Douglas Belanger

Working families are being squeezed in every direction. Pay increases are minimal if anything as costs and family needs keep rising. Doug has been successfully balancing business and government budgets for over thirty years. As the area comes out of the recession, Doug has the experience and knowledge to help build sustainable, affordable budgets for Worcester and Leicester taxpayers.

Education/Crime
It cost Worcester and Leicester an average of $10,000 per year per child to educate a child; it cost an average of $48,000 per year to incarcerate our criminals. Early investment in education is not only the right thing to do for our children, it’s cost effective! Doug supports a front loaded plan to invest in our School facilities, technologies, and curriculum. Each child deprived of reaching their potential is a loss that is unacceptable.

Public Safety
Our police, fire, and emergency medical personnel have been performing exemplary service under difficult circumstances. Doug will advocate for a consistent plan of updating and/or replacing outdated equipment and facilities for our public safety providers.

Unfunded Mandates
The State Legislature often passes legislation that while having a great benefit for society provides little or no new funding for the new regulation. In turn cash strapped cities and towns are forced to cut from existing budgets or programs to fund the legislature’s new program or requirements. From water and sewer regulations, to educational improvements, to public safety, worthy programs need funding sources to be identified before they become local mandates. Doug Belanger wants to ask one question before any new law is passed: “Where is the money coming from?”

Local Aide
The State of Massachusetts has been receiving steady increases in collections of revenues for the past two years. Unfortunately, local receipts force Worcester and Leicester to operating in 2014 with budgets that are in most cases lower than they were in 2009. Doug supports a greater allocation of new State revenues to cities and towns. He also supports an investment of expenditures from the “rainy day fund” for improvements to community infrastructures.^[1][2]