"thinking outside the box"

And from Councilor Smith today...

"City Only Lottery Tix Could Boost Scratch"

(my compliments to the headline editor!)

We'll leave aside for the moment that this is not the steady revenue stream that advocates have requested and schools need, and that it ignores the ongoing reality of falling state revenues from the Lottery. The end of the article goes back to the volleying of earlier in the week:

Stand for Children, an advocacy group for quality public education, contends Mr. O’Brien’s budget for the schools is insufficient and far below what it has asked for and what was also requested by the School Committee.
The group has called on the City Council to find new revenue sources for the public schools and not to rule out the option of raising more in taxes if necessary.
The city could provide more funding for the public schools by tapping into some of its tax-levy reserve.
The city is $12 million under the tax-levy cap established under state law.
City councilors and the city manager have expressed no interest in raising property taxes in excess of the allowable 2.5 percent annual increase.
“I firmly believe that Worcester’s taxpayers, with all of the pressures facing homeowners today, do not have the appetite for new taxes or additional service cuts,” Mr. O’Brien said.

City Manager O'Brien's quotation is taken from his budget message.
(and, as before, the comment section over there has been busy. Sometimes even with messages that are somewhat civil. It also looks as though WCRN AM 830 is tackling this issue this afternoon between 4 and 5. You can comment by calling 866-927-6830.)