Wakefield Delegation Secures $240,000 for Local Priorities in Budget

BOSTON—State Senator Jason Lewis and State Representatives Kate Lipper-Garabedian and Donald Wong are pleased to have secured $240,000 to support local priorities in Wakefield as part of the Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) Massachusetts state budget.

The FY24 budget, which received final passage by the House of Representatives and Senate on July 31, 2023, provides funding for a wide range of programs and services across the Commonwealth. The budget delivers historic levels of investment in public education, housing, healthcare, workforce development, climate preparedness, and much more, as part of a comprehensive strategy to make Massachusetts more affordable and equitable for all.

Within the budget, Senator Lewis and Representatives Lipper-Garabedian and Wong secured funding for the following Wakefield priorities:

• $75,000 for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Stoneham and Wakefield to help open an inclusive cafe that will employ adults and teens with developmental disabilities
• $75,000 for a new roof at the Beebe library
• $65,000 for repairs to Wakefield’s bandstand
• $25,000 to support Wakefield Community Access TV

“This budget will deliver substantial resources to our communities, and make our state more affordable for working families by helping to address the high costs of housing, healthcare, child care, and college,” said State Senator Jason Lewis. “I’m especially pleased that Representative Lipper-Garabedian, Representative Wong, and I were able to also secure funding for some important local Wakefield priorities.”

"With the Wakefield delegation, I am proud to have secured $240,000 for the Town, including for the iconic bandstand and WCAT," said State Representative Kate Lipper-Garabedian. "Additionally, among the many critical and responsive statewide investments in the budget, I am thrilled to see ongoing historic funding in early education and childcare, a top priority for which I advocated, as well as universal free school meals to make Massachusetts the seventh state to make the program permanent."

“Working together with the State delegation and Town Administrator Steve Maio, we are pleased to announce that we are able to bring much needed funding to enhance the community and to make improvements for the safety of the public,” said State Representative Donald Wong.