North Andover to Get More Than $125K in State Aid

North Andover will receive $125,332 in Unrestricted General Government Aid from the state this week.

“I am pleased that the Legislature was able to restore this funding to our communities,” State Rep. David Torrisi said in a statement Tuesday. “This additional appropriation will be a boost to our community as it continues to work to provide services to the residents of North Andover.”

Last spring, the Massachusetts House and the Senate voted to use half of the state's surplus funding available at the end of the fiscal year to restore the $65 million that had been cut statewide from the UGGA account rather than put it back into the General Fund.

The money North Andover will receive reflects the difference between the more than $1.7 million in UGGA fundingthe town got in Fiscal Year 2011 and the more than $1.6 million the town got for the Fiscal Year 2012 budget.

“Given the many fiscal challenges communities are facing, returning this money to our cities and towns represents an important step in maintaining a strong partnership with them to maintain essential services such as police and fire protection and education,” State Sen. Bruce Tarr added. “The disbursement of these funds reflects the priority that our municipalities represent in our state’s budgeting.”

Local aid has long been an issue for North Andover, a town whose residents pay much more in state taxes than the town receives in state funding every year.

There is no word yet from local officials about how the money will be used. Check back with Patch for further updates.