Boone: parents have given a great deal of thought to the budget
open process
understand the revenue streams
thank the public for being thoughtful throughout the process
Monfredo: sharing Medicaid in other communities
could we get additional funding from nursing?
Allen: working with Medicaid claim providers to identify impact on city going forward
grant money percentage: how much money would we save if it were 1 instead of 3? $900,000
Boone: we have been continuing those conversations, even last week
Biancheria thanks people for coming and lobbying for concerns
"please stay with it and please stay informed"
O'Connell (to whom Foley has commented more than once will have some BRIEF remarks): as of May 28, going over it line-by-line, page-by-page
"any thoughts you have as we approach that last week"
says he's received more mail this year than before on the budget: "I worry more when people don't react to the budget"
I find it interesting that Boone now sees how a 3% indirect fee affects the budget. Last year during budget she admonished me when I fought this at internal budget meetings and was told that the schools should be thankful that they were not facing the same cuts as the City. Hopefully she is saying in private what she says in public. Last year, that was an additional 800,000 the WPS gave to the City, gift-wrapped on a silver platter. Rushton and Toomey were the only two to question it at city council, and you, Tracy, brought this up from the audience during budget (and I can still hear Lukes talking down to you). While the City has every legal right to these dollars, and .46 percent more, we did a survey and found that Worcester is the only municipality who takes these dollars from the schools. Good luck in your budget deliberations---and by the way, SPED and ELL were the only departments who grew last year, as well.
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