Senator Jason Lewis Secures Funding for Stoneham in Senate Budget

The Massachusetts Senate has passed its version of the Fiscal Year 2018 state budget, and Senator Jason Lewis is pleased to announce the passage of budget amendments for key Stoneham priorities.

Senator Lewis secured a budget amendment for $25,000 in funding to install wayfinding signage to enhance the safety and strengthen the revitalization of Stoneham’s downtown.

“I’m very pleased to have secured funding to further enhance downtown Stoneham,” said Senator Lewis. “Municipal officials and community leaders including the Chamber of Commerce have emphasized how clearer and more comprehensive signage would positively impact Stoneham’s local economy, and I conveyed as much to my colleagues in the Senate in order to advance this important priority.”

Additionally, reinforcing the Stone Zoo’s role as an important cultural, recreational, and economic institution in the region, Senator Lewis was able to secure $1,000,000 in additional funding for Zoo New England, the non-profit that operates the Stone Zoo, increasing their budget allotment from $3.5 million to $4.5 million.

With the passage of the FY18 budget in the Senate, both the Senate and the Massachusetts House of Representatives will name conference committee members who will work to draft a final budget, compromising on differences between the two houses. That final budget will then go to Governor Charles Baker’s desk for his signature and possible line-item vetoes.

With Representative Michael Day having secured identical funding in the Massachusetts House of Representatives’ version of the FY18 budget for these priorities, this funding should be included in that final “conference committee” version of the budget headed to Governor Baker’s desk.