfully accepted and VOTED FOR THE INCREASE, and very few opposed it! Amazing how easy it is to spend OTHER PEOPLE’s MONEY! NO KUDOS HERE!!!!

    The next thing is that they – The Legislature – will cry poverty in the Medicaid area and DEMAND a restoration of the proposed increase, saying we the people are penalizing those unfortunates who depend on Medicaid funds….. then it will be THE ROADS, then the BRIDGES, then the MBTA. It goes on and on..

    • According to Haverhill State Rep Linda Dean Campbell it wasn’t a pay raise…it was a “compensation adjustment”. These insane liberals actually say these things with a straight face…it’s amazing.

  2. “Other budget items are a $15 million rate reserve for early educators, helping to raise salaries and to better recruit and retain high quality staff,” people on this site were just discussing the high cost of education per student and here we are, with a great example of spending more money on an education system without anything new being done to fix it. We already have high quality educators within the system. Where are the changes ? Where are the new proposals for doing things different ? Are we not rewarding lower achievements ? It sure seems that way. Kind of looks like a payout for the status quo no ?

  3. “The FY18 budget proposal provides a balance between fiscally responsible decision making and targeted investments in our local communities,” said Dempsey.

    Notice the omission of YoY debt issuance, the last being roughly $1 billion, simply to close the budget gap. Medicaid, consuming just over 40% of the entire budget, with a growth rate of over 9% YoY, with no solutions, from anyone, including CONgress. While not a one-time payment, this “budget” should bring Massachusetts to a negative $60 billion net position, raising the burden on Residents further than they already were/are.

    Expenses continue to diverge from revenues, while taxes alone in the past five (5) years have increased 20%. Pay no mind though, because Brian & Beacon Hill knows Massachusetts incomes can match any and all increases. They believe it so much, they gave themselves an $18 million dollar pay raise, and through a legislative maneuver, made it impossible to repeal via ballot measure.

    It’s great a city as indebted as Haverhill will be receiving evermore aid through the carried forward demand via debt, and stolen fruits of other peoples labor. Not sure other communities will be as happy when they read they got the short end.

    Not bad all-in-all for a top five (5) state leading the country in income disparity, with Boston coming in at the number one slot. Wonder if Brian and friends are cognizant that they are in fact creating it? Wonder if they care they are creating a huge permanent underclass? Probably not, crony capitalism is socialism for the wealthy here, why stop it now? Keep those immigration (including illegal) flood gates open Brian, we need consumption to hide the lack of all that debt fueled production.