More Than Three-Quarters of State and Local Gov’t Workers Have At Least One Shot | Division of Local Services Welcomes New Bureau Chiefs | Map Displays Municipal ARPA Breakdown
More Than Three-Quarters of State and Local Gov’t Workers Have At Least One Shot
Across the United States, about 70 percent of all state and local government employees have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to new research published last week by the MissionSquare Research Institute. Another 6 percent of state and local government workers have begun their vaccination regimen, the research firm said based on a national survey Greenwald Research conducted of more than 1,200 workers in May. “It’s encouraging to see such high vaccination levels amongst the state and local workforce,” Rivka Liss-Levinson, the senior research manager at MissionSquare Research Institute, said. “Many state and local employees are front line workers — public safety, public health, and teachers. High vaccination levels help protect the workforce and the public from exposure to this dangerous virus.” Among state and local government employees who are undecided or will likely not get the vaccine, 64 percent said their chief concern is of the vaccine’s side effects, 37 percent said they need more information about how well the vaccines work and 33 percent cited a lack of trust in government. The report said that 10 percent of unvaccinated respondents said they will definitely get a COVID-19 vaccine at some point. As with vaccination among the general public, vaccination rates are not even across the state and local government workforce, Liss-Levinson said. Younger, lower-income, and Black or African-American state and local workers are “significantly less likely to be fully vaccinated,” she said. – Colin A. Young/SHNS
Division of Local Services Welcomes New Bureau Chiefs
The state office that acts as a crucial link between the state and municipal governments has brought a handful of new employees aboard amid an ongoing transition period. The heads of three of the five bureaus of the Massachusetts Department of Revenue’s Division of Local Services have retired in recent months and Senior Deputy Commissioner of Local Services Sean Cronin late last month announced their replacements. Chris Wilcock, who spent nearly eight years as Melrose’s chief assessor and is a past president of the Massachusetts Association of Assessing Officers, has joined DLS as chief of the Bureau of Local Assessment. Deb Wagner, who has worked for the state for more than two decades including a recent stint as supervisor of the Bureau of Accounts’ Springfield office, is the department’s new Bureau of Accounts director. Ken Woodland, an attorney and Watertown town councilor, was hired to head up DLS’s Municipal Finance Law Bureau. “I have the utmost faith that all three are prepared and ready to not only hit the ground running, but utilize their experience and perspectives to positively shape DLS going forward,” Cronin said. In the same notice, Cronin also announced that Jodi Beaton, Paul Corbett and Jack Lyons are also leaving DLS “after many years of dedicated public service.” In recent weeks, DLS has been busy issuing guidance and sharing memos about municipal requirements related to American Rescue Plan Act funding and the recent expiration of Gov. Charlie Baker’s coronavirus emergency declaration. – Colin A. Young/SHNS
Map Displays Municipal ARPA Breakdown
Residents and local officials around Massachusetts can get a better sense of how much federal aid is due to their city or town — and how much the neighbors are getting — through an interactive map the Baker administration launched June 23. The map displays the breakdown of the $3.4 billion in aid that the American Rescue Plan Act provided to local cities, towns, and counties through the new Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund. The website hosting the map also includes information on the distribution process and the authorized uses of the ARPA money. Included within the $3.4 billion for local governments is $2 billion specifically for municipalities — $1.7 billion of which is being provided directly to 38 cities based on the federal government’s “metropolitan city” designation. The remaining 313 smaller cities and towns will get a piece of $385 million in aid to be distributed by the Executive Office of Administration and Finance based on population. The Baker administration received the first half of that money on May 28 and opened the process for municipalities to obtain their shares on June 1. Each city or town’s money will be distributed by the Department of Revenue’s Division of Local Services through the same process used for local aid from the state. – Colin A. Young/SHN
