BOB SALSBERG, Associated Press
STEVE LeBLANC, Associated Press
BOSTON (AP) — Gov. Charlie Baker, his inauguration in the rear-view mirror, planned to meet with top aides as he gets down to the business of governing with a state budget deficit looming as one of the new administration’s first and biggest challenges.
The Republican was scheduled begin his first full day in office today by convening an early-morning meeting of his cabinet in the governor’s office. Later, he and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito planned to visit a technical high school in Upton and meet with business leaders and elected officials in Worcester.
In his inaugural address yesterday, Baker noted the state constitution requires a balanced budget and said his administration was inheriting a deficit exceeding $500 million, higher than the $329 million estimate made by former Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick’s administration.
“If we’re honest with ourselves, then we can’t blame our deficit on a lack of revenue,” said Baker. “We have to recognize that this is a spending problem.”
The governor ruled out raising taxes or cutting local aid to cities and towns, but said everything else was on the table for addressing the shortfall.
Secretary of Administration and Finance Kristen Lepore, Baker’s top budget aide, said yesterday that she expected her staff to work through the coming weekend to determine the exact size of the deficit and develop ways to deal with it.
“We have to address it immediately,” said Lepore. “Every single day that we go by we’re just bleeding more money.”
The independent Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation has said the deficit could reach $1 billion, and Lepore said the group’s estimate was “credible.”
Leaders of the Democratic-controlled Legislature said they looked forward to working with Baker in a bipartisan fashion on the budget and other major issues. They did not go so far as agreeing with Baker that the deficit was solely due to excessive spending.
Senate President Stanley Rosenberg, D-Amherst, said some budget problems go back to tax cuts passed more than a decade ago, and he also pointed to unexpected costs from the implementation of the federal Affordable Care Act in Massachusetts.
Baker has also promised to make the state’s opiate abuse crisis an early priority. He told in his inauguration speech the story of 19-year-old Evan Green of Easton, who fatally overdosed about a year ago after first becoming addicted to opiates that were prescribed to him after a medical procedure. Green’s parents, John and Stephanie Green, were invited guests to the inauguration.
The governor also gave a boost to charter schools — public schools that operate independently from local school districts — noting there are more than 45,000 children on waiting lists to attend them.
“It’s wrong for any of us to stand on a front porch or in a city neighborhood sympathizing with a mom or dad when they tell us their child is not getting the education to succeed in life and then oppose lifting the charter school cap or making the changes we need to ensure that every school is great,” Baker said.
A bill that would raise the cap on charter schools in underperforming school districts passed the House last year but died in the Senate.
Baker was sworn in during a noon ceremony in the House chamber before members of the state Supreme Judicial Court, House and Senate lawmakers, and other top elected officials.
Within hours of taking office, Baker made good on one campaign promise by ordering the release of $100 million in transportation funds earmarked for cities and towns. Lawmakers authorized $300 million in so-called Chapter 90 funds, but Patrick withheld $100 million, saying the state could not afford the entire amount.
Baker also met with community leaders in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood before wrapping up his day with a gala inaugural party at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.
The governor planned two more celebratory events Friday evening, one at Union Station in Worcester and the other a concert at the Strand Theater in Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood.
First, the Republican is scheduled to begin his first full day in office today by meeting with Boston Mayor Martin Walsh and attending a news conference to discuss the city’s Olympic bid.
The United State Olympic Committee picked Boston yesterday over three other cities as the American nominee for the 2024 Summer Games.
In a statement, Baker said the decision was great news but would work to assure a “privately-funded” Olympics proposal.
