Senators Moore and Chandler Secure Funding for Worcester Priorities

Saturday, May 23, 2015

GoLocalWorcester News Team

On Friday morning, Senators Harriette L. Chandler (D-Worcester) and Michael O. Moore (D-Millbury) announced that the Massachusetts Senate voted on a $38.09 billion budget for Fiscal Year 2016.

“The FY16 budget makes critical investments in key areas of local aid, education, economic development and services for vulnerable and under-served populations,” said Chandler. “It also reflects some solutions to policy concerns voiced by citizens from the statewide Commonwealth Conversations Tour hosted by the Senate earlier this year. I thank Senate Committee on Ways and Means for their hard work on this comprehensive budget.”

“The Senate FY16 budget provides targeted investments in local aid, education, and transportation,” said Moore. “I am proud of the hard work that the Senate has put into crafting a budget that addresses many critical areas. This is especially true of the work done to increase public safety, from young victims of abuse to addressing sexual assault on college campuses. While no budget is ever perfect, there are many important resources included within the budget for the residents of the Second Worcester District and beyond.”

Funding for the following initiatives in the City of Worcester were included in the Senate budget:

Coes Pond- $50,000 to support revitalization efforts at Coes Pond in the City of Worcester. The amendment also renames the beach in memory of former Representative John J. Binienda, who passed away last year after a long and distinguished career in the Legislature
South Worcester Neighborhood Center- $50,000 for the South Worcester Neighborhood Center, which has been in operation for over 37 years and has provided services to the community including parent skill building, leadership development, job creation, planning and youth programs
Worcester Pre-Apprenticeship Program- $75,000 to establish a certified training program in the building trades. The program will target low-income women and minority youth, and young adults in the City of Worcester. The city of Worcester has committed to match this amount of funding from the Worcester Jobs Fund if the language is included within the final version of the FY16 budget
Latino Elder Program- $100,000 for the Latino Elder Program which is coordinated by Centro Las Americas. The program offers many low-income seniors the opportunity to socialize, learn about health issues, take English and computer courses, and take part in health screenings. Centro Las Americas partners with Elder Services of Worcester, U-Mass Medical, Visiting Nurses, the Worcester Senior Center and other local providers to successfully deliver these critical services to this fast-growing segment of the Latino population in the City
Edward Kennedy Community Health Center- $100,000 to professionally train Community Health Workers who will serve as the patient link to medical and social services for the disenfranchised population throughout the Worcester and MetroWest regions
Children’s Advocacy Center of Worcester County- $100,000 to help young individuals who may be victims of physical and sexual abuse through advocacy, counseling and other coordinated efforts
UMass Memorial EMS- $80,000 to provide tactical EMS support to the Massachusetts State Police STOP Team. The Massachusetts State Police STOP Team is tasked with responding to any crisis across the state, including hostage situations, barricaded subjects, high risk warrant service and riot control. This funding will support operations and training as well as the purchase of protective gear and equipment
Business Registration Process- establishes a Special Commission to study the feasibility of streamlining the registration process for new businesses. The Commission would study increasing information-sharing among state agencies. The motivation behind the Moore-sponsored amendment is to increase efficiencies with a particular focus on small businesses
Higher Education Sexual Assault Consultant- $100,000 for the Department of Higher Education to engage a consultant to report on campus sexual assault initiatives within the public higher education system. The information compiled by the consultant also will assist in the development of a system-wide sexual violence plan.
Worcester Polytechnic Institute School of Excellence Program- $1,400,000 for the Massachusetts Academy of Math and Science, a public and co-educational school that enrolls academically accelerated 11th and 12th graders
Worcester District Attorney’s Office- $10,290,744 to the Worcester District Attorney’s Office
Worcester Department of Public Works & Parks- $50,000 for continued maintenance upkeep of the MA statewide Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial
Worcester Talking Book Library- $446,828 for the Worcester Talking Book Library (located at the Worcester Public Library), which provides free services to Massachusetts residents of any age who are unable to read traditional print materials due to a visual or physical disability
Dismas House- $100,000 towards the provision of key educational, recovery, and reentry programs for former prisoners
CASA Worcester- $150,000 to allow CASA Worcester, which currently serves the largest
number of children in the state, to serve an additional 120+ children to match the recent jump in new care and protection cases at the Worcester Juvenile Court
RTA Funding- $82,000,000 for the Worcester Regional Transit Authority
Worcester Housing Authority- $500,000 to expand the Worcester Housing Authority “A Better Life” program to 4-6 pilot programs across the state
Worcester Registry of Deeds- $40,000 to the Worcester Registry of Deeds
Tree Replanting in Worcester- $50,000 to replace trees lost as a result of the devastating Asian Longhorned Beetle infestation in Worcester
Worcester & Franklin County Sheriffs- $500,000 to the Worcester County Sheriff’s office, which currently has the lowest funding per inmate in the state. The additional funding will allow the sheriff’s office to provide enhanced and expanded mental health services to the over 1,100 adult offenders in their custody. This amendment also provides $185,000 to the Franklin County Sheriff’s office, which will fund a “Training Active Bystanders” program in conjunction with funding from the federal government
UMass Memorial Children’s Medical Center Down Syndrome- $150,000 for the UMass Memorial Children’s Medical Center Down Syndrome Clinic based on a patient-centered medical home concept and ensures full operation of the clinic, which serves children with multiple complex health challenges