SHREWSBURY, MA — State House lawmakers last week passed their version of the fiscal 2025 budget, with local lawmakers including plenty of funding for local projects in the $58 billion spending plan.

State reps. Hannah Kane, R-Shrewsbury, and Kate Donaghue, D-Westborough, said they included money in the budget for the following local initiatives:

• $50,000 for Shrewsbury Youth and Family Services
• $10,000 for accessibility improvements to the bathrooms at Dean Park (Shrewsbury)
• $10,000 for improvements to the gazebo at the Shrewsbury Town Common
• $27,000 for radios for Westborough ambulances

The fiscal 2025 budget also includes an increase in Chapter 70 funding, which is the state’s contribution to each school district. Westborough could get about $12.3 million compared to $11.9 million in fiscal 2024, and Shrewsbury could get about $21.5 million compared to about $20.7 million in fiscal 2024.

The budget also includes an increase in unrestricted aid for cities and towns. That type of cash can be used for a variety of municipal services, ranging from libraries to the fire department. Westborough may get about $1.4 million in unrestricted aid ($1.39 million in fiscal 2024), and Shrewsbury may get $3.36 million ($3.22 million in fiscal 2024).

The House budget proposal, however, is subject to change. The state Senate will next take a crack at the budget with possible changes before it goes to Gov. Maura Healey for a signature. Healey could also veto portions of the budget. Last year, Healey vetoed $272 million in spending priorities.

Times are tough these days in Massachusetts and elsewhere. Every penny counts, and those who spend taxpayer money must be sure the funds are spent responsibly.

It’s only fair to those who foot the bill.

A recent investigation by Massachusetts State Auditor Diana DiZoglio’s office has turned up nearly $3 million in public benefits fraud, money given to people who did not deserve it.

Some might argue that $3 million is a pittance compared to the totality of the state budget for Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24), estimated at $56 billion, but again, it is taxpayer money and should be spent accordingly.

The State Auditor’s Bureau of Special Investigations (BSI) regularly audits spending for public benefits programs and usually uncovers some fraud. The most recent investigation was for October through December 2023, the second quarter of FY24.  

DiZoglio’s probe uncovered fraud in 96 of the 1,451 cases it reviewed. 

State House News Service says the investigation found $2,083,270.85 in MassHealth fraud; $692,851.50 in fraud in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); $74,195.05 in the Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children program; $7,909.33 in fraud connected to the Emergency Aid to the Elderly, Disabled, and Children program; and $796.95 in fraud linked to the Personal Care Attendant Program. 

DiZoglio’s office said the investigation recovered $228,185.97 through restitution settlements.

A statement accompanying the Bureau’s report states, “As a result of BSI’s investigations, public assistance fraud cases are referred to agencies for administrative action, fraudulent overpayments are recovered through civil agreements, individuals are disqualified from programs for specified periods of time, and cases are prosecuted in state and federal courts.”

Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., called for university leaders to shut down anti-Israel protests on college campuses, saying they had gone too far and threatened Jewish students’ safety.

The Democrat told NBC10 Boston that school leaders had a “responsibility” to shut down the protests for disrupting classes and making many Jewish students feel unsafe on campus.

“We live in a country that values freedom of speech,” Moulton told the local outlet. “But these protests in many cases have threatened the safety of Jewish students. They’ve completely disrupted the operation of universities, preventing all the other kids from being able to go to school. So, the universities have a right, and I would argue in this case, even a responsibility, to shut them down.”

“I was delighted to just see Harvard turn on the sprinklers the other day,” he added, speaking of his alma mater.

HOUSE DEMOCRATS TELL COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY ADMIN, ‘TIME FOR NEGOTIATION IS OVER’

Moulton argued there needed to be a balance between protecting protesters’ First Amendment rights and protecting the safety of Jewish students.

He said protesters “threatening other students” are a problem, but added that universities “have a right to take action.”

Moulton joins other Democrats who’ve begun pressuring universities to squash the disruptive protests.

Nearly two dozen House Democrats wrote a letter Monday urging Columbia University leadership to disband “the unauthorized and impermissible encampment of anti-Israel, anti-Jewish activists on campus.”

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Columbia University, where students have set up what is being referred to as a Gaza Solidarity Encampment, is shown in New York on April 24, 2024. (Getty Images)

Later that morning, Columbia threatened to suspend students or issue other disciplinary measures if they didn’t clear their belongings from the encampments by the afternoon.

“If you do not identify yourself upon leaving and sign the form now, you will not be eligible to sign and complete the semester in good standing. If you do not leave by 2 p.m., you will be suspended pending further investigation,” it warned.

However, some progressive members of Congress visited Columbia on Friday in support of anti-Israel protesters.

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