The city's two representatives in the House voted differently on whether to give the governor expanded budget cutting powers that would enable him to slash as much as $500 million in state aid to cities and towns.
State Rep. Thomas Stanley, D-Waltham, was one of eight House Democrats that last night voted against giving Gov. Deval Patrick the unilateral authority.
Stanley said he voted in the minority because no clear formula was presented as how Patrick would make the budget cuts for each community. Stanley has also said that he was not in favor of making additional cuts during the middle of a budget cycle.
"I want to protect my communities from arbitrary cuts," Stanley said.
State Rep. Peter Koutoujian, D-Waltham, said he voted to grant the governor the "9C" powers because the commonwealth is facing a dire economic crisis and the cuts have to be made to make up the budget shortfall.
"Desperate times call for desperate measures," Koutoujian said.
The bill, which passed the House by a vote of 131 to 22, and the Senate by 32 to 6. limits expected local aid cuts to no more than one-third of the total budget reduction.
Patrick has 14 days to announce how much he plans to cut.
In cities and towns, the funding cuts translate into layoffs and service reductions in public safety and schools.
The funding can comprise one-third to up to half of a city or town's budget. It was spared the chopping block in October's first round of budget cuts, when the state was facing a $1.4 billion shortfall. Another $1 billion decline in revenue was added to that earlier this week.
Both Stanley and Koutoujian voted to remove wording in the bill that said Patrick could consider how much each city or town had built up in reserve funds when making the cuts in local aid.
Stanley said cities like Waltham that have built up a sizable stabilization account, shouldn't bear the brunt of seeing their local aid cut more than other communities.
"Waltham has a strong history of practicing prudent financial management and we should not be penalized for that," Stanley said.
Koutoujian said that cities and towns such as Waltham and Watertown that have practiced "sound fiscal management" would be protected by not having the size of their reserve funds considered when cuts are being made.
Richard Conn can be contacted at 781-398-8004 or rconn@cnc.com.
