Who is a member?
Our members are the local governments of Massachusetts and their elected and appointed leadership.
Natick Selectman Josh Ostroff is the new president of the MMA, and Waltham City Councillor Robert G. Logan is the new vice president.
The MMA Board of Directors installed Ostroff and Logan as officers for 2011 following the association’s Annual Business Meeting in Boston on Jan. 22.
Ostroff, who succeeds Beverly Mayor Bill Scanlon as president, has been a Natick selectman since 2006 and became a member of the MMA Board the following year. He is currently a co-chair of the Executive Board of the MetroWest Regional Collaborative.
As a selectman, Ostroff said he has worked on issues such as strategic planning, economic development, recruitment, transportation, public safety, and personnel evaluation. A co-owner of the consulting firm Virtual Media Resources, he has co-authored articles on public health and public policy.
Ostroff said his goals for the coming year, in addition to protecting local aid to the extent possible, include working with the Patrick administration to make it easier for cities and towns to transfer retirees’ health care coverage to Medicare. Ostroff said that Natick, which made the change in 2009, is now saving more than $500,000 a year.
“It was a lot of work,” Ostroff said. “We have had to find creative ways to hold retirees harmless.”
Ostroff said he also wants to encourage regional collaboration among cities and towns as a means of reducing costs.
Logan has been a councillor in Waltham since 1989 and served as the council’s president in 2001. He has a master’s in public policy from Northeastern University and works as a budget analyst for the Department of Transitional Assistance.
In addition to serving as the MMA’s vice president, Logan is also the president of the Massachusetts Municipal Councillors’ Association.
“The MMA is extremely fortunate to have Josh Ostroff and Robert Logan as our president and vice president,” said MMA Executive Director Geoff Beckwith. “The year ahead will bring many challenges for all our cities and towns, and these two leaders will certainly guide us with the wisdom, insight and energy we need to meet these challenges head on.”