Dracut

Since being elected to the Senate in 2010, Barry has been tirelessly advocating on behalf of the citizens of Dracut to eliminate fraud and abuse and bring state dollars back to the community.

In 2011, Barry sponsored and pushed for an amendment to the education collaboratives oversight bill that will help Dracut's school committee ensure that the town's funds are being spent wisely. After the financial scandal at the Merrimack Special Education Collaborative, Barry wanted to ensure residents’ tax dollars were no longer wasted. The amendment will require the executive director of each education collaborative to go before the school committee every year, present its budget, and be accountable for its spending.

During his first term, Senator Finegold hosted two listening forums in Dracut, one of the many ways he makes himself available to his constituents. At these forums, he heard a lot about promoting job creation. Barry Finegold hopes to grow the economic base in Dracut by bringing new and cutting edge technologies to the area that will create jobs and a revived tax base for the town.

Finegold worked with Dracut residents to make the new high school project a reality. Barry was instrumental in securing funding from the Massachusetts School Building Authority for the new Dracut High School. With his efforts, the town will receive $37 million from the state for the renovation and addition project.

Barry has also fought to ensure that Community Preservation Act (CPA) money was not diverted to a general fund, giving the town more control over that money. Additionally, in the fiscal year 2013 budget, Barry fought to preserve and fund the community preservation trust fund to ensure CPA communities, like Dracut, would receive sufficient state funding for open space preservation projects, such as building playgrounds.

Barry Finegold helped facilitate the construction of new senior housing in Dracut at Allard’s Grove. He understands that seniors often want to stay in the community they raised their family in, and wants to create more affordable housing opportunities for all seniors.

Even before Barry represented Dracut, he aided the town in many ways. For example, the contract between the North East Solid Waste Committee (NESWC) communities and Wheelabrator, the operating company, forced communities like Dracut to pay significantly more for trash disposal than the rest of the State. Barry was able to get funding for his district to offset these costs and save taxpayers from a considerable burden.

Barry has helped a number of constituents from Dracut with a variety of issues. One Dracut resident was having a hard time getting a refund check from the Department of Revenue for the overpayment of child support. With Barry’s diligence, he was able to cut through the red tape and a refund check was issued to her family within days. Another elderly resident was having problems with her MassHealth coverage. Barry’s office was able to speak with MassHealth directly on her behalf to make certain that she stayed fully insured.