NOW (NOT) HIRING — For months, lawmakers have moved ahead with plans to increase state spending while keeping a wary eye on Washington. But the wait-and-see game seems to be coming to an end. The governor announced a hiring freeze across a significant section of state government, in response to what her office described as "widespread economic uncertainty at the national level and a tightening budget outlook." “Tariffs and funding cuts from Washington are causing so much economic damage and instability,” Healey said in a statement. “We are taking this step to prepare for more uncertain economic times, protect taxpayer dollars and move our state forward while ensuring funding will be available for the vital services people need.” So far, Massachusetts has been subject to $350 million in federal funding according to a new dashboard Healey’s administration rolled out Wednesday that tracks cuts to state programs. But the state could end up in a deeper hole in coming years, depending on how much Congress’ plan to cut federal spending relies on off-loading costs onto the states. The pause on executive branch hiring will begin May 27. There won’t be any formal waiver process for agencies to ask for exemptions, but some positions — public safety officers, direct care providers — will be exempt. It’s the second time in recent years that Healey has put executive branch hiring on pause – though her administration insisted the “hiring controls” didn’t amount to a hiring “freeze.” When the freeze will run through is up in the air. The administration will “reevaluate the effectiveness and need for ongoing hiring controls” once the budget has “been signed and implementation is underway,” Healey’s office said.
***BRIAN SHORTSLEVE MBTA LOSER WHO LEFT BEHIND DISASTERS, SLOW ZONES & OVERPAID OUT OF STATE EXPERTS WHO NEVER TRAVELLED TO MASSACHUSETTS! **** WHILE THE MASSACHUSETTS DEMOCRATIC PARTY OFFERED THEIR CRITIQUE OF BRIAN "SLOWZONE" SHORTSLEEVE, THERE'S FAR MORE TO BRIAN SHORTSLEEVE'S MASSIVE INCOMPETENCE THAT CAUSED MBTA DISASTERS THAT GOV. MAURA HEALEY WAS FORCED TO ADDRESS!
MASSACHUSETTS TAXPAYERS ARE FUNDING BRIAN "SLOWZONE" SHORTSLEEVE
FAILURES! IF YOU'RE NOT ANGRY, YOU'RE NOT PAYING ATTENTION! DON'T PUT ANOTHER MAGA MASS GOP LOSER IN OFFICE - WE CAN'T AFFORD THESE INCOMPETENT BOOBS!
"R" VOTERS NEED TO INFORM THEMSELVES ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE RECORD OF THESE MAGA MASS GOP MISFITS!
AMNESIA HASN'T AFFLICTED ALL WHO REMEMBER THE MASSIVE SAFETY ISSUES OF THE MBTA OR THE SLOW ZONES OR THE DEFECTIVE CHINESE CARS OR THE NEW TRACKS THAT WERE DEFECTIVE WHEN THE WHITE TOOTHED GOVERNOR LEFT OFFICE...HOW ABOUT THE EXPENSIVE OUT-OF-STATE EXPERTS WHO NEVER VISITED MASSACHUSETTS BUT WERE IN CHARGE OF CONSTRUCTION?
BRIAN SHORTSLEEVE IS SO 'COMPETENT' HOW ABOUT THE NO BID BATHROOM? DON'T RE-WRITE THE HISTORY OF MBTA FAILURES!
One out-of-state MBTA manager fired, four others warned; Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey says to expect more changes
Massachusetts transit bosses under fire for $100K bathroom
excerptS: Massachusetts Democratic Party Chair Steve Kerrigan slammed Shortsleeve. “Brian Shortsleeve’s disastrous record as manager of the MBTA and chair of Trump loyalist Ron DeSantis’ campaign will be disqualifying to voters. He was a failure then, and he’d be a failure as governor,” Kerrigan said in a statement to the Herald. The $2.3 billion project has faced myriad issues, including narrow and defective tracks that MBTA officials knew about as far back as April 2021. The deal with Chinese manufacturer CRRC for new train cars has faced multiple delays and is now worth more than $1 billion. But Shortsleeve said he is “very proud of what we accomplished” at the MBTA. ***NO SOLUTION FOR THE NATIONWIDE HOUSING CRISIS!****
REPUBLICAN CLOWNS WHINE & COMPLAIN ABOUT THE COST OF SHELTERS, DOES ANY SINGLE REPUBLICAN PROPOSE A SOLUTION? NO!
The state’s emergency shelter system serves both permanent Massachusetts residents and migrant new arrivals.
THE BLOVIATORS IGNORE THIS: More than 75% of families now seeking shelter are “long-time Massachusetts” residents, according to the Healey administration. THESE ARE THE LIES THE MASS GOP & AMY CARNEVALE PERPETUATE: “She has the resources to spend over $1 billion a year to fund the migrant crisis — but can’t backfill $12 million to ensure our children have access to healthy, locally sourced meals?” Carnevale continued. Homelessness rates jumped by double digits in 2024 as Americans battled to afford housing
excerpt: Across the U.S., more than 771,800 people lived without housing in 2024, according to a count taken annually on a single night in January. The number for January 2024 is 18.1% higher than in 2023, when officials counted about 650,000 people living in homeless shelters or in parks and on streets. In 2022, the population of people experiencing homelessness was about 580,000.
“Cut the waste, balance the budget, modernize the system: We turned things around,” Shortsleeve says. “Until Governor Healey took it back and broke the budget all over again.” ***MBTA COMMUNITIES ACT passed under GOV. CHARLIE BAKER, promoted by MIKE KENNEALY!*** excerpt: Shortsleeve said the MBTA housing law, which requires some municipalities to zone at least one district near a transit hub for multi-family housing, is “a classic example of administrative overreach.” He also recently told the Boston Herald he would call for the repeal of the MBTA Communities Act , a controversial zoning law that some cities and towns are still fighting the state over as the deadline to come into compliance approaches. Shortsleeve is the second Republican to enter the race, joining Mike Kennealy, another Baker administration alum, who launched his campaign in April. It’s already looking like it’ll be a bruising primary. Kennealy’s campaign bashed Shortsleeve’s time atop the T in a statement shared with Playbook: “Massachusetts needs a manager to clean up Maura Healey’s mess. When Brian Shortsleeve had his chance to lead, he mismanaged the MBTA and left it in just as big a mess as he found it,” Kennealy’s campaign manager, Ben Hincher, said. “It’s hard to imagine what exactly he’s ‘proud’ of.”
One Republican candidate for governor is already seizing on the decision to pause hiring while pushing a budget that calls for a bump in state spending above the rate of inflation, calling it a “finger in a dam about to burst.” Healey “needs to pull back her out-of-control budget and start over with a new budget that recognizes the limits to taxpayers’ ability to finance her wish list,” Brian Shortsleeve, a former MBTA leader who jumped in the race this week, said in a statement. — MA legislators promise greater transparency. This group of Cambridge voters is holding them to it. by Alexi Cohan, GBH News.
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