NECIR: Lottery budget a ‘lifeline’ in Mass.
In its most recent report, The New England Center for Investigative Reporting looked at how small Massachusetts towns are increasingly relying on shrinking lottery funds for some of their most basic functions:
In Lynn, where 2010 Census data show that nearly 20 percent of residents live in poverty, two years of cuts in “unrestricted aid” totaling more than $2 million have delayed paving projects and municipal building repairs and required the careful scrutiny of all non-salary spending, said Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy. The city, however, came out of the cutbacks without any personnel layoffs.
The town of Adams wasn’t so lucky.
When it lost $225,682 in “unrestricted aid” between 2010 and 2012, the impact was even more severe. The drop in funds meant 10 positions were cut, including police officers and public works employees. Staff and programs were also cut at the regional school system to which Adams belongs.
“For communities like us that are more reliant on state aid, it’s made the budget very challenging,” said Jonathan Butler, the town’s administrator.
Still, when it comes to state “unrestricted aid,” Bay State communities are betting the house on the Massachusetts Lottery. That’s because almost all unrestricted local aid now comes from keno and lottery sales, a NECIR analysis found.
NECIR is a nonprofit investigative reporting newsroom based at Boston University. Their mission is to ensure the survival of serious, in-depth investigative journalism in New England and to train a new generation of investigative reporters.
