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STICKER SHOCK
Jehlen sponsors budget forum
BY KRISTEN LOMBARDI

Every month, the state’s woeful financial situation gets worse and worse. First, we saw Governor Mitt Romney implement $343 million in emergency spending cuts back in January. Then, late last month, the Romney administration put forth a budget for the upcoming fiscal year that slashes more than $900 million in programs and services. Many numbers-crunchers expect that figure to grow even larger as the budget-making process continues on Beacon Hill.

Numbers like these are enough to send Massachusetts residents reeling — indeed, many already are. State Representative Pat Jehlen (D-Somerville) has fielded one call after another from worried constituents who cannot quite fathom the state’s fiscal mess. " There’s a lot of nervousness, " Jehlen says, " because people don’t know what’s going to happen with these budget cuts just yet. " This week, she has heard from teenage mothers frightened that reductions to home-visiting programs will leave them out on the streets; public employees worried that hikes to their health insurance will leave them with no coverage at all; and child-welfare lawyers concerned that administrative reforms will leave them jobless.

But while people focus on their own situations, they’re not necessarily gearing up to organize and lobby for solutions, Jehlen notes. Which explains why the Somerville pol is sponsoring a forum about the budget conundrum next Monday. Featured speakers include Noah Berger, director of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, who will discuss the causes of the current crisis. Harris Gruman, of Neighbor to Neighbor, will be on hand to talk about grassroots efforts to stop the cuts across the state. Ultimately, Jehlen hopes the forum helps people prepare for the big blows. Otherwise, she concludes, " By the time they figure out what happened, it’ll be too late. "

Jehlen’s budget forum takes place next Monday, March 17, at 7 p.m. at the Visiting Nurses Association Assisted Living Facility, 259 Lowell Street, in Somerville. The event is free.

Issue Date: March 13 - 20, 2003
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