BBA Holds Annual State-of-the-State Meeting
Sen. Becca Rausch discusses state initiatives with Bellingham business owners at the BBA’s meeting last month.
This Month, Group Will Present Scholarships, Annual Awards June 11
The Bellingham Business Association (BBA) held its annual State-of-the-State meeting on Wednesday, May 14th, at Arigna’s Irish Pub & Coal Fire Kitchen in Bellingham. Association members welcomed State Rep. Mike Soter (R ) and State Senator Becca Rausch (D), who offered overviews of local initiatives and funding.
Rep. Soter spoke first, noting to the group that this year, as a ranking member of The Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies, he hopes to “bring a lot of economic development to Bellingham and communities throughout my district and here in the state.” Soter noted the House had recently finished its budget process, and that the Senate was in the midst of its budget process, but under the bill the House passed increases would go up from $75 to $150 per pupil, with increases in special education funding and child-care reimbursement. Soter noted “we also go money to close out Fiscal 2025, and that’s money (Bellingham) can utilize if it comes back.”
Sen. Rausch explained to the group that the Senate was currently involved in the budgetary process, noting that in case of a “rainy day,” the Massachusetts’ bond rating “is at just over $8 billion dollars, which is the highest it’s ever been in Massachusetts’ history, if my understanding is correct, which is great, because if we hit that rainy day, were going to need those resources, and we have them, because we’ve been investing and saving smartly.” She added that the MA Senate proposal, with over 1,000 amendments to be debated the following week, included $1.3B in unrestricted general government aid, $116M for Housing Authorities, over $200M total for regional transit authorities, with $40M for fare-free fixed route rides, nearly $60M for adult education services and $9M for career technical institutes.
“Specifically for Bellingham, I’ve filed an amendment to allocate $65,000 for improvements to the senior center for the parking lot. I also submitted a number of statewide amendments to supplement mental health, regional recovery services, scientific research …,” said Rausch.
Referring to Rep. Soter’s discussion of the supplemental budget passed by both chambers, Rausch said, “I secured ¾ of a million dollars just in that budget and hopefully a half a million in the forthcoming document … to come back into our community to support all of you and fellow business owners and our community.” Amendments for Bellingham she just filed included $35,000 for Silver Lake Park, $50,000 for the playground at Town Common. Rausch was hopeful on that funding, noting that she was able to secure $150,000 in funding in priority projects for Bellingham in the last three budget cycles.
The next BBA meeting will be the annual awards dinner on June 11th 5:30-7:30 at Lowell’s Restaurant this month, during which two scholarships will be awarded to high school seniors from Bellingham, as well as the annual Unsung Hero award. For more details on attending this meeting, email [email protected].
