Friday, December 17, 2010

Upcoming budget dates

I didn't take notes on everything in the budget presenation last night (I'll go back and clean up my notes in a bit, maybe post some of the charts), but here's the next part of the timeline:
  • the Governor's budget comes out in late January. That starts the conversation at the state level around funding. Pay attention at that point not only to the funding level of ch.70, but also to if there will be redistribution of ch.70, and how they're funding grants,the circuit breaker, and charter reimbursement.
  • The House budget comes out in March. With smaller districts to represent, the House are really where the rubber will hit the road on funding that hits particular communities harder than others. Ch. 70 redistribution comes to mind here.
  • The City Manager presents the city budget to the City Council in April or May. Two things of import here: where are we in terms of the foundation budget? what sort of hit is the city taking on local aid?
  • The Senate budget comes out in May. The Senate tends (as the senators represent larger swathes of territory) to be a bit more big picture. Once that gets voted, and the House has voted theirs, it goes to committee to have the differences resolved.
  • Final state budget is due by July 1.
There are as yet no dates for School Committee public hearings or budget presentations, but I'd expect hearings at least sometime in early spring (and it's never too early to let members know your concerns and priorities for the coming year).

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