Gov. Healey is considering removing obesity medication coverage from the state employee health plan in her upcoming budget. Cutting treatment would jeopardize progress for thousands and harm workforce health. Urge the Governor to protect access to GLP-1s and treat obesity like any other chronic disease. Use our quick tool to send your message today.
City and town officials, at least the ones who keep an eye on the spreadsheets, tend to live every week like it’s municipal finance week.
But the water is looking especially choppy for them these days. The Massachusetts Municipal Association, which represents the state’s 351 cities and towns, issued a report in October warning of a “perfect storm” – if not a blizzard – of rising costs in every sector, from health care and insurance to energy and construction.
You don’t need to be a weatherman, or municipal finance expert, to see it coming. Residents are getting warnings of potential school closures and layoffs in places like Hadley and Whitman.
Unrestricted general government aid, which carries the somewhat unfortunate acronym UGGA in the state budget, has dropped 25% over the last 20 years, when adjusted for inflation. The MMA’s October analysis noted that figure, and argued that Prop. 2 ½, which limits how much property tax revenue a municipality can pull in, appears to be “too restrictive.”
The fiscal 2026 state budget, okayed this summer by lawmakers and signed by Gov. Maura Healey, has $1.32 billion for UGGA, a $14.4 million increase, or 1.1%, from fiscal 2025.
On Thursday, the MMA put out recommendations as a companion to its October analysis, asking for a bigger increase in the next fiscal year as budget discussions are about to get underway on Beacon Hill.
The organization’s No. 1 priority, unsurprisingly, is more money to mitigate the hangover many municipalities are still feeling from the Great Recession. A lot more money: $351 million, as a nod to the number of cities and towns. “Such an investment would provide immediate and meaningful relief for local budgets statewide, and local taxpayers,” said the report on recommendations.
Next on the list is flexibility on Prop. 2 ½, which has come in for criticism from Boston Mayor Michelle Wu. The MMA proposes allowing communities, with voter approval, to go for multi-year tax overrides, or increase the 2.5% annual limit, whether it’s temporarily, permanently, or tying it to the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Changing Prop. 2 ½ is fraught with political peril, and sure to set off a fight over protecting the measure approved by voters decades ago.
The recommendations report also calls for giving cities and towns the power to reclassify properties for tax assessing, shifting the tax burden and setting up tax expansions for seniors and veterans.
Healey’s Municipal Empowerment bill, which includes regional cooperation incentives, among other items, is also listed, as are local-option meals tax additions, as well as an increase in the hotel/motel taxes.
Budget watchers will get some visibility into what the state’s overall fiscal picture looks like for the coming year with the annual consensus revenue hearing, set for Dec. 16 and featuring the budget chiefs in the House, Senate and the Healey administration.
But if cities and towns are facing a blizzard, state lawmakers here and elsewhere could be grappling with a bomb cyclone. “The radar is clear. It’s going to hit almost every state,” Tim Storey, CEO of the National Conference of State Legislatures, said in a briefing earlier this week. “They know it’s coming and they’ve got, really, a couple years to prepare for this storm, to put the wood on the windows.”
Time to go out and get the bread and milk. What’s your take on the MMA’s recommendations? Let me know: [email protected].
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AARP is fighting to stop criminals from stealing over $246 million a year through cryptocurrency kiosks. Fraudulent activity targeting older Americans is on the rise. We support Senate Bill No. 707 and House Bill No. 1247, which will crack down on those who use crypto ATMs for fraudulent activity. Licensing crypto ATM operators in Massachusetts would give state officials stronger oversight and flag operators who break the rules. Learn more at aarp.org/ma.
HAPPENING TODAY
9:00 | Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation hosts an event to highlight the findings from the 2025 Massachusetts Health Insurance Survey that was conducted by the Center for Health Information and Analysis. The program includes a keynote presentation from CHIA outlining the trends from the survey and panel discussion. | Colonnade Hotel, 120 Huntington Ave., Boston
11:00 | Boston Mayor Michelle Wu joins representatives from Lavi Investment LLC and First Citizens Bank to announce the preservation of 16 income-restricted apartments. She will also announce a major private investment into the Boston Acquisition Fund, a public-private loan fund designed to acquire affordable housing. | The Hillcrest, 237 Cummins Highway, Roslindale
11:30 | Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll join Maj. Gen. Gary Keefe and others to celebrate the 389th birthday of the Mass. National Guard. | Nurses Hall, State House, Boston
1:00 | Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance Director Paul Diego Craney joins a group of New Hampshire state legislators for a press conference "highlighting the growing economic divide between Massachusetts and New Hampshire." New Hampshire legislators plan a 10 a.m. companion presser in Salem, N.H. to make the case for why “New Hampshire Can’t Afford to Lose Maura Healey.” | Outside the House Chamber, State House, Boston
FROM BEACON HILL
ADDING UP THE BUDGET: Multiple spending bills are now adding to the state’s annual budget, leading to a fiscal 2025 with a bottom line that became higher than the bottom line in the fiscal 2026 budget signed by Gov. Maura Healey this past July. – State House News Service
ENG’S TWO HATS: Eight weeks after appointing Phil Eng as interim transportation secretary, in addition to his job as MBTA general manager, Gov. Maura Healey and her administration have not started a search for a permanent secretary. – CommonWealth Beacon
IT’S ELECTRIC: It’s not just in Massachusetts – the increase in utility prices has the attention of regulators and lawmakers in other states, with some considering rate freezes or new rates on large energy users like data centers. – Stateline
GRANNY FLATS: Massachusetts housing officials have set up a contest to encourage people to design their own accessory dwelling units, with a $20,000 prize. Winning designs will be posted and available to the public. – MassLive
NEWS NEXT DOOR
ONLINE GAMBLING: As state lawmakers weigh how to regulate internet gambling, the New York Times reported on how illegal gambling websites are pulling in teenagers and problem gamblers, moving faster than regulators can keep up. – NYT
‘NOEM ACT’: Rep. Seth Moulton has named a bill named for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and allowing immigrants to sue federal authorities for misconduct. The full name of the bill is the National Oversight and Enforcement of Misconduct (NOEM) Act. – Eagle-Tribune
HOLYOKE FINANCES: State aid is finally flowing to Holyoke again, but councilors are fighting over the city’s financial problems. Accounts from 2024 still contain errors, and there haven’t been cash reconciliations for 2025 and 2026. – MassLive
CITY TAXES: Boston city councilors voted to set property tax rates that will bring about the 13% residential hike that Mayor Michelle Wu has sought to avoid through Beacon Hill legislation stalled by the Senate. Meanwhile, Quincy’s city council held off on a tax classification vote in the hopes of getting more information amid affordability concerns raised by residents. – WBUR and Patriot Ledger
BOSTON PARKING: Boston city councilors considered the elimination of all parking requirements for residential developments. – Boston Business Journal
T SETTLEMENT: Following nearly 20 years of accessibility improvements, the MBTA says it has fulfilled much of its obligations under a 2006 settlement stemming from a lawsuit filed by disability rights advocates. – MassLive
IN MEMORIAM: Jeff Lawrence, who co-founded the newspaper that eventually became the Weekly Dig, has died. Luke O’Neil, who was hired and fired by the outlet, remembers the man behind the alternative weekly. – Welcome to Hell World
MORE HEADLINES
JOB BOARD
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Water System Technician, Town of Easton
Jury Commissioner, MA Supreme Judicial Court
Senior Accountant, Massachusetts Service Alliance
Chief Program Officer, Massachusetts Service Alliance
CEO & President, Civic Action Project
Director of Speechwriting, City of Boston
Deputy Director of Speechwriting, City of Boston
Chief of Communications, City of Boston
Executive Director, Thrive Downtown Attleboro
Chief Development Officer, Institute for Nonprofit Practice
Commissioner, Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance
Vice President for Massachusetts, Conservation Law Foundation
Senior Planner, Public Engagement, Boston Region MPO
Mechanic or Senior Mechanic, Town of Easton
