CUTS(continued)
Maio was also worried that the FY’11 state budget increases spending by over $1 billion and to balance the budget uses over $2 billion in “one-time” funds such as federal stimulus monies, Medicare reimbursements, debt restructuring and the state stabilization fund.
“I'm concerned that even if we go into Town Meeting with the numbers that we're getting from the state,” Maio cautioned, “that we will see a 9C cut later in 2011 or deeper cuts in 2012.” Maio said that his forecast planned for that possibility by placing $800,000 in the stabilization fund “for the express purpose of covering 9C cuts in 2011 or deeper cuts in 2012.”
Maio also warned of a question that will appear on the November election ballot proposing a reduction in the state sales tax from 6.25 percent to 3 percent. He said that the measure, if passed, would cost the state $2 billion and would in turn impact municipalities.
Maio did admit that there was one “shining star” in his FY’11 forecast, and that was new growth. He said that the new National Grid transfer station off Montrose Avenue would account for $1,675,000 of an expected $1,975,000 in new growth. “That is really what's saving us,” Maio said.
Maio noted that his revised forecast was balanced and within the limits of Proposition 2 1/2. He said that he was assuming that all departmental operating budgets already approved by the selectmen would pass Town Meeting and that all remaining budgets would come in level-funded.
Maio proposed placing $200,000 in a line item for collective bargaining. He noted that there have been no raises for town employees in the current fiscal year and said that it would be “prudent” to set aside some money for negotiated raises for next fiscal year.
Maio discussed $16,821,472 in the “fixed costs” portion of the budget, which includes street lights, General Insurance, Workers Compensation, Group Insurance, Unemployment, Medicare, Retirement, the Reserve Fund and the town's share of Northeast Regional Vocational School budget.
Maio pointed out that the Workers' Comp budget was reduced by $19,000 and the General Insurance budget was level-funded. He explained that a $100,000 increase in the Northeast Regional Vocational School budget was to cover additional Wakefield enrollments. Group health insurance also increased substantially, Maio said.
Maio's budget forecast called for $1,000,000 in capital outlay, which Maio maintained has been under-funded for years.
Maio also discussed budgets for Town Meeting articles totaling $1.9 million, the largest of which ($1.6 million) covers trash collection.
In terms of the town's receipts, Maio said that he anticipated modest increases from the excise tax and from the new local option hotel occupancy tax and meals tax. He said that the MGLD's in lieu of taxes payment to the town would total $789,135.
Maio said that in his forecast he was going with the state's promise of level-funded local aid at $8,452,851, because that is currently the only figure that the state has provided. Still, Maio said that he did not see how the state could meet that promise. He reiterated that he expected that the state would have to come back to cities and towns either in FY’11 or FY’12 and cut local aid. He said that putting the proposed $800,000 in the stabilization fund would provide the town with some measure of protection against potentially devastating cuts in local aid. 
Members of the board expressed general agreement with Maio's forecast and his recommendation to place $800,000 in the Stabilization Fund.
Selectman Albert Turco pointed out that the $1.4 million increase in the Group Insurance budget consumed all of the town's allowable budget increase under Proposition 2 1/2. He called for some way to allow municipalities to control plan design in the same manner as the state does with its employees' health coverage. Turco agreed with Maio that cuts in local aid were likely in 2011 or 2012 and supported setting aside $800,000 in the Stabilization Fund.
It total, Maio said that the amount the town could raise from tax levy for FY’11 under Proposition 2 1/2 was $50,692,277. He anticipated a tax levy of $50,686,372, which would leave the town $5,905 under the cap.

POLICE(continued)
Other police business yesterday at:
• 5:56 p.m., an employee at a company in Edgewater Park on Audubon Road returned to her motor vehicle after work yesterday and found that one of her car windows had been smashed. Stolen from the vehicle was a GPS navigational system valued at $200, said police. The matter is under investigation.
• 8:59 a.m., a caller reported that his credit card had been stolen and used at a Lowell Street gas station. Amounts totaled under $100. Detectives are handling the investigation.
• 1 and 2:52 p.m., motor vehicle accidents occurred at the intersection of North Avenue and Beacon Street and Water and Vernon streets. Further details were not available.
• 4:08 p.m., a Vernon Street resident reported that someone forced open his back door. Nothing appeared to be stolen from the home and there were no signs of a suspect. A neighbor later told police she had seen a man limping along the street who got into the driver’s seat of a car parked on Wave Avenue but did not know if the man was responsible for the break-in.
• 9:16 p.m., a Bennett Street resident told police he followed a motor vehicle that had been involved in a hit-and-run accident. Police said drivers exchanged papers.
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Today at:
• 3:16 a.m., a Wakefield man was issued a summons for attaching an unassigned number plate and operating an unregistered and uninsured motor vehicle.
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Firefighters responded to eight calls yesterday, five for medical aid. Firefighters went to Pleasant Street for a house lockout.