MMA.ORG
Jamie Hellen
By MMA President and Franklin Town Administrator Jamie Hellen, January 2026
Welcome to Connect 351!
I want to start by saying that it has truly been an honor to serve as president of this organization over the past year — and a highlight of my career. I always knew there was a lot of talent running cities and towns in Massachusetts. But over the past year, I’ve met so many of you, gotten to know you, shared conversations about the challenges as well as the creative problem-solving, and I am truly inspired by all of you. This state is fortunate to have such gifted and hard-working local leaders — and the future of leadership in cities and towns is very bright!
I have attended many MMA annual conferences, but I want to share that this one is particularly meaningful to me, as it was at the first MMA conference under the Connect 351 branding — and at the new, much larger venue in the Seaport — where I received the presidential gavel last January. The MMA raised the bar then, and continues to make this event more vital, informative and inspiring each year. And, it continues to break attendance records! My sincere appreciation to the MMA team for their excellent work, and to all of you for making this event what it is.
2025 was an eventful year for the MMA. While there were certainly headwinds — we all know that — there were also some significant accomplishments that will help to move all communities forward.
It was my good fortune to have been president when the MMA concluded a thorough analysis of the fiscal condition of all municipalities across the Commonwealth. The groundbreaking analysis resulted in the publication, in October, of “A Perfect Storm” — a report that drew widespread attention to the plight of the municipal organizations that deliver the fundamental services that all Massachusetts residents rely on 24/7/365. For those of us doing the work of local government, the report didn’t offer surprises, but it quantified the confluence of forces we face — in a way that had unquestionable credibility. Readers of the report were able to better understand the increasingly difficult realities that cities and towns have been dealing with for nearly two decades.
Following the publication of “A Perfect Storm,” the MMA led a series of thoughtful conversations with an array of members — at MMA Board meetings, at member group meetings, at MMA Policy Committee meetings.. That listening tour, along with guidance from the MMA team, resulted in a powerful package of recommendations that have the ability to pull us out of these storms and set us on a path of fiscal sustainability. Those policy recommendations were published in December as “Navigating the Storm.”
This is really a groundbreaking effort by the MMA, an organization that is stepping up to meet the moment that you all face. Both reports have received significant media attention and are now part of budget conversations on Beacon Hill. The reports build the foundation for the advocacy efforts that the MMA, and all of you, will be engaging in in the coming year.
Having been involved in many conversations over the past year with the Healey-Driscoll administration and legislators, I can attest that the MMA has made great strides to strengthen this critical state-local partnership, which should serve the organization well in the years ahead.
I want to highlight just a few of the MMA’s accomplishments during the past year in its service to all of you. These include the expansion of the MMA-Suffolk programs, which help us continue to professionalize our operations and build the talent pipeline; the launch of a podcast — The 351 — on which I was very pleased to be a guest recently; new efforts in the areas of accessibility and diversity, equity and inclusion; a growing portfolio of webinars, including an upcoming series on AI; and the growth of membership programs, including the addition of the Massachusetts Municipal Communicators.
On the legislative front, the MMA won a hard-fought battle for a historic increase in funding for the Chapter 90 program, along with an increase in minimum K-12 education aid to $150 per student. We achieved an extension for hybrid and remote public meeting options through June 2027, and made progress on priority budget accounts despite headwinds from a changing federal funding landscape. The governor’s proposed Municipal Empowerment Act continues to be a priority for the MMA, and we’ll need all of your assistance to get that passed the finish line this session.
We make progress and effect change by working together, across large cities and small towns. The MMA advocates on behalf of all of us, and forms legislative positions and priorities with the input from its Board of Directors, its five policy committees, and all of you.
I want to sincerely thank my predecessor, Waltham City Councillor John McLaughlin, who served so effectively as President of the MMA in 2024. At this meeting, I will be turning the MMA presidency over to my colleague Kassandra Gove, the mayor of Amesbury. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with Mayor Gove over this past year, and we are in very capable hands going forward.
Please enjoy the conference, and stop me if I’m nearby to say hello.
Thank you.