State budget earmarks $113k to Abington

The newly signed $57.78 Massachusetts state budget contains $113,000 in earmarks for town services, capital purchases, and studies.

The earmarks are:

• $15,000 for “sidewalk infrastructure”;
• $25,000 for the “planning, designing and permitting of youth outdoor recreational areas”;
• $30,000 for the “purchase of a utility vehicle” by the Abington Police Department;
• $20,000 for the “purchase of a drone for law enforcement use” by the Abington Police Department, and;
• $23,300 for “programming and services” at the Abington Council on Aging.

The money is on top of the town’s regular allotment of annual state aid. In Fiscal Year ’25, which started on July 1, Abington will receive $14.5 million in Chapter 70 money for schools, and more than $2.42 million in general government aid. Last year, Abington received $14.2 million in school money and $2.35 million in government aid.

During the Legislature’s annual budget writing and debate process, state representatives and senators regularly make a push to include money for services, organizations, and projects in their home districts. The amount of these earmarks included in the final budget often depends on the state’s overall fiscal health.

Town Manager Scott Lambiase said state Rep. Alyson Sullivan, a Republican from Abington, and state Sen. John Keenan, a Democrat from Quincy, both reached out to the town to ask for any needs.

“Each year, as we approach the budget and consider how best it can support local municipalities, we enter into conversations with local and state officials to determine where funding could be of the most immediate benefit,” Sen. Keenan said in a statement for Abington News.  “In this case, beyond the Chapter 70 school aid and general unrestricted government aid for Abington, we identified senior services, public safety, and proposed recreation projects in town as the best candidates for more targeted local funding.”

Lambiase said the town in recent years has annually asked for money to support the town’s first responders and senior center. The $30,000 earmark will allow the police department to purchase a four-wheel utility vehicle it can use to more easily access trails such as those through Island Grove Park and the rail trail into Rockland, Lambiase said. The drone could be deplyed during large community events, such as the Abington Celebrates fireworks, or also be used for missing person searches.

The $25,000 recreation-related earmark will allow the town to draw up plans for turning unused land along Gliniewicz Way into recreational space. The town is losing two fenced-in basketball courts near the police station during the upcoming fire station project. The courts are also used by the town’s youth street hockey league.  Lambiase said the town hopes to see if the area along Gliniewicz Way would work well for courts, or possibly a street hockey rink, or other uses.

Money earmarked for sidewalk improvements will be used to supplement the town’s ongoing roadway and sidewalk improvement efforts, Lambiase said.

In signing the budget, Gov. Maura Healey cut about $317 million, or about 0.5 percent, out of the final spending plan, the highest amount of cuts by a governor in recent years.