The Governor yesterday filed his Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23) budget proposal, a $48.5 billion plan which represents an increase of approximately 0.5% above FY22 expenditures, excluding transfers to the Medical Assistance Trust Fund.

Alongside the budget proposal, the Administration is filing a $700 million tax proposal intended to provide relief for housing and childcare costs, and eliminate the income tax for certain low-income taxpayers, among other provisions.

The Governor's tax proposal filed alongside the FY23 budget, H.4361 "An Act to Improve Massachusetts' Competitiveness and Reduce the Cost of Living," includes $700 million in tax reduction initiatives. The legislation proposed to:

Click here to access the full text of the Governor's proposed tax legislation.

The proposed FY23 budget is based on the $36.915 billion consensus tax revenue estimate, which anticipates a 2.7% growth in total collections over revised FY22 tax estimates. The Governor's proposed budget, titled House 2, recommends a total of $48.5 billion in authorized spending and transfers, excluding the Medical Assistance Trust Fund transfer, which is approximately 0.5% above FY22.

To access details of the proposed budget, the Governor’s filing letter, budget message, and specific account information, click here.

The House 2 budget includes a $749 million increase to the Stabilization Fund, which, in combination with projected FY22 transfers, will grow the fund to $6.64 billion by the end of FY23.

The proposed budget includes among other provisions:

To access the Governor’s filing letter, budget message, and specific account information click here. The Governor's proposal represents an early step in the development of the Commonwealth's FY23 budget. The respective Ways and Means Committees for the state House and Senate will each produce their own proposals, which in turn will be adopted by their respective chambers. Differences between the House and Senate budgets will then be reconciled in a conference committee, before being returned to each chamber for an up-or-down vote. The Governor then has the option to sign or veto specific line items, which the Legislature in turn may override.

Effective Monday, January 31st, the MBTA Framingham/Worcester Commuter Rail line will resume operating on the regular weekday Winter Schedule. Service had been reduced to a "Winter Adjusted Schedule" due to staffing constraints; workforce availability has improved sufficiently to resume normal service. No changes will be made to current weekend service. Click here for details regarding the Framingham/Worcester line schedule.

The Full Application for the Community One Stop for Growth program's FY23 round is now open. Communities and entities seeking funding from a variety of grant programs can now begin work on applications. The Community One Stop for Growth is a single application portal and collaborative review process of community development grant programs that make targeted investments based on a Development Continuum. This process streamlines the experience for the applicant and better coordinates economic development programs and staff on engagement and grant making.

Click here to access detailed program information.

Three webinars will be made available to applicants prior to submitting any application materials, covering an overview of the Community One Stop for Growth, reframing a grant application for the One Stop, and using the Agate technology platform:

It is recommended that all applicants watch all three webinars before submitting a One Stop Expression of Interest.

The Expression of Interest (EOI) is a form that allows an applicant to seek guidance from EOHED and partner agencies. The EOI is optional but highly encouraged. Each organization may submit one EOI form for the FY23 Round. All EOI forms may include up to two project proposals, however forms submitted prior to 11:59 PM on February 4th, 2022 may include a total of five projects.

Once the EOI is submitted, staff at all partner agencies will review the submissions and provide guidance and insight to strengthen applications. Applicants may also be referred to other available programs that are not fully integrated into the One Stop application. Applicants may also request a meeting to review their priority projects with EOHED.

The EOI period is now open and will close March 18th, 2022.

The Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) is soliciting ideas for projects that will commence in the winter and spring of 2022 through their Technical Assistance Program (TAP), a funding program that assists municipalities in implementing projects that are beneficial to the community. Although there is no specific deadline for the submission of project concepts, MAPC encourages that proposals be submitted by January 31st.

TAP can fund a diverse range of individual community-specific projects and multi-community projects. Project concepts that promote regional collaboration and serve multiple communities, advance racial equity in the region, promote COVID recovery, seek to implement multifamily requirements for MBTA communities under Housing Choice, or otherwise advance the goals and objectives outlined in the new regional land use and policy plan MetroCommon 2050 will receive preference.

MAPC staff will work with municipalities to determine the best funding source for each project; most projects are funded in the $25,000 to $60,000 range.

Project concept proposals are intended to be brief, and should be written in accordance with the instructions outlined in the Call for Project Concepts memo. Municipalities should contact Ralph Willmer, TAP Manager and Principal Planner at [email protected] for questions concerning the application process or the status of a submitted project.

The Energy and Sustainable Development Committee of the 495/MetroWest Partnership will host representatives from MassDevelopment to present on the Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program on Tuesday, February 15th at 8:30 AM. This event will take place virtually via Zoom; click here to register.

PACE is a new mechanism to finance energy improvements, such as energy-efficiency projects, renewables, and gas line extensions on commercial and industrial properties in Massachusetts. To finance improvements, a property owner agrees to a betterment assessment on their property, which repays the financing. This approach enables owners to undertake more comprehensive energy upgrades with longer payback periods of up to 20 years. At property sale, the lien stays with the property and is transferred to subsequent property owners. Properties eligible for financing through PACE include commercial buildings, industrial buildings, and multi-family buildings with five or more units. Individual municipalities may opt into PACE one time by a majority vote of the city or town council or the board of selectmen, as appropriate.

Following the presentation, attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions of MassDevelopment representatives. For more information on the PACE program, click here.

The 495/MetroWest Partnership's Board of Directors will consider a new five-year Strategic Plan for the organization at its March 2022 quarterly meeting. We are pleased to present a draft of the new plan, along with opportunities for stakeholders to provide feedback before the plan comes before the Board for formal action.

The Partnership is actively seeking feedback on our draft 2022-2027 Strategic Plan before it is formally adopted by the Board of Directors at their March meeting. The Partnership has created multiple avenues for any interested stakeholder to offer feedback on the 2022-2027 Strategic Plan: