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Needham Times - Needham Might get Special Election 
Reimbursement from State
By, Steven Ryan - 4/7/2010

Needham - Needham and other municipalities throughout the commonwealth could get their wish for state reimbursement for the special election that propelled Sen. Scott Brown to Capitol Hill after the state auditor recently reasserted that the expenses constituted an unfunded mandate.

In a near-unanimous vote, the state House of Representatives approved an amendment late last month that would provide $7.2 million to cities and towns for the cost of the special election to fill the late Sen. Ted Kennedy’s U.S. Senate seat. The amendment now goes before the state Senate.

“The cities and the town clerks are thrilled,” said Town Clerk Tedi Eaton, who is also president of the Massachusetts Town Clerks Association. “We appreciate the efforts the state auditor has made.”

In passing the amendment, the state House of Representatives cited the recession as an impediment to cities and towns when it came to funding the special state election. State Rep. Lida Harkins, D-Needham, has expressed her support for the reimbursement.

The state auditor estimated the special state election cost cities and towns $7.8 million, about $1.5 million of which has already been reimbursed.

“This is a matter of fairness to cities and towns,” State Auditor Joe DeNucci said in a statement. “The special election imposed a significant cost at a time when they could least afford it.”

The Massachusetts Town Clerks Association sent a letter to the state auditor in September to ask if the special elections constituted a state mandate and, if so, whether cities and towns should be reimbursed in accordance with Proposition 2 1/2.

Eaton estimates the town would see about $29,433 in reimbursement if the state Legislature follows the state auditor’s estimates.

Board of Selectmen Chairman Dan Matthews was also pleased to hear about the House approval.

“It will help us,” Matthews said. “It’s an additional cost for the town and approving it helps us get extra money and helps us balance our budget.”

If the money does not get approved, the town would seek a reserve fund transfer to cover the cost of the special election. Eaton said towns did not budget for the special election and had to scramble to cover the cost.

“There’s a lot of towns having problems financially, and this is something they didn’t count on,” Eaton said back in January.

Another unfunded mandate remains unfunded

On a related note, the town did not receive reimbursement for what it saw as an unfunded mandate to comply with new state ethics laws requiring additional clerical work. Matthews said the town accepted the state’s decision on that front. Town officials said the added cost did not require a reserve fund transfer.

“Hopefully this is something [the state] revisits later on,” Matthews said.