Have you, or someone you know, been affected by state or local budget cutbacks? Do you have specific suggestions on what state or local services could be cut without serious harm to health, safety or basic education? Do you know of specific cases of waste, fraud or abuse in publicly funded programs?

Everyone has some idea of what can be done in our state or community to help weather this serious recession. Senator Richard T. Moore hears from people in coffee shops, supermarkets and at public functions, but there are likely a lot of conversations going on at kitchen tables, coffee shops, and pubs that he doesn't get to hear. 

To give citizens a way for their voice to be heard and to offer positive suggestions for dealing with the drastic drop in state and local revenues, Senator Moore created this website Working Together for Massachusetts.

Here’s our promise. If you provide us with your contact information, Senator Moore will respond and tell you what he is able to do with your message. In some cases, he will discuss the ideas or concerns with the Governor or with the appropriate state or local agency. There might be some ideas that could be proposed as legislation or amendments to the budget or to legislation. We will let you know how your comments have been handled.

Additionally, we have created the Idea Exchange where we will be posting many of your ideas and comments along with Senator Moore's responses. We will also occasionally send this information to local news media to relay to the public if they so choose. 

Finally, while Senator Moore prefers to hear from residents of the towns he represent in the Senate, this offer is open to all from Massachusetts. You don’t have to be registered to vote (although we would encourage anyone age 18 or over to register) and you don’t have to fit a specific age bracket to contribute to this forum. 

We want to hear you! Because together, we can get through the coming months by sharing ideas and suggestions. 

Start sharing your ideas now or see what other people have been saying.