"Everything is on the table for cuts," said Somerville Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone.

Last
week, House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi warned that cities and towns
could face five to ten percent reductions in local aid for the upcoming
fiscal year, which begins on July 1. According to Victoria Bonney, a
spokeswoman for DiMasi, legislators may take up the matter of local aid
cuts as soon as January.

State aid makes up about 32.5 percent
of Somerville's revenue for the current fiscal year. The city is slated
to receive $57,597,171, making it the third highest local aid recipient
behind Lawrence and Chelsea. A ten percent cut means Somerville would
receive $5.7 million less. That is on top of the $6 million cutback in
local aid that Somerville endured in 2002.

The state money funds
two separate budget sections – General Aid, which has no earmarks and
Chapter 70, which funds public education. The city will be
"re-evaluating every program," said Curtatone. But he worries that
"cuts to core services and education have a negative effect on the
economy."

On one hand, Curtatone is trying to remain optimistic.
It is "not clear if cuts will happen", the mayor said. But he knows
that that will hard to avoid, given the recent economic problems. "We
understand there has to be shared pain," the mayor said. He calls the
prospect of midyear cuts "devastating" and "inherently unfair."

However, to deal with the possibility, the city will "plan conservatively," Curtatone said.

"We
are assuming that we will get the money until June of this year" said
Alderman at Large Bill White. "The fiscal year runs from July 1 to June
30, so we are in the middle of it" said White. In 2002, Governor Mitt
Romney made cuts midyear but "the Patrick administration has always
said there will be no midyear cuts" added White. However, when looking
ahead, White said "it looks horrible for the state next year."

Local
aid packages have been consistent over the last three years. But with
banks closing and the housing market plummeting, many local cities and
towns are now braced for the worst. Each city and town receives general
aid, plus chapter 70 money, minus so-called "assessments." Assessments
are made by the state on charter schools or the MBTA and these can make
a big difference, plus or minus, when aid is handed down.

"What
the state gives with one hand, it can take away with the other" said
Thomas P. Champion, the mayor's director of communications. "The state
aid could go up, but the assessments could go up, making it a wash or a
minus" he explained.

Local aid was at an all-time high until the Romney administration made cuts in 2002.

Curtatone
hopes that if these cuts do come down, Somerville will be able to come
up with new revenue options, "We need a way to diversify revenue," the
mayor said.

Curtatone said he has tried to make sure that
Somerville has a fall-back plan. "We are in a better situation than
under Romney because we have damage control" said Curtatone. If these
cuts were to come down the city would lower costs and look for
flexibility with local taxes. But Curtatone said a "high quality of
service will be maintained" and "we will be prepared to move forward."