The Garlick Press – Thursday, November 5, 2020

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

As the country continues the process of determining who the next president will be, I wanted to provide you an update on the ongoing budget process happening here in Massachusetts.

As you know, the state budget process this year has been challenging due to the COVID-19 public health emergency, which caused a revenue shortfall for the Commonwealth. Today, I voted for a supplemental budget to balance the books for Fiscal Year 2020, which ended on June 30. Simultaneously, the House Ways and Means Committee released our FY21 budget proposal today. This balanced proposal improves upon the Governor’s recommendations in order to stabilize and sustain key services and meet the needs of the residents of the Commonwealth, including targeted increases for housing support, food security, developmental services, the environment and substance addiction services. To address revenue shortfalls, the House proposal incorporates a number of one-time revenues, including funds from the Coronavirus Relief Fund and the Commonwealth’s rainy day fund.

The budget proposal will be debated by the full House of Representatives next week.

Yours in Service,

Denise

• In Needham, the Town has announced that it will continue to keep the Common Tent up through Thanksgiving. If there is a significant snow forecast before Thanksgiving, the tent may be removed.
• In Dover, the Town is hiring a Land Use Director and is accepting applications until November 19, 2020. The Land Use Director is a part of the Town’s Leadership Team and is the chief staff officer for all planning and community development activities. For more information, click here.
• In Medfield, the Medfield Townwide Master Plan Committee is hosting the final virtual master plan public forum on Sunday, November 8 from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM via Zoom. The Forum will be to discuss the implementation plan that has been developed. For more information, click here.

• Tomorrow, the Department of Public Health’s Stay-at-Home Advisory will go into effect. Residents of the Commonwealth are asked to stay home between the hours of 10:00 PM and 5:00 AM in response to the rising COVID-19 cases in Massachusetts. For more information, click here.
• Tomorrow, three COVID-19 orders from Governor Baker will go into effect. The first order requires certain businesses to close their premises to the public at 9:30 PM, the second order updates the gathering limits for the state, and the third order revises the State’s face covering requirement.

• The State is currently in Phase 3 of Massachusetts Reopening. If you have questions, input, or comments regarding the Reopening Massachusetts plan, you can submit comments online. These comments can be used by the Administration to support efforts to methodically reopen the economy amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Click here for the form.

• If you are in need of resources, information, or support, please visit my website for a list of resources. Additionally, our local boards of health, the Department of Public Health, and the Centers for Disease Control are continuing to maintain websites with the most updated information regarding COVID-19 that you can access here:

• Needham Health Department Updates
• Medfield Updates
• Dover Updates
• Department of Public Health: Click here or Call 2-1-1.
• Reopening Massachusetts
• COVID-19 Travel Order
• Centers for Disease Control