Publications: Municipal

Massachusetts cities and towns endured the most difficult two-year period in the Proposition 2 ½ era in fiscal 2010 and 2011 with property taxes rising to their highest share of local spending in 30 years, according to the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation’s 41st annual Municipal Financial Data report.

Dozens of communities across the state would lose the benefits of municipal health care reform under the Senate’s provision requiring that municipal contributions for retirees be the same as for active employees, according to a preliminary analysis by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. The Foundation has identified 50 municipalities and regional school districts that would be impacted, with that number likely to be as high as 100 when all communities have been analyzed.

Backed by a broad coalition of business, civic, and education organizations, on April 26 the House took bold action to provide desperately needed fiscal relief to cities and towns by giving municipal leaders the same flexibility as the state to control their soaring health care costs and preserve vital municipal jobs.

To supplement our report on retiree health care liabilities, the Foundation is in the process of collecting such data for all cities and towns in Massachusetts. This spreadsheet includes new data from 50 additional municipalities, along with updated data for some of the largest 50 municipalities. This spreadsheet will be updated regularly.

To supplement our report on retiree health care liabilities, the Foundation is in the process of collecting such data for all cities and towns in Massachusetts. This spreadsheet includes new data from 50 additional municipalities, along with updated data for some of the largest 50 municipalities. This spreadsheet will be updated regularly.

Municipal employee health care plans in Massachusetts are far more costly and generous than other employer-sponsored plans in the Commonwealth, according to Municipal Health Plans: Gilded Benefits from a Bygone Era, a new report released today by The Boston Foundation and the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. This report is the first to compare specific health care plans from 14 diverse communities with plans offered to state, federal, and private sector employees in Massachusetts.

The 50 largest cities and towns in Massachusetts face a crushing $20 billion liability for retiree health care benefits that threatens to wreak havoc with local government services, according to a new report released today by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation.

The report, Retiree Health Care: The Brick That Broke Municipalities’ Backs, is the first analysis of municipal retiree health care liabilities in Massachusetts. The $20 billion represents what these governments must pay in today’s dollars for the lifetime health care benefits already earned by 150,000 current employees and retirees in the 50 communities.

Municipalities weathered one of their most difficult years in the Proposition 2 ½ era in fiscal 2010, highlighting the urgency of controlling municipal health insurance costs. Driven by cuts in local aid and declines in local receipts and new construction, total municipal spending and revenues grew by a minuscule 0.1 percent in fiscal 2010.