Springfield Budget Review Begins

            With just two weeks until the new fiscal year, the City Council in Springfield Massachusetts will start holding hearings on a proposed budget that cuts municipal services while calling for higher fees and taxes.  WAMC”s Paul Tuthill reports.

            Springfield City Councilor Timothy Rooke, who chairs the finance committee, says the administration has not squeezed enough savings from city government.

            Mayor Domenic Sarno described his  $551.8 million dollar budget recommendation as “austere” It eliminates 108 jobs, closes three library branches, cuts back on parks maintenance, street  sweeping, and trash collections. It calls for dozens of  fee hikes and a 2 percent increase in the local hotel room tax