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Municipal Financial Data - 41st Edition

abagley — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 08:16:35 -0600

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.

MTF Analysis: Enhanced Retiree Benefits Would Undercut Municipal Health Reform

abagley — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 09:14:02 -0500

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.

MTF Analysis Shows Huge Savings for Cities and Towns Under Health Plan Design Approved by the House

abagley — Tue, 10 May 2011 08:56:26 -0500

Broad coalition commends House leadership for passage of municipal health care reform

abagley — Tue, 03 May 2011 10:28:47 -0500

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.

Municipal Retiree Health Care Liabilities in Massachusetts - Sorted by Population Size

abagley — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 13:39:47 -0500

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 Retiree Health Care Liabilities in Massachusetts - Listed Alphabetically

abagley — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 13:36:57 -0500

Municipal Health Plans: Gilded Benefits from a Bygone Era

abagley — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 12:02:23 -0500

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.

Retiree Health Care: The Brick That Broke Municipalities’ Backs

abagley — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 08:53:20 -0600

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.

Municipal Finance Data 40th Edition

abagley — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 10:32:43 -0600

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.

Municipal Finance Data 40th Edition

abagley — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 11:08:36 -0600

An Open Letter to Legislators and Candidates

abagley — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 14:49:49 -0500

The Foundation calls on legislators and candidates to address the unsustainable increase in municipal costs of health care and pensions that are leading to layoffs of teachers, police and firefighters and recommends a series of changes that would save hundreds of millions of dollars annually in the short term growing to billions by 2020.

Urgent Legislative Action Needed to Address Soaring Municipal Health Care Costs

abagley — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 08:10:49 -0500

In a letter to conferees, the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation urges legislators to reject the Senate proposal to address the issue of soaring municipal health care costs and take decisive action to provide municipal relief. Cities and towns should have unfettered powers over health plan design, consistent with the state, in order to protect municipal jobs and services.

The State’s Enormous Fiscal Challenges in a Turbulent Political Year

abagley — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 14:49:57 -0500

MTF President Michael J. Widmer presented to the Boston Economic Club an update on state and local finances.

Municipal Finance Data 39th Edition

abagley — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 10:21:39 -0600

Cities and towns across the Commonwealth are facing enormous fiscal pressures which will only worsen over the next two years and likely beyond. Confronted by structural deficits in good times, municipalities have had to deal with major cuts in local aid during two recessions this decade. There will be further cuts in state aid in fiscal 2011, made worse by the end of federal stimulus dollars which have been supporting Chapter 70 education aid.

The dramatically increasing costs of health insurance and the large jump in unfunded pension liabilities must be addressed through comprehensive reform. Controlling the growth of municipal health care costs, which have increased at five times the inflation rate since 2001, is the most important step cities and towns can take to weather the fiscal storm ahead.

State and Local Finances - Update

abagley — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 11:20:35 -0500

MTF President Michael Widmer presented an overview of state and local finances to the Boston Municipal Analyst Forum

Foundation Testimony before the Special Municipal Relief Commission

abagley — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 12:37:45 -0600

The cities and towns of Massachusetts are facing a relentless fiscal squeeze in which year after year costs are growing faster than revenues for almost all communities.

Municipal Financial Data: 38th Edition

dlind — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 08:58:43 -0500

Driven by the global economic problems and the state's fiscal crisis, cities and towns are about to enter another period of cutbacks and serious retrenchment.

MTF Offers Recommendations to Curtail the Use of Police Details at Construction Sites

dlind — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 08:48:09 -0500

Municipal Health Reform: Seizing the Moment

dlind — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 12:08:30 -0500

Cities and towns across the Commonwealth can save as much as $750 million in 2013 and $2.5 billion in 2018 by taking advantage of a new law that allows them to join the Group Insurance Commission (GIC), the state agency which administers health insurance for state employees, according to a joint report by the Foundation and the Boston Municipal Research Bureau.

Municipal Financial Data: 36th Edition

dlind — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 12:13:00 -0500

The overall municipal financial picture stabilized in 2006. Nevertheless, most communities continue to face a fiscal squeeze as underlying costs grow faster than revenues, according to the Foundation's 36th annual analysis of local revenues and spending.