After pledging to protect funding for poor and vulnerable citizens, Gov. Deval Patrick is facing harsh criticism for slashing salaries for social workers, reducing services for the mentally ill and eliminating water-rate relief for cash-strapped homeowners. “This is the governor who last night said he wasn’t going to balance the budget on the backs of the poorest people in Massachusetts,” said state Sen. Richard Tisei (R-Wakefield). “What we’re looking at today is a direct contradiction to that.” The criticism emerged after Patrick released a line-by-line accounting of a $26.7-billion budget that slashes spending by $515 million and squeezes businesses for...