"This puts the pressure on the Legislature, because if you don't get the new savings and the new revenues, you'll have to cut more deeply than the governor has in this budget," said Michael Widmer, president of the business-backed Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation.

Springfield has $761.6 million in the unfunded liabilities, which translates to more than $12,000 in unfunded liabilities per single-family home; Holyoke would be on the hook for $300 million, which translates to a liability of more than $18,000 per single-family home. And eight other cities in the commonwealth are in similar straits.

“It sounds awfully high. It sounds like a fairly well-paying position,” said Andrew Bagley of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. “If there’s been no change, that’s a problem. If the governor has called them out, saying this is something you need to balance better and they haven’t, then that’s something that needs a closer look.”

RomneyCare is also not breaking the bank in Massachusetts, according to the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, an independent research group that many call the state’s version of the Congressional Budget Office. “There’s a lot of wild accusations that the law is breaking the bank in Massachusetts, and that is simply not the case,” said Michael Widmer, president of the Foundation.

“I think we will see some meaningful relief,” said Michael Widmer, head of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Association. “I’m hopeful that we’ll see some innovation as well. Employers are increasingly beginning to say ‘we need to be a part of the solution,’ and their employees as well.”

We reported on this a number of times in 2008, when Romney’s GOP primary opponents kept bringing it up. It’s true that the independent Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation put the total of increased fees and corporate taxes under Romney at $740 million to $750 million per year.

Mike Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Tax Payers Foundation, recognizes that the current economic climate makes it challenging to address all of the State's needs in the current budget.

But Beacon Hill lawmakers in the past have rejected similar tax proposals from the governor. And Michael Widmer of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation questioned whether they would accept them this time around. "Those tax proposals I think are reasonable but nonetheless this is an election year so there’s an open question on whether or not the legislature will approve them," he said.

Keenan pointed to numerous studies, including a 2009 review of MBTA finances by former John Hancock CEO David D'Allessandro, a 2007 Massachusetts Transportation Finance Commission study, and a 2002 Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation report entitled "MBTA Capital Spending: Derailed by Expansion," all of which conclude that expansion was not badly needed and the consequences would be severe.

Regarding Santorum’s criticisms of high health care costs and unreasonable waiting times in Massachusetts as a result of the health care plan enacted by Romney, the nonpartisan FactCheck.org has already found those claims shaky at best. Costs for the plan had initially increased more than expected, but have lately come in line with projections by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation.

Michael Widmer, President of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, described the governor's budget as "fiscally responsible" but said it was built on "question marks" about health care savings and initiatives that lawmakers are unlikely to support.

The new revenue: But since the tax cuts were relatively small, the revenue taxpayers saved was "vastly less" than the roughly $700 million in additional annual revenue the foundation estimates was raised because of other measures Romney signed, according to Michael Widmer, the foundation's president.

The foundation, a Boston-based independent, nonprofit organization that conducts research on state and local taxes, government spending, and the economy, says the liabilities are not some hypothetical obligation but represent actual amounts taxpayers owe in today’s dollars for retiree health-care benefits already earned by current retirees and eligible employees and payable during the next 30 ye

“It’s consistent with our general sense of the slowly, very slowly, improving Massachusetts economy, and housing with it,” said Michael Widmer, president of the nonpartisan, business-backed Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation.

“It’s going to be very tight,’’ said Michael J. Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. “There are going to be a number of places where there are budget cuts. “It’s better news than the last several years for sure, but it’s also a fifth consecutive year of budget squeeze,’’ he said.

A much lower estimate was issued by the nonpartisan Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, whichestimated that the law cost $707 million in fiscal 2010, with the state paying half of that and the federal government paying the rest.

"The job picture is much more sobering than it was six months ago, which will only place further pressure on the already strained state finances," said Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. "As a result, we are seeing greater demand for state programs while experiencing slower revenue growth."

Michael Widmer, president of the independent Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, noted that lawmakers had previously rejected some of the governor’s revenue proposals and questioned whether they would be more willing to accept them this around.

This marks the second year in a row of increases in the number of municipalities that saw improvements or stabilization in home values. “It’s consistent with our general sense of the slowly, very slowly, improving Massachusetts economy, and housing with it,” said Michael Widmer, president of the business-backed Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation.

Michael Widmer, the president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation predicts state budget writers will find a way to boost local aid.

Speaking of “fixed” costs (see above) the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation is out with a truly frightening report on the threat posed to municipal budgets by the cost of providing health care to retirees.

The study, from the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, shows that Brockton owes more per household than any of the ten cities analyzed. Brockton owes just under $700 million in health care benefits for current and future retirees over the next 30 years.

A report released by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation showed that Brockton owes more, per household, in unfunded future health care costs than any of the 10 cities it analyzed. In today’s dollars, Brockton owes $693 million in health care benefits for current and future retirees over the next 30 years.

“Neither of those options are feasible,” says MTF president Michael Widmer. He recommends scaling back retiree benefits and/or changing what cities and towns have promised current employees. Specifically, Widmer suggests increasing the age by which municipal workers can retire early from 55 to 60 and extending the number of years they must work (now 10) to receive full health coverage.

Fitchburg is facing a $186.6 million liability for retiree health-care benefits, jeopardizing funds for local services, according to a new study by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation.

Lowell is facing a $432.7 million liability for retiree health-care benefits, jeopardizing funds for local services, according to a new study by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation.

Brockton fares the worst among 10 Massachusetts cities in a survey of unpaid health care benefits for public employees. The report by the business-backed Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation says each owner of an average single-family home in Brockton would have to pay nearly $19,826 to pay down the city’s debt.

“Simply put, the tax increases needed to fund these massive liabilities would crush these cities and their local economies,’’ and voters would never approve them, leading to service cuts unless there are legislative changes, foundation president Michael Widmer said.

The report, "The Crushing Burden of Municipal Retiree Health Care Liabilities," found that New Bedford would have to raise the average single family property tax bill by $633 a year for 30 years to help cover its unfunded retiree health care liability.

A report by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation has determined that cities across Massachusetts face billions of dollars in liability for retiree health-care benefits, jeopardizing funds for local services, the Lowell Sun and other media report.

At one Republican debate in 2008, Romney said the fees needed to be adjusted for inflation and to cover the cost of services, but Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation President Michael Widmer told us then that the increase "wasn't tied to any analysis of the cost of delivering those services" and the group characterized those fees as "far in excess of any reasonable measure of the cost of services."

All told, Romney raised fees by about $375 million and closed tax loopholes that raised another $375 million in revenue, according to Michael J. Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, a nonpartisan, business-backed budget watchdog group.

The Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation confirms when Romney was Governor, the state was 47 of 50 in terms of job creation. Romney credits already-strong employment for that statistic.

According to the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation's annual report, 75 percent of all Massachusetts communities are at their maximum levy capacity. Amesbury is one of the 25 percent of communities that has pulled itself away from the edge of that cliff by no longer taxing at the levy limit.

“Did he make government smaller and simpler – no, it looked very much like what it did four years earlier,” said Michael Widmer, president of the nonpartisan Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. “There was very little reform to show for his four years.”

“I would say this was one of the most impressive sessions over the past 30 years in terms of legislation passed,” said Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Association.

Andrew Bagley, a foundation spokesman, told us in an interview that Massachusetts businesses paid $377 million more in taxes in fiscal 2007, which included several months of Romney’s last year as governor, than the $1.6 billion they were averaging annually before the recession that socked the state as Romney was sworn in during fiscal 2003. The state’s fiscal year runs from July through June.

It has been more than three decades since Proposition 2½ became the law of the land here in the commonwealth, but there is no question that the last few years have been the hardest on municipalities...In fact, according to a recent report by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, the last two years have been the most difficult for Massachusetts cities and towns in 30 years.

“There was a logjam for weeks and weeks,” says Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. “There were various options being considered but none of them satisfied both the House and Senate.” Widmer drafted some of those options and shuttled them across the marble lobby between the offices of the Speaker and Senate President. Governor Romney was not part of the negotiations, but Widmer kept Romney’s Secretary Murphy, in the loop.

Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, said agreeing to reopener clauses is a "dangerous practice" for municipalities, although he couldn't comment specifically on Westford's contracts. "It's a risky proposition for any community, especially in this era with very tight budgets," he said. "It just makes it more difficult to manage your compensation costs."

Michael J. Widmer, president of the Taxpayers Foundation, has called for further steps to rein in public employee pension costs and address unfunded liabilities for public retiree health care, which are estimated between $25 billion and $30 billion statewide.

Michael J. Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, said the small reduction announced yesterday is a positive step toward meeting the 5 percent promise, but acknowledged there is a price to be paid. “On the other hand, given the realities of 2013, this will likely mean additional budget cuts,’’ he said.

“Cities and towns are facing a permanent fiscal squeeze, in which costs are rising faster than revenues,’’ said Michael Widmer, president of the foundation.

“The administration rarely put together a comprehensive economic strategy,” said Mike Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. He says Romney’s policies on the environment and against human stem cell research made the state less able to compete against lower-cost areas of the country.

A casino resort and hotel complex would generate considerable local property, meal and room taxes, but “it would take the examination of the real proposal to verify a number that high,’’ Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, said, referring to the estimate.

Mike Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, tells NPR that Romney raised state revenues more than he cut them. Widmer says most of those 19 tax cuts Romney talks about were pretty modest. Some were weekend sales tax holidays. "He raised corporate taxes. He also raised fees very dramatically in his first year," said Widmer.

"The small growth in tax revenues will put great strains on the fiscal 2013 budget with increases in nondiscretionary spending outpacing the additional revenues available," Michael Widmer of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation testified.

“I think we are all looking at a very limited number of new jobs created over the next year or two. I think that is the theme today, that we are in for a long haul,” said Michael Widmer of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation.

And even with sluggish job growth and a not-exactly perking along economy, state revenues for fiscal 2013 (beginning July 1, 2012), are likely to increase by around 3.9 percent, according to the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation

"I think the concern we have with the film tax credit has been the cost which has been upwards of $100 million a year," said Michael Widmer, executive director for the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. "The key test here for Massachusetts is, do you get enough bang for the buck?"

Fiscal experts including Widmer were quick to point out that while the state's modest economic recovery is causing tax revenue to grow at a higher clip, Massachusetts is still taking in less in total taxes than it did prior to the Great Recession. The state is forecast to collect $700 million less in taxes in fiscal 2012 than it did in fiscal 2008.

Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, estimated that the state would add a negligible number of jobs over the next fiscal year. An uptick in income tax collections would occur, he added, largely because of anticipated increases in wages and salaries.

Widmer said the state's tepid tax revenue growth stems from a sluggish forecast for the national economy and weakening employment for the nation and the state. Widmer estimated the state will add only 9,000 jobs this fiscal year and will lose 5,000 jobs in the next fiscal year because of weakness in the national and global economies.

The Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation Monday predicted "tepid" state revenue growth for the fiscal year that begins July 1. The group predicted revenue will grow by $822 million, or 3.9 percent, to $22 billion for fiscal 2012.

Rocked by the economic downturn of the last few years, Massachusetts cities and towns have seen their budgets gored by cuts to local aid — and may be forced to cope with revenue shortages for "the foreseeable future," according to a new report issued the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation.

"I think it's a necessary and a good thing to do, but in limited doses -- maybe a couple a year," said Widmer. "I say that because I think there are intangible benefits to having Massachusetts visible in key foreign countries, especially given our economy. But at the same time, they never produce any dramatic impacts. The rhetoric around them tends to be greater than is realistic."

“This is a hazardous occupation. It is unpredictable,” said Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, who has been tasked year after year with taking delivering to state government officials his best guess about future tax collections. “This is clearly an art form, not a science.

The Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation released its annual report on municipal finances this week and it’s another sorry tale of budgets battered by the bad economy and the associated drop in tax revenue. The report notes that cities and towns experienced “the most difficult two-year period in the Proposition 2 1⁄2 era” over the last two fiscal years.

Michael J. Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, called such benefits a reflection of an “earlier era” that are no longer affordable – “if they ever were so.” “With a permanent squeeze on municipal finances, cities and towns need to pull back exceedingly generous and unreal benefits,” Widmer said.

Romney was hurt by a slow economic recovery — while the jobless rate fell, the state was 47thin the nation in job creation, according to the Center for Labor Market Studies. He also raised $375 million of business taxes, according to the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation.

Romney closed that $1.2 billion gap and passed a balanced budget. But as we noted in 2007, his oft-touted cuts in wasteful programs and duplicate agencies made only a small dent, saving about $10.5 million dollars, according to an estimate by the independent, nonpartisan Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation.

“The constraints on municipal revenues heighten the urgency of addressing the escalating costs of employee and retiree benefits,” Michael J. Widmer, president of the Taxpayers Foundation said in a press release.

“The constraints on municipal revenues heighten the urgency of addressing the escalating costs of employee and retiree benefits,” said Michael Widmer, president of the business-backed foundation, in a statement accompanying the report.

“Long term, this is a problem because if you put more and more of the cost on property taxpayers that obviously is very difficult for families and individuals who are feeling their own fiscal pressures to say the least,” said Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation president Michael Widmer.

“It's clearly small in measure, because there's an awareness that we have national and global problems like the European debt problems, which could send us back, U.S. and Massachusetts, back into another recession,” said Michael Widmer, President of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation.

"Passage of municipal health reform was a huge accomplishment ... but much more remains to be done," Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, said in a statement.

“The numbers demonstrate just how difficult this recession and fiscal crisis have been for cities and towns,’’ said Michael J. Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. “Their revenues have been virtually flat, while their costs have grown, which has meant cuts in schools, public safety, and other basic services for most cities and towns.’’

In a 2009 report, the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, which has done independent research on state spending and tax policies for almost 80 years, estimated that expanding healthcare coverage added a relatively small $88 million a year to state spending over the first four years.

Such disparities existed long before the economic downturn, but they are worse now, said Michael Widmer, president of the business-backed Mass. Taxpayers Foundation. “In the wealthier suburbs, you tend to have professionals and (people with) higher education who are able to find jobs or maintain jobs even in difficult economic times,” he said.

"This is the most important municipal reform in years, if not decades," said Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. "It promises to save a large amount of money for every city or town while still preserving generous health care benefits for employees and retirees."

Municipal health insurance: Widmer sees the big change in municipal health insurance as a much more effective and immediate way to achieve cost savings than the pension reform. It also showed that the Democrats who rule Beacon Hill aren't always ruling at organized labor's behest.

Health care consultant Bob Carey wrote the study for the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, which describes itself as a non-partisan public policy organization. The study compared premiums and cost-sharing for 31 specific plans: 28 municipal plans, two state plans, and one federal plan. The municipalities studied do not include any Island towns, but represent cities and towns of various sizes.

The bill follows a measure passed by the House in Arciero's last term that eliminated such pensions for elected officials, and this latest step has seen praise from government watchdogs, such as Michael J. Widmer of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. "Special pensions are very costly and should be eliminated," said Widmer. "They are just another example of sweetheart deals."

“The high cost of housing has always been an economic obstacle for recruiting people to the area,’’ noted Widmer. The relatively small growth in average taxes, Widmer said, reflects few tax overrides being passed by town residents. “That is a marginally good development,’’ he said.

The Massachusetts Legislature has approved an overhaul of the state’s pension system that would raise the minimum retirement age for future state employees to 60. The measure aims to save $5 billion over the next 30 years and reduce the state’s $17 billion unfunded pension liability. Backers also say it will help preserve the state’s credit rating, which was recently upgraded by Standard & Poor’s.

“It’s a positive step,” said Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation President Michael Widmer. “On the other hand, the pension legislation applies only to new hires, so it won’t have any short-term impact of any significance."

Taxpayers have a right to know about a public employee’s extended sick leave, and how a municipality is handling their claims, said Mike Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. "They’re paying for it, and it reflects a policy that they have a right to know about,” Widmer said.

"This is a very important case for cities and towns in terms of their finances,’’ said Michael J. Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. “If they are forced to pick up the state’s share of the Quinn Bill costs, it will be another blow to municipal finances.

But Mike Widmer, head of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, a nonpartisan public policy organization devoted to Bay State fiscal policy, said Romney’s reforms were just modest, top-level attempts to fix things. “Reforms are tough,” he added. “If one’s really trying to save money and change how government delivers services, they’re really tough.

Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Tax­payers Foundation, which represents business interests on Beacon Hill, doesn’t support a progressive income tax in Massachusetts, but he does agree with Kaufman that income inequality is a growing problem, not just in Massa­chusetts but across the nation.

A 2006 Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation report found that the state higher education system stands to gain millions of dollars in new revenues under the bill. If the in-state tuition policy for public colleges and universities had been in place in 2009, up to 660 undocumented students would have enrolled, bringing in between $2.1 and $2.7 million.

Michael Widmer of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation said it's a waste. "Why in this day and age, we have a policeman manually operating a traffic light at this exorbitant cost totally bewilders me," he said.

Romney also raised new revenue with more than just fee hikes. He closed 22 tax loopholes worth between $850 million and $1.2 billion, according to the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, an independent watchdog group. A recent New York Times article reported an even higher estimate of $1.5 billion in loophole closures.

Ultimately, members of the committee – along with Town Administrator Tom Younger – took what they heard during the discussion along with the advice of Town Moderator Mike Widmer (former chairman of the Warrant Committee and president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation) and agreed the plan design option looks much more promising than joining the GIC.

"There is clearly a double standard, in which public sector benefits are out of line with what's available in the private sector," said Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, a nonpartisan public policy organization.

Selectman Stephen Themelis of Pepperell asked about the cost-of-living in the face of devalued incomes for the so-called fractured middle class that Widmer identified. "I suspect we're going to see hundreds if not thousands of books on this topic over the next decade," said Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation.

“The law has not blown a hole in the state budget, according to a 2009 analysis by the fiscally conservative Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. The group concluded that out of a state budget of $30 billion, the coverage expansion added just $88 million a year to state spending over the first four years.”

In a much more recent analysis, the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation estimated that the payback from this change could be as much as $7.4 million over four years. So it makes good economic sense. We've already invested in the K-12 education of these students. Why throw that away? It seems such a waste.

The taxes could generate $100 million in annual local aid, but that would possibly be only enough to prevent a decrease in state aid that would result from declining sales at the Lottery, said Michael J. Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation.

The result has been a toothless effort that has fallen far short of expectations. "The hype surrounding this reform has always been much greater than the reform itself," said Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, when questioned about the flagger regulation by NECIR.

Michael Widmer, president of the business-backed Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, described Romney's jobs record as "mixed," saying Romney failed to take the long view in his planning. "The administration never really put together an overall economic development strategy to improve the state's economic competitiveness," he said.

However, by 2005, when Mr. Romney proposed his third round of corporate tax loophole closings, “frustrations had reached a boil,” said Michael J. Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation.

"Without cutting benefits and eligibility, it's very hard to do this on a sustained basis," said Michael Widmer, president of the business-backed Mass. Taxpayers Foundation.

Andrew Bagley, director of research and public affairs for the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, said even though the alleged Medicaid fraud announced yesterday is a tiny fraction of the state’s $10.4 billion MassHealth budget, these high-profile prosecutions help keep in check the thousands of MassHealth providers.

“Now, we’re looking at 2013 and that will be the first year, if we stay on this anemic recovery, in which (the Legislature) won’t start with budget cuts but with very limited new dollars to begin to restore the cuts of the last four years,” Widmer said. But there will be huge competition for those limited dollars, he cautioned.

Widmer also doesn’t buy the Beacon Hill study. “There is no evidence to conclude that Massachusetts health reform has cost jobs,” he said.

The result has been a toothless effort that has fallen far short of expectations. "The hype surrounding this reform has always been much greater than the reform itself," said Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, when questioned about the flagger regulation by NECIR.

People are living longer, which is why the age at which those in the private sector can collect Social Security keeps going up; and some 39 other states, according to the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, have enacted reforms similar to those being contemplated on Beacon Hill.

"There's a huge opportunity for more savings that are going unrealized," said Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. "The hype surrounding this reform has always been much greater than the reform itself."

“The law has worked, but given the enormous publicity and political pushback from the police and unions, probably the citizens thought we were biting off much more than we actually did.”

"The problem is, it (the regulation) doesn't go very far. There's a huge opportunity for more savings that are going unrealized," Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation President Michael Widmer said. "The hype surrounding this reform has always been much greater than the reform itself."