---

As the state budget position continues to erode along with the weakening economy, state legislators say they are reluctantly becoming resigned to the reality that reductions in state aid to cities and towns will be necessary.

Gov. Deval Patrick now pegs the state's budget deficit at $1 billion as sales, capital gains and other tax revenue keeps dropping.

The governor has already cut about $1 billion from the budget, but at least as much will have to be whittled from the $28 billion document.

Patrick has said "everything is on the table" when it comes to cuts, including local aid.

Local lawmakers have repeatedly said local aid is what they want to protect the most, but now say reductions might be unavoidable. "I don't see how we are going to get around it," said state Rep. Jay Barrows, R-Mansfield. "I'm not supportive of it, but I don't see how we're going to get around it."

State Rep. Steve D'Amico, D-Seekonk, said one of the problems in responding to the deficit is about one third of the budget is untouchable, in that it is "nondiscretionary" spending on items like paying for debt, pensions and mandated programs.

That leaves the other two thirds of the budget, and Patrick has already cut areas in the human services such as programs for the mentally ill, he said.

"That will likely force local aid cuts and maybe even cuts to Chapter 70" education aid, he said.

State Sen. James Timilty, D-Walpole, said he was holding out hope that Christmas shopping boosted sales tax revenue in December, but he said "obviously tough decisions will have to be made" when the Legislature returns to session later this month.

One optimist was state Rep. Betty Poirier, R-North Attleboro.

She said if every line of spending is reviewed, she believes $1 billion in cuts could be found without touching local aid.

Poirier pointed to "earmarks" in budget for items like an irrigation system for a golf course and reducing staffing in the governor's Washington liaison office as ways out of the red ink.

The representative also faulted Democrats in the Legislature for overturning $122 million in budget vetoes the governor had issued last summer.

She said the Legislature is addicted to spending and refused to heed warnings last spring that budget increases had to be held to a minimum. D'Amico said he agreed with Republicans at budget time about the need to be conservative on spending, but he said the latest problem is the result of the collapsing economy, not budgetary decisions.

When the budget was being written state tax revenue was estimated to come in at about $21.4 billion. The estimated was downgraded to $19.3 billion by the governor earlier this week.

"This is not something we have brought on ourselves," D'Amico said. "It is the fallout from the national economic meltdown. It is the breathtaking incompetency in Washington and Wall Street run amuck.

"We're actually better off than most states," he said.

"It's global," Timilty said.

Timilty said when it comes to budget cuts, he said state officials have to realize that not all programs are equal, so cuts should not be made across the board on a percentage basis.

He said programs for autism are more important than parks and should be spared more cuts.

The senator said he would target cuts in the public defender program in the courts. He said defendants who get court-appointed attorneys should be required to eventually pay back the cost.

Barrows said he would like to see the Turnpike Authority sell service areas off the highway that contain gas stations and restaurants. The money could be used to pay off the authority's debt.

He said legislation is needed to make it easier for cities and towns to join the state's health insurance program over the objections of unions representing municipal workers.

But for those who hold out hope that the new year will be better than the last, D'Amico had words of warning:

"It's going to get worse before it gets better. The train is going over the cliff."