State Representative Zlotnik Urging Restoration of Prison Mitigation Funds.
Press Release February 13, 2026
GARDNER, MA – Representative Jonathan Zlotnik (D-Gardner) joined colleagues in the House of Representatives and State Senate to urge the Department of Public Health to use state funding for a competitive grant for communities impacted by the loss of prison mitigation funds.
Prison mitigation funds are funds allocated in the annual state budget for municipalities that host Department of Correction facilities. The funding helps these host municipalities cover the additional costs incurred by hosting a correctional facility and allows for the continuation of providing essential services to the residents of the community.
In recent years, prison mitigation funding provided to the City of Gardner has fluctuated. In FY2013, the City received $111,210.26 in prison mitigation funding from the Commonwealth. By FY2020, prison mitigation funding to the City increased to $171,457.67. However, prison mitigation funding has decreased in recent years. In FY2024, the City received $143,694.00 and this amount increased to $149,502.32 in FY2025.
“While the state pays the City for direct costs like water and sewer, and there is coverage through insurance for certain other things, that is not the whole story. These funds were agreed to many years ago to both cover the costs of lost revenue as the state doesn’t pay local property taxes, and also for overall compensation for hosting a facility that most communities wouldn’t welcome,” stated Representative Zlotnik. “Prior to my time in office this fund had been cut. A lot of work went into restoring it, and it’s clearly time to renew that effort for future budgets. What Senator Cronin is proposing is a reasonable and responsible stopgap in the meantime.”
In FY2026, the line item funding the prison mitigation program was not included in the final budget signed by Governor Healey. In response to this potential funding gap, Representative Zlotnik joined a group of legislators from DOC facility host communities to sign onto a letter spearheaded by Senator John Cronin (D-Fitchburg) urging the Department of Public Health to utilize a one-time $5 million fund to help backfill the losses to communities that have relied on these prison mitigation funds in years past. The group of legislators is also committed to working together to restore the prison mitigation funding line item in the upcoming FY2027 state budget process.