Baker-Polito Administration Awards $21 Million in Climate Change Funding to Cities and Towns

Baker-Polito Administration Awards $21 Million in Climate Change Funding to Cities and Towns

93% of Communities Participating in Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Program 

EASTHAMPTON – Building on its commitment to creating a more climate change resilient Commonwealth, the Baker-Polito Administration today announced $21 million in grants to cities and towns through the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Program, representing a doubling of the program budget since last year. To date, this brings total awards through the MVP program to over $65 million. The grant program, which was created in 2017 as part of Governor Charlie Baker’s Executive Order 569, provides communities with funding and technical support to identify climate hazards, develop strategies to improve resilience, and implement priority actions to adapt to climate change. The grants are in addition to the Administration’s proposal to invest $900 million in funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) into key energy and environmental initiatives, including $300 million to support climate resilient infrastructure.

“With the ongoing success of the MVP program, we are pleased to double the program’s funding this year to support local climate change resilience projects throughout the Commonwealth,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “Massachusetts communities are implementing important, nation-leading efforts to adapt to climate change. Our Administration is committed to working with municipalities across the Commonwealth to tackle these urgent challenges, which is why we have proposed a significant increase in funding for climate adaptation projects through our federal ARPA spending plan.”

“The MVP program is a vital tool in our efforts to prepare and strengthen our coastal and inland communities to address the impacts of climate change,” said Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito. “We are thrilled to welcome 16 new towns to the program as they take important steps in planning for the future, and to award funding to 66 priority implementation projects that range from upgrading or removing high-risk dams and culverts to investing in Environmental Justice communities.”

Through this latest round of funding, 93% of Massachusetts cities and towns, or 328 municipalities, are now enrolled in the MVP program. The program pairs local leadership and knowledge with a significant investment of resources and funding from the Commonwealth to address ongoing climate change impacts, such as inland flooding, storms, sea level rise, and extreme temperatures. Of these funds, $20.6 million was awarded to 66 cities, towns, or regional partnerships to implement projects that build local resilience to climate change in the Commonwealth’s fifth round of MVP Action Grant funding. Additionally, $400,000 was awarded to 16 towns to pursue a community led planning process to identify vulnerabilities to climate change and priority actions. When complete, these municipalities will be eligible for the next round of implementation funding.

“The MVP program has been recognized as a national model for building climate resiliency through strong state and local partnerships, and we are proud to have enrolled 93% of the municipalities in Massachusetts in this critical effort,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Kathleen Theoharides. “Every region in Massachusetts experienced extreme weather throughout the summer, including excessive heat, record precipitation, and flooding, and the MVP program offers vital technical and financial assistance to help municipalities address vulnerabilities and create stronger, more liveable climate resilient communities.”

The $21 million announced today will go towards MVP Planning Grants and Action Grants. Planning Grants support communities in working with a state-certified technical assistance provider to lead a community-wide planning workshop to identify key climate-related hazards, vulnerabilities and strengths, develop adaptation actions, and prioritize next steps. Results of the workshops and planning efforts inform existing local plans, grant applications, and policies. Communities are then eligible for competitive MVP Action Grant funding to implement priority on-the-ground projects. Projects are focused on proactive strategies to address climate change impacts and may include retrofitting and adapting infrastructure, actions to invest in and protect environmental justice communities and improve public health, detailed vulnerability assessments or design and engineering studies, stormwater upgrades, dam retrofits and removals, culvert upgrades, drought mitigation, energy resilience, and projects that focus on implementing nature-based solutions such as wetland restoration and floodplain protection.

“The grant allows Easthampton to act on our deep commitment to a resilient, environmentally aware ecosystem,” said Easthampton Mayor Nicole LaChapelle. “The Cherry Street project serves as a model for future grants.”

"These grants provide critical funding to Easthampton, Southwick, and communities throughout our region for initiatives that focus on the consequential impacts of climate change,” said State Senator John Velis (D - Westfield). “Projects funded by the MVP program, like the Cherry Street restoration in Easthampton, allow our municipalities to address local climate hazards and build a more resilient and environmentally friendly infrastructure."

“I am very excited that Easthampton is receiving this MVP Action Grant,” said State Representative Dan Carey (D - Easthampton). “This grant for Cherry Street’s green infrastructure and slope restoration construction is a perfect example of the partnership between state and municipal government.  The state funding from this grant will help to make necessary improvements in our community.  It is crucial that we address climate change on the local level and this project will make the area more resilient to ongoing and future climate change impacts.”

The following communities will receive funding to complete the MVP planning process in 2021-2022: 

Applicant	MVP Program Region	Total Award
Boylston	Central	$20,000
Clarksburg	Berkshires & Hilltowns	$15,000
Egremont	Berkshires & Hilltowns	$40,000
Hawley	Berkshires & Hilltowns	$27,000
Huntington	Berkshires & Hilltowns	$38,000
Ludlow	Greater Connecticut River Valley	$31,000
Millville	Central	$27,000
Oxford	Central	$26,900
Raynham	Southeast	$15,000
Savoy	Berkshires & Hilltowns	$15,000
Southbridge	Greater Connecticut River Valley	$22,000
Tolland	Berkshires & Hilltowns	$27,000
Tyringham	Berkshires & Hilltowns	$20,000
Warren	Greater Connecticut River Valley	$26,895
Webster	Central	$25,000
West Bridgewater	Southeast	$22,000
Total (16)		Total: $397,795

 

The following communities were awarded Action Grants: 

Applicant	Project Title	Grant Award
Acton & Acton-Boxborough Regional School District	Climate Action Plan and Electrification Roadmap	$157,940
Andover	Shawsheen River Watershed Land Conservation Planning and Prioritization for Climate Resilience and Environmental Justice	$131,700
Ashfield	Baptist Corner Road Stream Crossing Ecological Improvements	$448,600
Athol	Greening Lord Pond Plaza Phase 2	$213,630
Belchertown	Land Conservation and Restoration of the Scarborough Brook Headwaters for Climate Resilience	$480,025
Belmont	Stormwater Flood Reduction and Climate Resilience Capital Improvement Plan	$195,000
Bolton & Clinton	Nashua River Communities Resilient Lands Management Project	$302,691
Braintree	Smith Beach Green Infrastructure Project	$47,500
Bridgewater	High Street Dam Removal	$750,000
Buckland, Ashfield, & Hawley	Watershed-Based Assessment and Climate Resiliency Plan for Clesson Brook	$100,117
Burlington	Vine Brook Watershed and Urban Heat Island Assessment	$108,500
Chelsea	Battery Storage System and Solar at Chelsea City Hall	$624,000
Conway	South River Flood Resiliency Project	$191,200
Deerfield	Healthy Soils, Green Infrastructure Policy and Climate Resiliency Public Engagement in Deerfield	$40,951
Dennis	Pound Pond, Dennis- Flood Mitigation and Storm Drainage Improvements	$120,010
Easthampton	Cherry Street Green Infrastructure and Slope Restoration Construction	$2,000,000
Everett & Chelsea	Island End River Flood Resilience Project	$716,500
Falmouth	Conceptual Design of Flood-Resiliency Improvements for Sewer Infrastructure	$104,040
Fitchburg	Bolstering Public and Private Action to Improve Flood Resilience in Baker Brook	$173,350
Foxborough	Advancing Green Infrastructure in Foxborough for Enhancing Climate Resilience through Planning and Design	$166,543
Framingham	Walnut Street Neighborhood Flood Mitigation - Design & Permitting	$269,030
Gloucester	Gloucester Climate Action and Resilience Plan (CARP)	$69,890
Groveland	Johnson Creek Watershed Flood Resiliency Project	$82,186
Hampden & East Longmeadow	Hampden/East Longmeadow Infrastructure Assessment and Prioritization of Nature-Based Solutions and Public Outreach and Participation	$389,092
Haverhill	Little River Dam Removal and River Restoration	$475,000
Ipswich	Ipswich River Sewer Interceptor Bank Biostabilization Project	$117,803
Lenox, Pittsfield, Stockbridge, & New Marlborough	Housatonic Stream Restoration for Regional Flood Resilience Project	$295,190
Leominster	Monoosnoc Brook Bank Stabilization Project	$167,625
Leverett	Shutesbury Road Culvert Enhancement	$258,750
Lynn	Barry Park Green Infrastructure Project	$147,367
Lynnfield	Richardson Green Conservation Acquisition	$1,638,750
Malden	Malden River Works for Waterfront Equity and Resilience	$354,600
Marlborough	Regulatory Updates to Support Climate Resiliency	$56,250
Marshfield	Marshfield Long-term Coastal Resiliency Plan	$78,030
Mashpee	Watershed-based Solutions to Increase Resilience to Harmful Algal Blooms in Santuit Pond in a Warmer and Wetter Climate	$131,691
Melrose & Upper Mystic Communities	Working Across Boundaries to Minimize Stormwater Flood Damage in the Upper Mystic Watershed	$108,655
Melrose, Malden, & Medford	Melrose, Malden, and Medford Building Resilience, Efficiency, and Affordability Project	$101,108
Mendon	Mendon Town Hall Campus Green Stormwater Infrastructure: Design through Contractor Mobilization	$169,905
Methuen & Lawrence	Searles Pond/Bloody Brook Corridor Resilience Planning	$80,250
Millbury	Armory Village Green Infrastructure Project- Phase II	$366,000
Millis	Flood Resiliency Plan	$170,000
Natick, Framingham, & Ashland	Building Relationships and Resilience with MetroWest Environmental Justice Neighborhoods	$127,150
Natick & Charles River Watershed Communities	Building Resilience Across the Charles River Watershed Phase II	$233,085
New Bedford	New Bedford Green Infrastructure Master Strategy and Implementation Roadmap	$432,440
Northbridge	Carpenter Road Causeway Alternatives Analysis and Source Water Green Infrastructure Protection Plan	$146,100
Norwood	Traphole Brook Flood Prevention and Stream Restoration Project	$682,421
Oak Bluffs, Tisbury, West Tisbury, Edgartown, Chilmark, Aquinnah, & Gosnold	Martha's Vineyard and Gosnold Climate Action Plan, Phase II	$173,843
Peabody & Salem	Peabody-Salem Resilient North River Corridor & Riverwalk Project	$150,000
Pepperell	Sucker Brook Continuity Restoration	$492,030
Plymouth	Subterranean Resiliency: Predicting, Assessing and Mitigating Saltwater Intrusion	$304,915
Revere	Gibson Park Resiliency Design and Permitting	$161,516
Sandwich	Dynamic Adaptation Pathways and Prioritized Resilient Design Solutions for Historic Sandwich Village	$79,789
Saugus	Saugus Climate Adaptation and Resilience Plan	$74,500
South Hadley	Queensville Dam Removal Feasibility Study and Buttery Brook Watershed Enhancement	$125,000
Southborough	Planimetric Impervious Surface Mapping Project	$22,875
Southwick	Klaus Anderson Road/Johnson Brook Replacement Culvert and Green Infrastructure	$728,300
Springfield	Trees, Homes, and People/ Creating a More Resilient Living Environment	$2,000,000
Tewksbury	Stormwater Analysis for Nature-Based Solutions and Community Co-Benefits	$193,935
Waltham	Bringing Climate Resilience to Beaver Brook	$362,000
Watertown	Equity-Based Community Greening Program	$94,240
Wellfleet	Herring River Restoration Project Phase 1 Final Construction Plans and Bid Specifications	$589,960
Wellfleet, Truro, Eastham, Brewster, Barnstable, & Bourne	Regional Low Lying Road Assessment and Feasibility	$236,258
Westford	Westford Tree and Invasive Species Inventory and Management Plan with Tree Planting Plan	$79,200
Westhampton	Resilience Building through Community Visioning and Planning	$237,516
Winthrop, Boston, & Revere	Belle Isle Marsh: Evaluating Nature Based Solutions to Protect Abutting Communities and Critical Shorebird Habitat from Coastal Inundation	$145,307
Wrentham	Climate Resilience and Low Impact Development Regulatory Integration and Green Infrastructure Master Plan	$113,344
Total (66)		$20,585,193

In June 2021, the Baker-Polito Administration re-filed its plan to immediately put to use part of Commonwealth’s direct federal aid from the American Rescue Plan Act to support key priorities including housing and homeownership, economic development and local downtowns, job training and workforce development, health care, and infrastructure. As part of the Administration’s proposal to jump-start the Commonwealth’s economic recovery and support residents hardest-hit by COVID-19, such as lower-wage workers and communities of color, Governor Baker would direct $900 million to key energy and environmental initiatives, including $300 million to support climate resilient infrastructure. The funding would be distributed through programs like EEA’s Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Program and would fund priority climate adaptation projects and investments aligned with the priorities identified in the state hazard mitigation and climate adaptation plan. Investments that would be supported through the funding include the acquisition of land specifically targeted at reducing flooding and the Urban Heat Island Effect.

AG HEALEY SECURES $1 MILLION IN FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND RESOLUTION WITH DEBT SETTLEMENT COMPANY

AG HEALEY SECURES $1 MILLION IN FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND RESOLUTION WITH DEBT SETTLEMENT COMPANY

Settlement with Beverly-Based DMB Financial Requires Unprecedented Business Practice Changes

 

            BOSTON – Following an investigation into a Beverly-based debt settlement company accused of harming financially-distressed consumers in Massachusetts, Attorney General Maura Healey announced today a first-of-its-kind settlement that secures $1 million in relief and requires extensive changes to the company’s business practices.

The consent judgment with DMB Financial, LLC, and its chief operating officer, Daniel Kwiatek, entered on Monday in Suffolk Superior Court, resolves allegations by the AG’s Office that DMB charged inflated and premature fees, enrolled consumers who were unable to benefit from its program, and failed to disclose the harms consumers may experience after enrolling in its program—including being sued by creditors and damaging their credit.

“DMB’s business practices were the epitome of unfair and deceptive – preying on low-income consumers desperate for debt relief, charging them illegal fees, and leaving them with more debt, damaged credit, and sued by debt collectors,” AG Healey. “This settlement is first-of-its-kind against a debt settlement company in Massachusetts and its terms will lay out a roadmap for addressing misconduct in this industry going forward. We are pleased to secure the funds needed to give money back to consumers who were harmed by DMB’s illegal operations.”

DMB, which operates in Massachusetts and more than a dozen other states, enrolls vulnerable consumers—including people who are unemployed or underemployed, elderly, sick, disabled, or living on a limited or fixed income—in debt settlement programs that they are often unable to afford or complete. DMB claims to have served 30,000 consumers nationwide.

The AG’s Office filed a lawsuit against DMB in 2018, later amended in 2019, after an investigation by the AG’s Office revealed that DMB engaged in numerous unfair debt settlement practices, including overcharging consumers, grossly misrepresenting the value of its services, and failing to make critical disclosures to consumers about the harms they may suffer due to enrolling in DMB’s program.

According to the AG’s Office, DMB charged consumers significant fees for negotiating settlements with their creditors, which it typically collected before consumers had achieved any debt forgiveness. DMB also directed consumers to stop paying their debts and to stop communicating with creditors, and to instead make payments into a dedicated “savings” account administered by payment processor Global Client Solutions. Many consumers who DMB enrolled in its program were unable to complete the program and did not emerge “debt free,” as DMB advertised. Instead, the AG’s Office alleged that, DMB knowingly and regularly enrolled consumers in unaffordable programs that charged substantial fees and left them in worse financial condition than before. The AG’s Office also alleged that DMB engaged in the unauthorized practice of law by continuing to represent consumers after they were sued in relation to an enrolled debt.

Under the terms of today’s consent judgement, DMB is required to pay $1 million to the Commonwealth, and will implement significant business practice changes, including prohibiting DMB from:

• Requesting and receiving inflated or premature fees, in violation of Federal Trade Commission regulations;
• Failing to refund a proportionate amount of any settlement fee collected by DMB if the consumer does not complete making payments on that settlement;
• Making deceptive or unsubstantiated claims about DMB’s ability to settle debts;
• Failing to make relevant disclosures on its website and in any materials to prospective enrollees in DMB’s program; and
• Advising, representing or negotiating on behalf of a consumer who is sued for nonpayment of a debt, and failing to provide consumers who are sued with a list of resources.

Today’s settlement also requires DMB to submit annual reports to the AG’s Office to ensure compliance with the terms.

Consumers eligible for relief under today’s settlement will be contacted by the AG’s Office. Consumers with questions about settlement eligibility should contact AG Healey’s consumer hotline at 617-727-8400.

Handling this case are Assistant Attorneys General Yael Shavit and Mercy Cover of AG Healey’s Consumer Protection Division and Paralegals Keren Yi and Breana Beaudreault.

薩福克郡治安官 Steve Tompkins 公開支持吳弭選波士頓市長

Photo by Chutze Chou

            (Boston Orange 周菊子綜合報導) 吳弭(Michelle Wu)參選波士頓市長，今(31)日再添一名重量級支持者。薩福克郡治安官(Suffolk County Sheriff) Steve W. Tompkins在瑞吉路易斯中心(Reggie Lewis Center)揚言，將率同他的支持者一起撐吳弭。

Photo by Chutze Chou

            波士頓市長候選人吳弭(Michelle Wu)近日一連串造勢活動，8月26日舉辦每年一度的街區派對(block party)，向民眾介紹在自家門前辦街區派對，向市政府申請許可的流程；29日(週日)早上邀民眾一起搭乘全線免費的28號巴士，宣傳她倡議的公共交通工具免費搭乘理念，下午出席至德三德公所在喜臨門大酒樓為她舉辦的籌款會；30日早上在南端的波多黎各老兵紀念碑(Puerto Rican Veterans Memorial)前，數十名拉丁裔支持者為她站台，中午宣佈民主黨波士頓第一選區背書支持她，今日再有薩福克郡治安官Steve W. Tompkins公開支持。

            本身是黑人民選官員，又是執法人員的Steve W. Tompkins，二個月前曾舉辦過一次波士頓市長候選人論壇，把6名主要參選者邀進獄政大樓，讓有投票權的在監人犯有機會聆聽他們的政見，也讓這些候選人設身處地從在監人犯的角度考慮一些政策問題。

            他說，在距離初選日只有2星期的此刻站出來支持吳弭，是他經過深思熟慮的決定。早從2012年，吳弭還在為伊莉莎白沃倫助選時，他就認識吳弭了，就在那段時間，他也親眼看到吳弭忙著籌辦婚禮，準備畢業，還要助選，忙得一蹋糊塗，卻能夠每樣事都安排得很好，可見吳弭是個能夠把事情做成的人。這些年來，他看到吳弭在服務社區，為所有人爭取經濟正義，公平待遇，可負擔住宅，公共安全，精神健康，有品質教育等的努力。他相信吳弭是最能夠把波士頓市帶到另一個層次，最適合的波士頓市長人選。

            Steve W. Tompkins也直言，他和吳弭在優先為人們精神健康、經濟支持上，看法一致，都希望找方法幫助囚犯，在他們獲釋後，能夠順利地重新融入社會，避免再回到監獄。Steve W. Tompkins還設立了「共同點學院 (Common Ground Institute)」這職業培訓項目，教給囚犯們一套職業技能。

            愛默生學院(Emerson)和第7號電視台最近合辦的一次民意調查顯示，25%的選民心意仍然未決，黑人選民投票給Kim Janey或Andrea Campbell這2名黑人女性參選人的機率更高。在這次的民調中，Kim Janey得到的支持率為31%，Andrea Campbell得到24%。Suffolk County Sheriff Steve Tompkins Endorses Michelle Wu for Mayor of Boston

 Boston, MA— Suffolk County Sheriff Steve Tompkins has endorsed Michelle Wu for Mayor, citing her commitment to the communities of Boston and economic justice for all. Wu and Tompkins have known one another for nearly a decade and worked together to elect Senator Elizabeth Warren. They have continued to share policy priorities of offering mental health and economic supports to seek to reduce the number of people who come into contact with the Suffolk County Sheriff's Department. He has also worked to reduce recidivism and help support reentry for community members returning from incarceration.

Tompkins has been a leader in economic empowerment programs, creating the innovative “Common Ground Institute,” a vocational training and re–entry program that teaches marketable vocation skills in a classroom setting.

“I have known Michelle for nearly a decade, and over that span, I have seen firsthand the pure devotion to service that she has for the City of Boston and the people and organizations that operate within its borders,” said Sheriff Steve Tompkins. “With her tireless advocacy for more addiction recovery treatment and services for people struggling with mental illness, fair and equitable public transportation, housing that is truly affordable, public safety, access to quality education, and work on a host of other quality-of-life issues that are important to the residents, businesses and agencies of Boston, I am both incredibly proud to be able to give my support to Michelle and supremely confident in her ability to bring this city to its next level of greatness.”

“I’m honored to earn the endorsement of my friend, Sheriff Steve Tompkins. Sheriff Tompkins has worked for years to provide educational opportunities, economic development and reentry support for formerly incarcerated community members. I look forward to partnering with him in City Hall to ensure all our neighborhoods have the resources they need to be safe, supported and healthy,” said Michelle Wu. 

Steven W. Tompkins, a member of the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department since 2002, was appointed to serve as the Sheriff of Suffolk County on January 22nd, 2013 by Governor of Massachusetts, Deval Patrick, and was elected in November of 2014. 

Sheriff Tompkins is the President of the Massachusetts Sheriff’s Association – his second time serving in this capacity – and is an engaged community leader and respected advocate, currently serving as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees for Roxbury Community College and as the inaugural President of the Massachusetts Chapter of NOBLE (National Organization of Law Enforcement Executives). He previously served as Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees for Roxbury Community College, and completed a three-year term as a member of the prestigious Emerging Adult Justice Learning Community at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. In 2011, Tompkins was appointed by Governor Patrick to serve as a Board member of the Boston Finance Commission. Sheriff Tompkins also serves on the Foundation Board and formerly served as chair of the Community Service Board for the Dimock Center, a Roxbury-based community health center that provides convenient access to quality medical and mental health care and human services. The Sheriff previously served as the Dimock Center’s Director of Marketing and Public Affairs prior to joining the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department. 

Sheriff Tompkins’ endorsement adds to the Michelle for Mayor campaign’s enthusiastic coalition of multigenerational, multicultural grassroots supporters including leaders Senator Elizabeth Warren, Boston City Councilor Lydia Edwards, Boston City Councilor Liz Breadon, State Senator and Assistant Majority Leader Sal DiDomenico, State Representative and Assistant Majority Leader Mike Moran, State Senator Julian Cyr, Representatives Tram Nguyen, Tommy Vitolo, Natalie Higgins, Vanna Howard, Maria Robinson and Andy Vargas; former State Representative and Assistant Majority Leader Byron Rushing; labor unions Teamsters Local 25, New England Joint Board of UNITE HERE!, UAW Region 9A, Alliance of Unions at the MBTA, MBTA Inspectors Union Local 600, OPEIU Local 453; climate organizations Sunrise Boston, Sierra Club, the Environmental League of Massachusetts, 350 Mass Action; Progressive West Roxbury/Roslindale; Boston’s Ward 4 and Ward 5 Democratic Committees; and fellow municipal elected officials from across Greater Boston and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. For all of Michelle for Boston’s endorsements, visit michelleforboston.com/endorsements.