The proposed total spending represents $920 million, an increase of $158 million over the current fiscal year expenditure and $260 million over Fiscal Year 2005. Salem would receive a total of $5,187,791, an increase of 23 percent over the city’s lottery allocation last fiscal year and the largest amount of lottery aid ever in the city’s history. “This increase in state aid couldn’t have come at a better time for Salem,” pointed out Representative Keenan. “With the current fiscal condition of our city, Salem deserves as much assistance as we can secure for it. Our community has been facing tough decisions about layoffs, public safety, and our schools. More state aid will help improve the financial state of our city and ease of the burden of property taxes on our community’s residents.” The Legislature was forced to divert Lottery aid – monies traditionally directed to municipalities – to the state’s general fund at the height of the most recent recession in 2003. As a result, cities and towns made cuts to local education, public safety and transportation accounts and increased their reliance on property taxes to balance municipal budgets. The Lottery aid figures in the House Ways & Means budget will exceed pre-recessionary levels. “Local officials in every city and town hall across the state applaud the House for ending the Lottery cap, a major step to restoring fiscal and economic health for all of our communities,” said Geoffrey C. Beckwith, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Municipal Association. “They clearly understand the difficult fiscal challenges facing cities and towns. This is a great day for all of us.”
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