December 01, 2004
PUBLIC FINANCE > Budget > FY Pre-2008

Academy of New Legislators: Overview of State Finances

As part of the Academy for New State Legislators held at UMass Amherst, MTF President Michael J. Widmer provided incoming representatives and senators with an overview of key state and local financial issues. The presentation traces the impacts of the Commonwealth's ongoing fiscal crisis and emphasizes that the state still faces a structural deficit and a long list of looming funding obligations. The impacts of local aid cuts on municipal finances and the large funding shortfalls for state capital investments are also reviewed in the presentation.