When Newton was debating its zoning, the Healey administration and Newton's congressman weren't too subtle about threatening to deep-six the commuter rail station rebuilds if something didn't get passed and if it didn't include more density around Auburndale.
This doesn't seem like a good idea. We should want more and better public transit for everyone so that people actually use it and want it funded better. If we give towns the power to shut down transit, some might just want to. And the harms are unlikely to fall on actual decision makers. We could easily cut down our transit network for no benefit.
I know it wouldn’t pass but why pass round about sticks regarding bypassing existing train stations. Just over rule them if the state is that adamant in forcing the zoning.
Jaysus. In 2007, I lived for a hot second in a Brookline studio almost exactly this size and configuration (but with more storage), three buildings away from the old Holiday Inn on St. Paul Street. Rent? $750 a month.
| City | Estimated Yearly Budget Deficit (USD) | Political |
| New York City | $5.3 billion | Democratic |
| Chicago | $1.2 billion | Democratic |
| Los Angeles | $1.3 billion | Democratic |
| San Francisco | $290 million | Democratic |
| Oakland | $200 million | Democratic |
| Houston | $200 million | Democratic |
| Minneapolis | $156 million | Democratic |
| Austin | $150 million | Democratic |
| Seattle | $140 million | Democratic |
| Miami | $100 million | Republican |
| Boston | $98 million | Democratic |
| St. Louis | $80 million | Democratic |
| Salt Lake City | $80 million | Democratic |
| Baltimore | $75 million | Democratic |
| Detroit | $60 million | Democratic |
| Buffalo | $50 million | Democratic |
| Portland | $45 million | Democratic |
... Again, you have seemingly pulled numbers out of your ass at least as far as Boston is concerned. Again, much as the state constitution requires that the state budget be balanced, state law requires balanced municipal budgets. Not addressing the cities in the list I don't know about, but in FY23 Boston ran a 192M *Surplus* - certified free cash in MA Municipal speak. That surplus isn't likely to continue in quite that same size, but Boston hasn't actually drawn on those surpluses since COVID - something it's likely to continue .
This is generally true for municipalities across the country, including those on Johnny's list. But thanks for pulling up the actual data on Boston, it is sufficient to prove the point that he is working from a different reality.
Why does the school budget keep increasing if the student population keeps decreasing?
People Costs. Combination of collective
