FALL RIVER — For decades, Billy’s Cafe in Fall River was a favorite watering hole for the city’s police officers. So when Fall River lost $2.9 million in aid from the state in 2009 — prompting the layoffs of 53 officers, almost a quarter of the force — the bar and restaurant known for chourico and chips lost many of its regulars.
Billy’s Cafe never recovered, according to owner Rachel Valente, and after 80 years in business, Billy’s will close on Dec. 31.
Comments
The average property tax bill in my town is around $6,000. That seems like a lot to me. Apparently not enough for the Globe.
Deval needs money? He takes it out of local aid...easier than working to reduce the budget...just pass the buck and keep spending as usual.
It is unclear to me that we need the same number of or more public employees in every instance. Many towns and cities have been having declining student populations for years but the number of teachers and administrators stays the same or has grown. Couldn't we save money and cut the property tax rate by adjusting the size of public school staff to the number of students? The crime rate in many parts of the US has fallen for decades (although gun violence continues to be a problem in some of our larger cities). Do we really need more police officers in all communities? Let's look at the numbers first before we borrow even more money from China and Saudi Arabia so that we can give more federal aid to towns and cities.
During the period from 2007 to 2011 Federal employment grew by 13% (http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/washington/story/2012-05-31/federal-workforce-decline-growth/55318944/1). Yet if the "fiscal cliff" happens Obama's contingency budget shows Federal employees will be protected from layoffs.
States and local governments, which were, by all accounts, bloated when this began, have cut back and all you can point to are a couple of diners that shut down? Really? Cutbacks at the local level, and savings by individuals, are the only thing offsetting the Federal gov'ts profligacy.
Less dependence on the Federal government = less future cuts. Sending money to Washington to be redistributed is not efficient. The government spends $1 Trillion on poverty - that would be enough to send a $60K check to each family below the poverty level, but they receive no where near that much in benefits. It's as efficient as trying to throw a stack of dollar bills to someone who's standing 10 feet away ... you lose it all to the winds of bureacratic overhead.
I live in boston .... And should pay more state taxes so fall river cops can go drink in this guys bar?
What color is the sky in the moonbats world? I don't think it's blue ...
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