Editorial Roundup: New England

Editorials from around New England:

CONNECTICUT

Tuition increases symptom of a major problem

Republican American

Dec. 12

Students at the University of Connecticut face yet another round of tuition increases. During a Dec. 11 meeting, UConn’s trustees unanimously approved a plan to increase tuition by 23% over the next five years. It is intended “to protect the university’s academic quality and to make sure that our students get the courses they need to graduate on time in the face of increasing cost pressure,” said Scott Jordan, UConn’s chief financial officer.

The UConn tuition saga is yet another example of how the everyday people of Connecticut pay for state government’s slavish devotion to the interests of public employees.

For Connecticut residents who attend UConn, annual tuition now is $13,798. Under the newly approved tuition plan, this figure will increase to $14,406 at the start of the 2020-21 academic year and will hit $17,012 when the 2024-25 school year gets underway, the Connecticut Mirror reported Dec. 11. (Out-of-state tuition will increase from $36,466 to $39,680 over the same period.) These figures do not include room-and-board and other fees.

A Dec. 11 Hearst Connecticut Media story indicated the tuition increases were driven in large part by declining state-government support for UConn and by increasing costs at the university, especially those related to fringe benefits. “The cost of fringe benefits has increased from $158.2 million in 2011 to $337 million in 2020, and the share paid by UConn has grown from 39% to 50% in that time,” reporter Liz Teitz noted. This news should surprise no one.

Anyone even remotely familiar with Connecticut knows the state ran into fiscal trouble because generations of politicians failed to properly fund retirement benefits granted to public employees. In late November, the Hartford-based Yankee Institute for Public Policy reported that each year, Connecticut government spends $3.7 billion to deal with unfunded liabilities. For reference, the annual state budget is approximately $21 billion. The situation is further complicated by the legislature’s and former Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s 2017 pact with the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition, which effectively has spared most unionized state employees from pain. In this environment, it was inevitable that UConn students and their families would take a hit.

Indeed, last March, the Mirror reported, “About $25.5 million in funds paid by students – tuition, room and board – goes toward paying fringe benefits, with about half of that going toward the unfunded pension liability.” At that time, Rep. Gregg Haddad, D-Mansfield, noted in-state UConn students and their families already are paying for the unfunded liabilities in the form of higher taxes. Rep. Haddad is House chairman of the legislature’s Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee.

More than anyone else, UConn students and their families epitomize that someone has to pay for the largess for the public workforce. University officials are quick to note that the new round of tuition increases is not as steep as others approved in recent years. Fair enough, but the fact remains that increases may not have been necessary had Connecticut’s “leaders” governed properly.

Online: https://bit.ly/38xFn6Z

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MAINE

Gov. Mills’ solar power policies already paying off

Portland Press Herald

Dec. 9

It will take nearly three decades for the solar panels installed this year at the Blaine House to pay off on the state’s investment. Gov. Janet Mills’ other efforts on solar power, however, are already showing dividends.

Because of limitations at the state-owned property, the $63,000 project at the governor’s mansion, featuring 24 ground-mounted panels and another 37 on the roof of the carriage house, will only generate half of the power initially expected.

Because of security and access issues, the state bought the installation outright. Typically, when government or nonprofit institutions pursue such a project, a solar company finances and operates the project while the customers buys the power generated.

Also, unlike private solar customers, the state - because it does not pay taxes - could not take advantage of a 30 percent federal tax credit.

All of that means that Mainers shouldn’t judge solar projects based on the numbers generated by the Blaine House project. (Still, the panels are expected to offset the equivalent of 1,800 gallons of oil every year, and will make their money back for taxpayers as long as state government is still around in 2049.)

No, the project is best seen as a public demonstration of Gov. Mills’ commitment to increasing the state’s use of renewable energy and lowering the carbon emissions that are raising temperatures across the globe – already affecting health, agriculture, forestry, fisheries and outdoor recreation in Maine.

Gov. Mills has set a goal for the state of doubling the percentage of power coming from renewable sources to 80 percent by 2030, and getting to 100 percent by 2050. She wants Maine to be carbon-neutral by 2045, and she has convened the Maine Climate Council to come up with concrete steps for getting there.

Those steps include more electric vehicles on Maine roads, more home heating conversions – and the widespread development of solar power.

In the last year, the governor and the Legislature also passed legislation held back during the LePage administration that encourages small and large solar projects, and allows more low- and moderate-income Mainers to take part in them.

The policies in that legislation mirror what has been going on for years in Massachusetts, where the more than 10,000 jobs in the solar industry gives a hint at what’s to come in Maine. The goal of increasing use of renewable energy is expected to attract hundreds of millions of dollars in investment to the state and create nearly 2,000 jobs over the next decade.

Legislation that opened the way for more large-scale community solar projects is already paying dividends, drawing interest from investors across the country. The biggest issue may come from managing all the growth.

After years of unnecessary delay, Maine’s solar industry is ready to take off. The changes made by Gov. Mills and the Legislature, with input from both Democrats and Republicans, will bring investment and create jobs. They’ll reduce carbon emissions and make sure Maine is doing its small part to combat climate change.

Talk about a payoff.

Online: https://bit.ly/2sqnOVw

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MASSACHUSETTS

Cities and towns could use big lottery jackpots

MassLive.com

Dec. 12

Even those who don’t play the Massachusetts Lottery are affected by the element of luck.

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker says good management will keep cities and towns from suffering the effects of bad luck - in this case, the absence of huge jackpots for popular games such as Mega Millions and Powerball.

Big jackpots mean more players. More players mean more revenue for municipalities that rely on the lottery as a major cash source.

Last year, the 47-year-old Lottery set a revenue record that would have been tough to match under ideal circumstances. By contrast, this October, the Lottery lagged nearly $62 million behind the pace of October 2018, a drop of 13 percent.

Governor Charlie Baker says good budget management will keep local returns to cities and towns stable, regardless of whether the revenue numbers rise or fall.

Still, from the standpoint of lottery money going back to municipalities, it pays to root for everyone to lose for awhile. If the jackpot rises, so does the number of players.

Since July 1, Mega Millions was at or below $100 million for 20 of its first 42 drawings. Powerball jackpots were below $100 million in more than two thirds of their drawings, and never reached $200 million.

Lottery executive director Michael Sweeney said were it not for declines in those two games, the Lottery would be headed to another record year. Declines in those multi-state games easily surpassed the overall drop in sales, overshadowing sales increases in many other games.

These are high stakes for the state’s 351 cities and towns, which received $1.1 billion in lottery-generated aid last year. Nearly one-fifth of all lottery revenue goes back to the communities.

Sweeney told the Lottery Commission it would take one or two jackpots of $750,000 to $1 billion to seriously reduce the gap between last year’s sales and the current pace. This week’s Mega Millions jackpot rose to $340 million, the highest in six months.

The Massachusetts Lottery has already proven resilient against competition from other sources, notably legalized casino gaming. Revenue numbers will rise and fall. Hopefully, cities and towns won’t bear the brunt of small big-game jackpots, but just to be safe, a couple of mind-boggling jackpots would be welcomed by town financial departments that are counting on a bigger take from the state.

Online: https://bit.ly/38BJeji

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NEW HAMPSHIRE

Towns and cities should review zoning rules to ensure they still meet region’s needs

Valley News

Dec. 11

No doubt there are a number of reasons why the supply of affordable housing in the Upper Valley lags so far behind demand, including the limitations of infrastructure and concerns about too-rapid growth. But surely a prime factor impeding the development of more housing is zoning regulations that no longer reflect the needs and desires of the region’s residents.

A possible case in point is a height limitation that recently led the Lebanon Zoning Board of Adjustment to deny, by a 3-1 vote, a variance for a 250-unit apartment complex proposed for a 75-acre parcel along Mount Support Road. As staff writer Tim Camerato reported last week, the Massachusetts-based developer of the property, Saxon Partners, wanted to construct two five-story buildings of 59 feet in height, 14 feet higher than the zoning ordinance allows along the road.

We do not quibble with the decision of the board, which is duty-bound to apply the ordinance as written. In order to obtain the variance, the developers would have had to demonstrate that the project faced an unnecessary hardship unique to the particular parcel of land. That Saxon Partners is now reworking the plan to comply with the height requirement is evidence that no such unique hardship exists.

On the other hand, the developer’s argument in favor of building taller buildings was a strong one. The parcel is only about a mile south of the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center campus, which already contains buildings taller than the proposed apartment complex. Moreover, Saxon Partners pointed out that the taller buildings would have a more compact footprint, thus having less impact on wetlands, wildlife corridors and natural resources, an important consideration in that area of the city. And vertical construction is cheaper, potentially allowing for more apartments to be included in a project. Increased density is a key to alleviating the housing shortage.

Of course, municipalities cannot indulge in spot zoning, permitting selected parcels to be treated differently from surrounding ones. What they can do is review their ordinances not only with an eye to removing unnecessary impediments to housing development, but also to see what they can do to encourage it.

The city of Claremont appears to be on this track at present. Its Planning Board last week reviewed a new report from the Upper Valley Lake Sunapee Regional Planning Commission that included several recommendations designed to make the city’s planning regulations “housing-friendly,” in the words of the regional planning agency’s executive director, Steve Schneider.

One recommendation was to consider revamping parking requirements for new development and the renovation of existing buildings downtown, letting the market dictate how many spaces were required.

As correspondent Patrick O’Grady reported, this was met with skepticism by some Planning Board members, and perhaps it does go too far. But many town- and city-center parking requirements need to be rethought. As more and more young people and retirees desire to live where they can walk or take public transportation - to work, to shopping, to restaurants and entertainment venues - it makes sense that demand for parking spots may ease. More walking and less driving is a desirable outcome on many fronts.

Another interesting proposal is to promote housing that falls in between single-family homes and multi-unit complexes, such as duplexes and accessory dwelling units. The report recommends this as a way to increase density while spreading wider the expense of maintaining costly infrastructure such as municipal sewer and water.

We urge other communities in the Upper Valley, if they haven’t already done so, to embark on a similar review of their ordinances to see what still makes sense and what is outdated, what serves the public interest and what stands in its way.

The lack of affordable housing acts as a direct brake on the area’s economy, being a formidable obstacle to recruiting and retaining talented workers for big employers, such as Dartmouth College and the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health system, as well as for smaller ones.

But it also is a drain on families and individuals, young and old alike, who already live here and who pay so much for housing that other elements of the good life are often beyond their financial reach. The Upper Valley is resourceful in many ways and an effective effort to promote the development of more housing is well with its powers.

Online: https://bit.ly/2PhTJk0

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RHODE ISLAND

Protecting R.I. elections

Providence Journal

Dec. 10

Given the porous nature of the internet, and the capacity of hackers to sow chaos, it was alarming to see the Rhode Island Board of Elections this week mull over the idea of permitting voting by email.

The last thing Rhode Island needs is new opportunities to undermine fair elections. Voting via the internet creates such opportunities.

As Journal Political Writer Katherine Gregg reported (“Election board tiptoes into voting security issues, postpones actions,” news, Dec. 10), the board weighed the notion of permitting voters - starting with those overseas - to cast ballots by email.

“The idea was shelved - at least for now - pending further study,” Ms. Gregg reported.

“I think we need to look very carefully at the security issues,” said the board’s vice chairman, Stephen Erickson.

To say the least.

If anything, rather than looking into expanding the potential for fraud in our elections, the board should be investigating whether existing procedures are as resistant to tampering as possible. Elections are the means by which citizens run their government and hold the powerful accountable.

Ken Block of Watchdog RI, for example, has raised concerns about mail ballots being issued without the requirement of a voter ID, arguing that could serve as a loophole permitting ineligible voters to participate. He is also concerned that some of the requirements of the federal Help America Vote Act, designed to protect elections, are not being fully met in Rhode Island.

The board is also rightly weighing the protection of ballot results transmitted over the internet from polling places.

In addition, questions have been raised this year about the bloated voter rolls being maintained by the state, which may include many ineligible voters.

Meanwhile, as her term as head of the Democratic Governors Association expires, Gov. Gina Raimondo is promoting a new partnership between the DGA and a group called “Fair Fight,” launched by failed Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, which takes aim at Voter ID laws.

The governor now says she opposes the state’s Voter ID law, passed eight years ago by the state’s heavily Democratic legislature. That law is one of Rhode Island’s key security measures against election fraud, helping to prevent voters from pretending to be people they are not, and making it harder for ineligible voters to participate.

Such a law seems especially important given the condition of Rhode Island’s voter rolls.

People have to provide an ID to do all sorts of things: cash a check, get on an airplane, buy a beer at a ball game. Voting is more important than any of those things. It is the way our republic functions. Politicians are held in check by being answerable to the people. Enabling voter fraud runs the risk of stripping that power away and destroying self-government.

Rhode Island has done significant outreach to limit the danger that any eligible voter is disenfranchised for the lack of a valid ID. That should be a constant effort on the part of the state.

We hope that the governor’s national ambitions in Democratic politics are not leading her to turn against the hard-won protections for the voters in Rhode Island. It is important to remember that each fraudulent vote nullifies a legitimate one. Online: https://bit.ly/2EcdfrU

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VERMONT

Long arm of the blog

Caledonian Record

Dec. 12

A recent report from Amy Nixon described endless requirements imposed by the state on the school boards of Danville, Peacham, Walden, and Barnet; the Caledonia Cooperative School District, and the Caledonia Central Supervisory Union. The root of their struggle is Vermont education law, enforced by the blob (Agency of Education).

The school boards of the affected towns and the CCSU want to find a solution that allows parents to send their children to their favorite school. One or another law won’t let them choose.

The receiving school can reportedly agree to waive any tuition payment by those kids’ town of residence, but if they do, they have to also waive tuition for every kid, from anywhere in the state. No school board can accept that policy.

School boards are also leery of accepting a tuition-waived student who subsequently becomes eligible for expensive special education costs.

We have little doubt that left to their own devices, the school boards and their supervisory union could work out a satisfactory arrangement. But they aren’t left to their own devices.

They have to toe the line with the blob lawyers, interpreting the state statutes. The obvious short run answer is to loosen up the statutes to allow local districts to make their own agreements, including tuition contributions by the sending districts.

In the long run, a far better solution would be for the State to give every child a tuition scholarship, and let their parents decide which school best meets their child’s needs. Then school districts – and independent schools - would prosper by competing to meet their customers’ needs, instead of continuing as a monopoly struggling to get their budgets approved by taxpayers every year.

That solution would favor all students, all parents, and the staff and teachers of market-responsive schools. Unfortunately, poor government-monopoly schools and the VT-NEA teachers’ union will always combine to stifle any consideration of that useful plan.

Online: https://bit.ly/2RNtrb1