Feckless POLS want $13 BILLION more from Massachusetts Taxpayers

Gov. Deval (Spend-It-All) Patrick came out with his $13 BILLION tax wish list.....it is no surprise that there is no suggestion of cutting gold plated benefits & lifetime everything for state Hacks......This idiot who is in charge of our state is clueless - His only way to improve things is to impoverish the taxpayers while lining the pockets of Union Hacks and his buddies who will gain contracts for transportation improvements.

I have two words for you Deval, and they ain't "Happy Birthday"

Take your plan and stick it - We need to stop putting it all on the taxpayers and stop spending like there is a bottomless supply of taxpayers' $$$ - Really.


Taxpayers to pick up the tab for MassDOT's $13B transportation plan

(FOX 25 / MyFoxBoston.com) - The Massachusetts Department of Transportation has released a long-awaited plan to invest $13 billion in the state's aging transportation system over 10 years; however, in order to create the additional revenue, the report recommends certain tax increases, as well as additional fees.

The Department of Transportation initially planned to release the report earlier in the month, but Gov. Deval Patrick said he told officials that "a little more work" was needed after reviewing a draft version.

"What's plain as day is that we have to make choices. We can choose to invest in ourselves, to invest in a growth strategy that has been proven time and again to work. Or we can choose to do nothing. But let us be clear: doing nothing is a choice, too," said Gov. Patrick. "And that choice has consequences. It means longer commutes, cuts in services, larger fare and fee increases, and a continuation of the self-defeating economics of cutting off large parts of our population from opportunity and growth."

The plan calls for $5.2 billion over ten years in road, bridge and highway repair projects in order to reduce the number of structurally deficient bridges and ease congestion on major arteries throughout the state. Another $3.8 billion will go to existing transit services, and $275 million for Registry and airport maintenance.

Officials said $1.02 billion will be spent annually on a number of high-impact transportation projects. Transportation officials said they hope the projects create thousands of jobs and spur economic development across the state.

The plan is also designed to address budget deficits at the MBTA, MassDOT and various other regional transportation agencies.

According to the report, the suggested revenue options, essentially certain tax hikes and fees, were proposed by members of the public and other stake holders over the last year.
"We have spent the last year engaging our customers, the business community and various stakeholders in a conversation about what kind of transportation system they want," said MassDOT Secretary and CEO Richard A. Davey. "What is clear is that we can't afford the system we have today, much less the system we all want. This plan clearly articulates our vision for a 21st-Century Transportation system and the steps we must take to achieves that."

The revenue recommendations include an increase in the gas tax, payroll tax, sales tax or income tax; a new green fee on vehicle registrations; a vehicle miles traveled tax; regular and modest fare, fee and toll increases; and new tolling mechanisms. The plan also assumes that tolls are maintained on the Western portion of the Massachusetts Turnpike.
Officials said money will go toward helping MassDOT and other regional transit authorities end their practice of paying for general operating costs with loans, a practice that costs MassDOT about $1.76 in interest for each dollar borrowed.

In order to end the practice of borrowing and inflated interest, the MassDOT will receive $371 million during the 2014 fiscal year and $4.4 billion over 10 years. The Regional Transit Authorities will receive $100 million during the 2014 fiscal year and $1.1 billion over 10 years.

Without new revenues to be generated by additional taxes and fees on state residents, the MassDOT Board of Directors will need to cut service at the MBTA and RTAs and significantly increase fares in order to approve a balanced budget for Fiscal Year 2014, which begins July 1

Read more: http://www.myfoxboston.com/story/20581947/massdot-lays-out-13b-10-year-transportation-plan#ixzz2I0BSGbnu

" All politics is local" - How the Greedy Pols on FED, STATE & LOCAL level want only one thing - All of your $$$$

" All Politics is local" - Thomas Phillip "Tip" O'Neill, Jr.- Speaker of the House 1977-1987

Tip O'Neill knew that everything that happened impacted people on the local level as that is where things in America happen.  The idiots inside the Beltway like to think they are the center of the country but they are as thick as bag full of hammers.

The enclosed story is from the Boston Globe, i.e. the NYTIMES/BOSTON GLOBE/DEM Mouthpiece.

Here is the sysnopsis of the story.  The city of NEWTON, MA is one of the more well off areas in the greater Boston area.  You can pretty much surmise that if you live in Newton, you are doing pretty well.  Housing values are high and people see it as one of the nicest places to live.

The story covers the issue that the Mayor and his employees want more $$$ from the citizens.  They are asking for an override of the limit for how much they can grab out of people's wallets.  They will put this up to a vote in March but you can imagine what the turnout for a city election like this will be.  Very low despite the nature of the issue.

Bottom line - The City takes in $312 MILLION dollars a year - They still need more.  Not like they could cut expenses of gold plated bennies for town hacks.....no, no, no - we must keep those town workers in a comfy lifestyle even if it takes every nickel we can squeeze out of the taxpayers.

Newton, MA is not the only town doing this - many others are doing the exact same thing.  They saw the Idiot in the White House pull off his spendathon of $6 TRILLION Dollars over the last 4 years and they are saying, " ME TOO !!!  ME TOO !!"

The average taxpayer in Newton will pay $8006 p/yr to the city or $667 a month.  For that money, you could pay for a brand new PORSCHE 911....but no, you will be paying for the retirement of the local town hacks even while you have no access to lifetime pension.....

These HACKS make a thief like Bernie Madoff look like pikers.....They will be laughing all the way to the bank while they cripple the citizens who live in our town and cities.  Oh yeah, the State Hacks and FED workers are lined up for the same thing too.....all want as much of your money as they can get.

Thanks Voters - by re-electing the FOOL who conned his way into the White House, you gave the HACKS on the FED, STATE & LOCAL level a green light to pour it on.....They will not be happy until they fill all their pockets with as much of our $$$ as they can grab.

---------------------------------------------

Newton voters will likely get to vote on a $11.4 million tax increase in March

By Deirdre Fernandes

Boston Globe Staff / December 1, 2012          

Newton Alderman Anthony Salvucci slowly unfurled from his seat, stood up, and gave a rare speech to his colleagues Thursday night.
 

“Don’t sweat it,” the elder statesman of the Board of Aldermen instructed the group. “You people are all sweating, and don’t. Don’t.”
 

Salvucci was urging the board to get behind Mayor Setti Warren’s proposed overrides of Proposition 2½. He said he understood that some aldermen are worried that the requested $11.4 million in new property taxes wouldn’t cover the cost of the city’s projects; that others are troubled by recent construction projects that came in far higher than initial estimates; and that many are anxious about the city’s other needs. But, he said, the board needed to get the request for a tax increase in front of voters so some of the city’s needs — such as new schools, a fire station, and road and sidewalk repairs — could be met.
 

Many of his colleagues agreed. After nearly three hours of debate, aldermen moved the override requests out of committee, setting up a vote by the full board Monday on whether to put them on a March ballot.
 

Claire Sokoloff, the School Committee’s chairwoman, said she is optimistic the district’s overcrowding and building problems would be addressed.
 

“The overwhelming majority of board members understand the need for putting this override to the voters and seeing that it will pass,” she said after the meeting. “It’s a good balance between providing needed improvements to our schools and the city, while being respectful of the reality that these are tough financial times.”
 

Warren has proposed three ballot initiatives to help pay for $143.5 million in projects. His plan calls for a permanent tax increase to provide $8.4 million for road repairs, four police officers, new teachers to handle the school system’s growing student population, expansion and renovation of Zervas Elementary, replacement of the Newton Centre fire station and Fire Department headquarters, and a new communications building.
 

The mayor is also proposing two temporary tax increases, totaling $3 million and to be paid off over roughly 30 years, to cover rebuilding the Angier and Cabot elementary schools.

If all three are approved, officials said, annual taxes on a house with the city’s median assessment, $686,000, would go up by about $343, to $8,006.
 

“It’s not perfect, I do have some issues,” said Alderman Jay Harney, but added, “This gets us to where we need to be.”
 

Alderman Lisle Baker, however, suggested that more items should be included in the override proposals, since the city does not ask voters to approve higher taxes very often.

Other aldermen have been concerned that the estimates for the projects may be off, and that after the Newton North High project — which ballooned from $141 million to nearly $191.5 million — residents won’t be forgiving.
 

The accuracy question gained more traction last week when estimates for an Oak Hill fire station project, not included in the override package, rose by 46 percent, going from $2.8 million to $4.1 million.
 

The news followed on the heels of Day Middle School expansion costs rising by millions, as well as the projected cost of Carr School renovations growing from roughly $9 million to $12.7 million. Neither of those are part of the override.
 

Alderwoman Cheryl Lappin said she agrees an override needs to be on the ballot, but for it to succeed the board’s members will all need to be “out there promoting it . . . and we need to have confidence.”
 

Alderman Ted Hess-Mahan said he hasn’t decided whether to support the override. “I am bemused that everybody is damning it with faint praise, but saying it should go ahead.”
 

Maureen Lemieux, Newton’s chief financial officer, said the administration has tried to be conservative in projecting the costs of the override projects, and suggested the additional expenses for some of the recent construction projects can be covered by savings elsewhere.
 

As for the projects covered by the override, Lemieux said, the city’s budget should be able to absorb marginal increases, should they occur.
 

If the full board approves the override proposals Monday, the questions would be placed on the ballot in a March 12 special election.