Fees/Revolving Funds

A large group of cities and towns in Massachusetts are part of regionally funded tobacco control programs. Some single large cities also receive funding individually. The funding is received through state and federal appropriation to the Department of Public Health/Massachusetts Tobacco Cessation and Prevention Program. Funding, always contingent on legislative approval, is sent to a collaborative’s “lead municipality”. Other member municipalities of a
collaborative receive the services of their tobacco control program, but not the funding. A workplan outlining deliverables is required as a condition to accepting MTCP funding. A typical workplan includes conducting compliance checks, retailer inspections, policy development and responding to second-hand smoke
complaints.

There are several cities and towns that are not funded by MTCP for tobacco control. Some of these municipalities receive funding in their municipal budget for tobacco control activities and some do not.

A toolkit has been developed to guide a municipality through the process of obtaining a revolving fund to finance tobacco control efforts with local funds. The toolkit is below.

There are a number of questions that must be answered at the inception of a program, including but not limited to:

Is the program staff going to be paid as a municipal employee or an independent contractor?

• Employee: Will benefits be offered?
• Contractor: Will they be reimbursed for mileage or is that included in their hourly rate? Is there an established mechanism in the municipality to pay independent contractors?
• Both: How much per hour will this person be paid? (MTCP has hourly guidelines). How many hours per week will this person work? Who will supervise this person?

Funds to conduct compliance checks – petty cash – needs to be available to the field staff. How is this money accessed and accounted for?

How will the Underage Purchasers be paid? Some municipalities pay the Underage Purchasers as independent contractors, and some pay as part-time municipal employees, within MTCP’s recommended hourly guidelines. All young buyers must be paid at least minimum wage.

Documents regarding MTCP protocol on Retail Tobacco Store Inspections and Compliance Checks can be obtained by contacting Sarah McColgan at smccolgan@mhoa.com.