Rep. Day Secures High Levels Of Funding For Stoneham In House Budget

STONEHAM, MA — State Representative Michael S. Day joined colleagues in the Massachusetts House of Representatives and finished three days of debate to pass its Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23) budget Wednesday night.

Funded at $49.73 billion, the House's FY23 budget continues its strong commitment to cities and towns and includes significant investments in health care, education, housing, and workforce development, among other priorities. Through Representative Day's advocacy, the budget also includes historic amounts of direct appropriations for the Town of Stoneham.

"This budget reflects the values of who we are as a Commonwealth, and I am particularly proud to support its inclusion of specific priorities I highlighted for our community," said Representative Day. "In addition to increasing our local aid and education funding funds significantly, this budget will help meet increased municipal budgetary needs by directly appropriating funds to our Department of Public Works and our Building Department."

The House FY23 budget expands services without raising taxes and is made possible due to strong revenue collections and increased federal reimbursement. Due to responsible financial leadership, the state's Stabilization Fund is estimated to stand at $6.55 billion. Based on the House budget, Stoneham stands to receive $5,737,555 in Chapter 70 education funding, an increase of close to $400,000 over last year's funding number, and $4,194,923 in unrestricted local aid, an increase of more than $110,000 over last year's figure.

With the adoption of Representative Day's amendments to the budget, the town will also receive additional direct appropriations of $200,000 for the Department of Public Works to modernize its street cleaning fleet and $80,000 for the Building Inspections Department to upgrade its technology system. Additionally, Representative Day secured $150,000 in funding for The NAN Project, a youth mental health and suicide prevention organization active in the Stoneham public schools.

"By reinvesting in the people of the Commonwealth we will continue to assist those recovering from this pandemic while making our economy stronger and more equitable for years to come," said Rep. Aaron Michlewitz, Chair of the House Committee on Ways & Means.

Additional investments include:

• $10 million to expand emergency diversion boarding programs within the Department of Mental Health;
• $188.6 million for the Bureau of Substance Addiction Services
• $12.5 million for behavioral health supports
• $48.3 million for early intervention services, with dedicated funding to help its workforce recovery from the pandemic.

“As we continue to emerge and learn lessons from this pandemic, it has never been clearer that our behavioral health system is more fragile than ever before," said Representative Day. "This budget underscores our collective commitment to making sure that we recognize that mental health is an essential part of our collective public health, and I am proud of the advances we are making here."

The budget funds the Department of Developmental Services at $2.44 billion, aimed to support
individuals with developmental disabilities and their families.

Speaker Mariano and the House Ways & Means Committee introduced their FY23 budget on April 13, 2022, following a review of the Governor’s proposal and a series of budget hearings. After three days of debate and over a thousand proposed amendments, the budget passed the House of Representatives 155-0 and now goes to the Senate for their consideration.