Jones: Patrick-Murray Administration should intervene in Lawrence

BOSTON—Saying the taxpayers shouldn’t be on the hook for poor fiscal management in Lawrence, House Minority Leader Bradley H. Jones, Jr. today called on Governor Patrick to immediately put a financial control board in place to get the struggling city’s finances in order.

While the recent news reports of financial trouble in Lawrence are troubling, they certainly aren’t surprising. When the Legislature debated this very controversial issue, I encouraged Democratic Leadership to put an independent financial control board into place immediately. That idea was overwhelmingly rejected and instead Beacon Hill Democrats did what they do best – throw more money at a problem.

Now months later, Lawrence finds itself almost out of money and yet city officials are obligated, due to poor public policy, to pay out thousands of dollars in unused vacation and sick time to laid off employees.

Today, I call on Governor Patrick to act responsibly and put a control board into place. It’s time for him to be the Governor of all the people – not just to those people living in communities with high Democratic-voter turnout.