Can't you hear your mom calling you home?
"For Boston’s revenues amid the pandemic, it could be worse, according to researchers" by Danny McDonald Globe Staff, August 21, 2020
When it comes to revenue projections for major American cities fighting the COVID-19 pandemic this fiscal year, you could do a lot worse than Boston, according to a new paper from a trio of researchers.
The paper, slated to be published in the September issue of the National Tax Journal, asserts that Boston, in large part because of its heavy reliance on property taxes for revenue, is projected to have a less severe annual revenue decline for this fiscal year than dozens of other major American cities, including New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Chicago, New Orleans, San Francisco, Seattle, and Los Angeles.
In their analysis of 150 cities, the researchers combined data from municipal budgets with expenditures and revenues from all “overlying governments,” meaning entities that may not fall under an annual municipal budget such as housing authorities, and, where applicable, county governments that serve city residents.
The results showed a projected revenue shortfall in Boston of between $105 million and $203 million, or a percentage shortfall between 2.2 percent and 4.2 percent, according to Andrew Reschovsky, a Somerville resident and professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who was among the three researchers for the paper.
The economy has cratered and that's all the revenue they will lose?
Cents on the dollar?
City authorities have said that Boston’s annual budget depends on property taxes for more than 70 percent of its revenue, and Reschovsky also pointed out that the city does not raise any revenue from a local general sales tax nor an individual income tax, both revenue streams that are being hit hard by the recession. Additionally, he said that Boston has a “below average reliance on” user fees and charges, which also explains the projection of “below average revenue shortfalls for the city.”
Yeah, and how will landlords and others pay property taxes with empty buildings and closed stores and rents not being paid?
I'm only repeating the Globe reporting I have read previously, so WTF?
“We also project that state aid to local governments in Massachusetts will be reduced by between 0.9% and 3%,” he said in the e-mail. “These reductions are smaller than projected state aid reductions in many states and reflect the fact that, given the employment mix in Massachusetts, the state’s economy will be less hard hit than many other states. "
I don't know what he is talking about because we have the highest rate of unemployment in the whole damn country! -- but at least FEMA(!!) is delivering an extra $300 a week in jobless benefits that will be paid soon.
Justin Sterritt, the city of Boston’s budget chief, said that the researchers included entities that do not actually contribute to the city’s budget in their findings but also acknowledged that the tenor of what they were saying “is generally correct.”
“We do rely heavily on property taxes, which for the city is a very stable and consistent revenue source,” said Sterritt.
Except VALUES are now DROPPING ALL ACROSS BO$TON!
Sterritt said Mayor Martin J. Walsh’s budgets over the last seven years have been fiscally responsible so “we don’t see the big ups and downs that other cities are seeing right now.”
I hope he has to eat sautรฉed crow with those words.
While the researchers talk about a shortfall of between 2 percent and 4 percent, the city’s most recent operating budget accounted for a projected $65 million in revenue loss as a result of the coronavirus crisis — about 2 percent of the budget.
“We did already start to account for some of this revenue loss that they are projecting,” said Sterritt.
Walsh submitted an increased spending budget right in the middle of this thing, that's how out of f**king touch are these a$$holes!
Sterritt did not anticipate there being a need for layoffs from the city’s workforce of 18,000-plus this year, and said the city believes it has enough resources to maintain the current level of services. “If there is a long-term change in the broader residential or commercial real estate market in Boston, that could have an effect in future fiscal years, which is something we’re mindful of,” he said.
Of course not. For some reason, not one government puke has lost their job in this era of shared sacrifice!!! They are still living the good life after destroying yours!
I would also take what he said with a grain of salt after the mixed messages from the mayor.
First he says he has no plans to furlough or layoff city workers, no plans! That's the headline.
By the end of the first paragraph he is saying that neither furloughs nor layoffs are on the immediate horizon. So now the plans are not on the immediate horizon, but they could exist.
The third paragraph informs us that while speaking at a news conference he said, “as of now, we are not considering furloughs or layoffs.”
So he went from NO PLANS to NOT on the IMMEDIATE HORIZON to AS OF NOW not considering!
That could change a minute after he said it, but as of now.....
Doesn't that make you feel as secure in your job as is he?
Reschovsky concurred, saying that the city’s heavy reliance on property taxes is a “two-edged sword. One possible consequence of the pandemic is a reduction in the demand for residential and commercial real estate in the city,” he said in an e-mail. “The result of reduced demand will be falling market values, which will eventually be reflected in reduced assessed values, and likely reduced property tax revenues for Boston. Any significant reductions in property tax revenues are unlikely to occur for several years, but they raise the possibility that much like with the Great Recession, the fiscal consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic may be felt for many years.”
Not for the Great Re$et crowd of which Marty is a part, and I hope going along with this fraud was worth it. You ruined a great city and while be reviled throughout history for it.
In a Thursday statement, Walsh said, “Because of the responsible budgets we have maintained for the past six years, Boston is in a position to maintain vital city services while still making bold investments.
He added, “At a time when other cities across the nation are scaling back their investments as a result of the economic impact of COVID-19, we will continue to provide the resources our residents need, and plan for an equitable future for all.”
Three-hundred years ago, that guy takes a drink in Boston harbor.
--more--"
So what do you think the result will be of the over reliance on property taxes in a city that is going to see real estate values plummet amidst the massive loss of jobs and economic activity (an empty Fenway ain't helping $hit)?
Well, think it through: it leads to tax default on the part of property owners. In that case, the city can effectively seize the property for non-payment of taxes, as citizens will also be paying for this, too.
It's what used to be known as COMMUNISM, and here is that EQUITABLE FUTURE for ALL that he is promising:
"Boston to consider looser zoning for affordable housing; Two city councilors are calling for a hearing to streamline the arcane zoning code for some kinds of affordable housing developments" by Tim Logan Globe Staff, August 24, 2020
Building affordable housing can be pretty hard in Boston. Now, some on the City Council are hoping to make it easier.
Two councilors last week launched a push to loosen zoning restrictions for some kinds of affordable housing developments in the city. While details remain to be worked out, Councilor Kenzie Bok, who represents several downtown neighborhoods, and Councilor Matt O’Malley, of Jamaica Plain, are calling for a hearing this fall to find ways to streamline Boston’s arcane zoning code for buildings that are 100 percent affordable housing, or affordable to very low income residents — the sorts of affordable housing the city says it desperately needs.
“We should be expediting these sort of projects,” Bok said. ‘We need to make them easier to build. More predictable, and less expensive.”
Since most of us won't have work, at least those that survive the Great Cull and Purge, one can see the Soviet Union being resurrected in AmeriKa.
Going to stuff you slaves into affordable housing, same as in the former Soviet Union!
That is the ZONE into which we are all be forced!
While the city does help to subsidize affordable housing developments, they’re subject to the same arduous zoning process as any other project in Boston, often requiring rounds of community meetings and intense negotiations with neighbors over everything from the height of the building to the number of parking spaces. That adds time, and thus cost, to projects that are already hard to finance, and often leaves them smaller than what was initially proposed. It also leaves projects more vulnerable to lawsuits that can further delay them.
That’s happening now in Jamaica Plain, where a project providing affordable and supportive housing for the formerly homeless is stalled by a lawsuit from a neighboring property owner who is concerned it includes too little parking. The project — developed by the Pine Street Inn and housing nonprofit The Community Builders — won zoning approvals with strong neighborhood support, O’Malley said, but may be derailed by one opponent.
“It was as slam-dunk as I’ve ever seen for a development of this scale, and you’ve got one person — who doesn’t even live in the neighborhood — filing a frivolous lawsuit,” O’Malley said. “That’s his right, but it’s putting this project in jeopardy.”
The stick in the mud is Monty Gold, who is represented by Stephen Greenbaum.
Minimum parking requirements are the sort of thing that new affordable-housing zoning rules could potentially do away with, Bok said. Perhaps buildings could be allowed to be taller if they include more affordable units. Maybe some fees could be reduced.
“There are a bunch of hoops that we ask buildings to jump through even when they’re doing 100 percent affordable housing,” she said. “We should be able to say ‘you can forgo that.‘”
Those hoops are popular with people who say they support affordable housing but want to make sure it fits with their neighborhood, and efforts to change the restrictions have gone slowly.
I expect neighbors will have no say now due to COVID.
A similar proposal in Cambridge to streamline zoning for affordable housing has been hotly debated for nearly two years and was a major issue in last year’s City Council elections. Last week, a subcommittee voted 6-1-1 to advance it, setting the measure up for likely approval this fall.
“I truly believe this ordinance will accomplish two very important goals,” said Cambridge City Council member Marc McGovern. “One being to make the building of 100 percent affordable housing for low- and middle-income residents more financially viable, and two, bringing affordable housing to parts of the city where it’s currently lacking.”
Boston, of course, would just be starting the legislative process. Bok and O’Malley said they want a hearing this fall to talk through what sort of changes might make sense. Legislation would eventually follow. To succeed, any plan would likely need the support of Mayor Martin J. Walsh, who has made housing — and especially affordable housing — one of his top priorities while in office.
Walsh, in a statement, was noncommittal toward the zoning proposal, though he noted his administration recently launched a new $30 million round of funding for affordable housing.
Who can afford them without jobs?
“As a city, we are committed to creating safe, affordable, and equitable housing for all families in Boston,” he said. “We must work together to do everything we can so families can continue to live in our neighborhoods and call Boston their home,” and those who build affordable housing say they like the idea, while also noting that projects need to check many boxes — from financing to neighborhood support — to succeed.
Is he going to beg the rich to come back like Cuomo?
“We’re definitely supportive of anything that would make it easier to build affordable housing,” said Joe Kriesberg, executive director of the Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations, which represents nonprofit housing developers. “There are many barriers, and any time you can reduce or eliminate one, it makes it easier.”
COVID helped!
--more--"
The Globe will even help you clean up the hovel:
"IRobot launches new software platform aimed at making its robots smarter; Bedford tech company looks to build customer loyalty amid a pandemic home-cleaning boom" by Jon Chesto Globe Staff, August 25, 2020
I would rather live in filth then.
IRobot’s product launches normally focus on shiny new machines designed to scuttle around your rug or floor, cleaning up debris, but this latest launch is different: It focuses on the brains behind those machines.
The Bedford company is unveiling on Tuesday a new software platform called iRobot Genius, accessible via a new mobile app for all of the company’s Wi-Fi connected cleaning robots. The software will help the robots figure out zones where cleaning is most needed, such as around the kitchen table or the couch. They’ll also be able to figure out which time of day the house needs to be cleaned, and sync up with other devices that can signal when the owners are leaving or coming home.
Chief executive Colin Angle said this is the first time the company has done a software launch of this scale.
Angle and his 1,200-plus employees have good reasons for making their robots smarter. They face serious competition on their turf, particularly from rivals that specialize in lower-cost robot cleaners, including the likes of Needham-based Shark Ninja, and demand for cleaning robots has been soaring since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic amid all the work and school being done at home. Revenue, for example, rose year-over-year at iRobot by 8 percent in the three-month period that ended in June, and its stock price is up more than 50 percent so far this year as investors placed bets on the duration of this home-cleaning boom.
They are cleaning up, huh?
“Simply being at home creates more mess,” Angle said. “If you had kids, you basically had no time to breathe, much less clean. The proposition of a robot vacuum cleaner sounds pretty good in those kinds of environments.”
Angle said customers are asking for smarter features for their Roomba vacuums and Braava jet mops. In particular, they’re looking for their robots to take a more personalized approach to their tasks, to better match the rhythms of daily life.
“This idea that robot intelligence equaled autonomy was wrong,” Angle said. “The next stage … has to do with collaboration and being a good partner.”
Take your vacuum and suck up that trans-humanist AI $hit, 'kay?
Angle has been eager to find ways to plug his robots into the “connected home” (aka the “smart home”) for several years. The company’s higher-end robots can actually map out a floor in your house. Toward that end, the vast majority of new hires that the company has made in the past three years were software engineers.
Consumers don’t need to pay to receive the extra level of intelligence in the new software. Instead, it’s available for free to all customers with Wi-Fi connected robots, via a software update. The company hopes that by smartening up its machines, it can hold on to its position as the dominant seller of cleaning robots across the globe.
The little surveillance vacuum is FREE!
“It is about driving loyalty,” Angle said. “Our monetization strategy is not through charging you money. It’s through creating a longer collaboration, both in cleaning but also in selling you the things you need to clean.”
You have lost mine!
--more--"
What it won't do is help you mow the lawn -- if you had a lawn to mow.
At least Walsh is keeping the trains running on time:
"‘Everything is on the table’ as MBTA eyes looming budget crunch" by Adam Vaccaro Globe Staff, August 24, 2020
With a huge budget deficit looming next summer, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority said Monday it will not rule out service cuts, fare hikes, or layoffs as it scrambles to save or raise $400 million over the next two years.
Transit officials said they are not projecting riders to return at pre-pandemic levels before the summer of 2022, resulting in a budget gap for the fiscal year that starts next July that could range from $308 million to more than $575 million, depending on ridership.
What is the percent of revenue, because if it's like Bo$ton's property taxes things should be running smoothly on the neglected and decrepit piece of $hit.
In the short term, the T has been able to use federal funding to paper over fiscal issues, which are afflicting transit agencies across the country, but the agency will need to take even more significant actions to ward off the deficit the following year.
That only delays the train's arrival at the station, something Bo$tonians are used to.
“We are looking for ways to capture savings and increase ... revenues,” general manager Steve Poftak said before a meeting of the T’s governing board Monday. “I think, at this point, everything is on the table. ... We are mindful of the riders of the MBTA and we want to continue to provide them service, but I think this is the beginning of a conversation, and I think it’s premature to take anything off the table.”
Unless you ride the Red Line. There is no COVID there.
The T’s annual operating budget tops $2.3 billion, but fare revenue has collapsed amid the pandemic. Ridership is hovering around 20 percent compared to pre-virus levels on most subway lines. It’s much lower on commuter rail, though closer to 40 percent on buses.
That is not cents on the dollar!
Poftak said the MBTA will consider the operating budgets for this year and next as one big budget and stockpile any savings in either year to address the upcoming deficit. The agency hopes to find $400 million in that period, which he described as a “responsible” goal, though he acknowledged the gap could grow even higher.
The $hit service is about to get way worse!
The T has already identified two major sources that could help meet about 70 percent of the goal.
One is to borrow money to pay salaries of workers who work on long-term capital projects. The change that would require the approval of the state Legislature, but both the House and Senate have indicated support. That money eventually would have to be paid back, but could help save $120 million in the short term.
Borrow from whom?
That is their answer for everything, borrow more money!
Another plan is to tap federal funds that are usually dedicated to those capital projects but are allowed to be put toward maintenance work in the T’s operating budget. While that would eat away at a funding source for long-term MBTA improvements, it would help recover about $160 million for next year.
Brian Kane, director of the MBTA Advisory Board, an agency watchdog that represents MBTA municipalities, said the MBTA can probably afford to divert the money as a short-term fix to the budget issues, Kane said, because it has increased its capital spending so much in recent years, topping $1.5 billion last year.
That is how the service became a pice of $hit, and most of their revenue will now go to $weetheart, feather-ne$ted pensions and perks!
Has ANYONE BEEN LET GO YET, what with the REDUCED RIDERSHIP because if so the Globe has been damn quiet about it!
The MBTA still needs to find another $120 million, and while some officials and advocates remain hopeful the federal government will send another aid package to public transit systems, Poftak said he will challenge every MBTA department to drum up ideas to reduce costs or increase revenue.
They already got nearly a BILLION DOLLARS?
WhereTF did it go?
One option could be service cuts.
You will be getting that in any event!
That city will soon be $hit!
Officials also stressed that the budget is a work in progress that will require tweaks depending on how circumstances and ridership evolve.
The T’s oversight board has previously said it would not raise fares again until summer 2022, but that could be reversed with a vote, but fare hikes could also further hurt ridership that is already low, and given the economic crisis, the MBTA is also facing pressure in the other direction: Advocates want officials to deliver on a long-debated concept of offering discounted fares for low-income riders.
“Despite the shortfalls faced by the T, moving forward with a low-income fare is necessary to support essential workers and environmental justice communities,” Collique Williams, an organizer with the group Community Labor United, told the T’s board, calling on the federal or state government to cover the T’s deficit instead of riders.....
WHAT?
--more--"
Why did the subway car smell like COMMUNI$M, and what is that racket in the center of town??
"The hundreds of thousands of bikers who attended the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally may have departed western South Dakota, but public health departments in multiple states are trying to measure how much and how quickly the coronavirus has spread in bars, tattoo shops, and gatherings before people traveled home to nearly every state in the country. From the city of Sturgis, which is conducting mass testing for its roughly 7,000 residents, to health departments in at least six states, health officials are trying to track outbreaks from the 10-day rally, which ended on Aug. 16. They face the task of tracking an invisible virus that spread among bar-hoppers and rallygoers, who then traveled to more than half of the counties in the United States. An analysis of anonymous cellphone data from Camber Systems, a firm that aggregates cellphone activity for health researchers, found that 61 percent of all the counties in the country have been visited by someone who attended Sturgis, creating a travel hub that was comparable to a major US city. Health departments in four states — South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Wyoming — have reported a total of 81 cases among people who attended the rally. South Dakota health officials said Monday they had received reports of infections from residents of two other states — North Dakota and Washington. The Department of Health also issued public warnings of possible virus exposure at five businesses popular with bikers, saying it didn’t know how many people could have been exposed. South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, a Republican, has defied calls to cancel large gatherings and opposes requirements to wear masks. She welcomed the event, which in previous years brought in about $800 million in tourist spending, according to the state’s Department of Tourism."
It is all of 22 cases, and they were on their way to New Hampshire.
Time for me to dig into pasta, for it's dinner time and I'm home.
