Last modified: Saturday, March 29, 2008 1:32 AM EDT Mayor Kevin Dumas Attleboro facing $1.3M shortfall BY GEORGE W. RHODES / SUN CHRONICLE STAFF ATTLEBORO - Like many other communities across the commonwealth, Attleboro is showing red ink in next year's budget, Mayor Kevin Dumas said Friday. The city is about $1.3 million short for the budget year starting July 1, he said. A $500,000 deficit for snow removal, the elimination of a $325,000 federal Medicaid reimbursement to schools, a $200,000 increase in state assessments, a possible 8 percent increase in health insurance costs, a projected $250,000 decline in local receipts, skyrocketing fuel and energy costs and pre-negotiated pay and contracted service increases are the main culprits, the mayor said. And the slowing economy severely impacts local receipts such as building permits and excise and new growth taxes, he said. "This is what we're facing without one additional penny from the state government," Dumas said. "They're level-funding us, which is really a cut because of rising costs." The $1.3 million represents about 1.26 percent of the current $102.4 million budget. While the percentage is small, the dollars are big, said Barry LaCasse, director of budget and administration.. "It's a lot of cash to cut or raise," he said. Dumas said he and LaCasse are not looking at layoffs yet, because there's still time to solve the problem. They have however ruled out a request for a general override of Proposition 2 1/2 tax limits, they said. The two are hoping to overcome the deficit by putting the clamps on spending and to push to get more money from the state and federal governments. They've been lobbying federal officials to restore the Medicaid cut, which affects school districts across the nation, and are pushing to get support for a bill proposed by state Sen. Scott Brown, R-Wrentham, to release $450 million from the state's $2 billion-plus Rainy Day Fund. If the measure is approved, Attleboro would get a one-time $3.4 million infusion, which would go a long way to solving this year's crunch. Since the state's fund is made up of lottery money originally intended for cities and towns, some of it should be released, Dumas and LaCasse said. "The state needs to realize it's raining in the cities and towns," said LaCasse. Dumas said the city needs the help of residents to push both state and federal governments to add cash and restore cuts. He's urging them to call state representatives, state legislative leaders and federal congressional representatives. "It's a unique opportunity for people to have a voice in this," Dumas said. While the operating budget is struggling, the city will continue infrastructure and economic development projects that are funded by grants or state loans that can't be used for other purposes, Dumas said.