NORTHAMPTON — In addition to $300,000 in cuts to a regional opioid task force in Franklin County, Gov. Charlie Baker’s budget vetoes will impact the Northwestern district attorney’s fight against drug trafficking.
The governor has proposed cutting a $172,000 earmark for the district attorney’s anti-crime task force, which helps local law enforcement investigate and prosecute illegal narcotics and firearms offenses, gang-related crimes, human trafficking and other organized criminal activities.
“It’s a significant hit to our essential services,” said Northwestern District Attorney David E. Sullivan. “That’s an important part of our mission, to go after drug traffickers.”
Barring a veto override by lawmakers, Sullivan said the cut could result in layoffs in the district attorney’s office, negatively affect its related drug diversion and treatment program, and lead to other belt-tightening measures in the office.
“I’m hoping our legislators will see the wisdom of giving us the funding we need for our particular opioid fight,” Sullivan said.
The governor’s veto represents a nearly 3 percent cut to the Northwestern district’s approximately $5.9 million budget, which is out of line with the 1 percent cut the governor proposed for district attorney’s offices across the state. However, the Northwestern district was the only district attorney’s office that received an earmark in the budget for the fiscal year which began July 1, and when removed, its budget was reduced by 1 percent like the other district attorney’s offices.
“Governor Baker was pleased to offer a fiscally responsible budget that continues to increase our administration’s investments in education, local aid and efforts to fight the opioid epidemic, without raising taxes,” Garrett Quinn, a spokesman for the state’s Executive Office of Administration and Finance, wrote in an email to the Gazette.
“Despite lower-than-anticipated revenue growth over the past few months, the administration was pleased to work with the Legislature to support core state services, including funding for local infrastructure in our communities and increases for the Department of Children and Families, all while ensuring state government lives within its means.”
Area lawmakers interviewed this week said they were still reviewing the more than 250 vetoes by the governor and were perturbed by the cuts in the Northwestern district attorney’s office, among others related to fighting the opioid epidemic in Hampshire and Franklin counties.
“It’s not unusual that Hampshire County is funded disproportionately less than some other counties,” said state Rep. John W. Scibak, D-South Hadley. “That’s why it’s important for the Hampshire County and western Massachusetts delegation to always keep an eye out to ensure we aren’t being disproportionately affected.”
State Rep. Stephen Kulik, D-Worthington, said the volume of the governor’s budget vetoes surprised him and that the cuts to programs addressing the opioid epidemic in his district do not appear to be justified.
“I don’t understand that at all,” Kulik said. “It concerns me greatly that the governor would do that.”
The Northwestern district’s anti-crime task force was established in 2013 with an $81,288 state Community Innovative Challenge Grant. It consists of police in the 47 cities and towns of Hampshire and Franklin counties as well as Athol, who work with state troopers assigned to the DA’s office, federal law enforcement officials and assistant district attorneys.
The task force increases the ability of law enforcement officials to target crimes specific to communities by pooling resources and operating across jurisdictions, according to the district attorney’s office. Sullivan said the earmark cut from his office’s budget was particularly needed as the earlier grant money that helped fund the task force has run out, he said.
Sullivan said the majority of the $172,000 was to help fund a new lease for space the office rents under the state’s Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance for the task force’s work, as well as its drug diversion and treatment program for drug offenders.
The task force works out of an undisclosed location due to the clandestine nature of its activities, and Sullivan said his office is obligated to move forward with honoring the lease.
“We really haven’t made a contingency plan yet,” he said. “We’re going to be moving in there and cut somewhere else in the budget. It may result in more layoffs.”
Since its inception, one primary focus of the anti-crime task force has been the “drug corridor” connecting New York City with the Canadian border via Interstate 91. Its members have been responsible for frequent arrests of heroin, cocaine and marijuana traffickers across Hampshire and Franklin counties through long-term investigations and coordinated raids.
Dan Crowley can be reached at dcrowley@gazettenet.com.