Last week, lawmakers in Augusta came together to again support a bipartisan budget carefully crafted to ensure that Maine continues to operate and serve the people.

By a vote of 114-34, in the House and 26-9 in the Senate, lawmakers prevented a massive property tax hike and a shutdown of state government by overriding the governor’s veto.

The compromise significantly reduces the cuts to cities, towns and Maine’s schools that the governor proposed in his version of the budget. The bipartisan budget passed by the Legislature restores $125 million to revenue sharing, replaces the “circuit breaker” cuts with a $29 million property tax fairness credit and restores $9 million in cuts to the Homestead Tax Credit.

As a local parent, teacher and advocate for quality early-childhood programs, I’m pleased to say this budget restores $32 million in cuts to Maine’s public school classrooms and provides funds for the early education program Head Start. As cochairman of the bipartisan Joint Select Committee on Maine’s Workforce and Economic Future, I’m pleased to report the budget also includes our unanimously approved measures to give Maine workers the skills they need to compete globally.

A shutdown would have resulted in jobs losses and harm to the state’s tourism industry, disrupting park, beach and ferry services. Vital state work would screech to a halt, including food and safety inspections, court hearings, motor vehicle department operations and critical payments to nursing homes and hospitals.

Some feared it might lower the state’s bond rating, leading to potentially higher interest rates for the liquor revenue bonds that will be issued to pay the hospital debt.

Six months ago, Gov. LePage presented the Legislature with a budget that would shift nearly $400 million of the tax burden to communities and their property taxpayers and cut programs that would have hurt Maine’s most vulnerable people.

In order to prevent those property tax increases, the bipartisan compromise included a temporary half-penny increase in thesalestaxanda1percent increase in the meals and lodging tax that both end after two years. It also caps income tax deductions for the wealthy and closes $40 million in corporate loopholes to be identified by a task force.

The $6.3 billion bipartisan budget compromise was passed unanimously by the Legislature’s Appropriations committee and passed by more than the required two-thirds support of the House and Senate before going to the governor’s desk, where it received his veto.

I applaud lawmakers on both sides of the aisle for standing up to the governor’s reckless action and standing up for Maine people. The governor’s political games could have led to serious consequences: a shutdown of important services, property tax increases, harm to workers and damage to our economy.

When it came down to it, lawmakers from every political stripe worked to ensure that Maine remains strong. We put aside our differences and did the people’s work.

Leaders led and reasonable people prevailed. It was one of my proudest moments in Augusta.

SETH BERRY, House majority leader, is serving his fourth term in the Legislature, representing Bowdoin, Bowdoinham, Richmond and Perkins Township in House District 67.