Who is a member?
Our members are the local governments of Massachusetts and their elected and appointed leadership.
Dear Senator,
On behalf of cities and towns in every corner of the Commonwealth, the Massachusetts Municipal Association is writing to support important funding and investment in key municipal and school aid programs in the fiscal 2015 state budget bill that you and your colleagues in the Senate will consider beginning on Wednesday, May 21.
A strong and enduring partnership between local and state government is necessary to achieve a healthy and expanding economy and to enable cities and towns to provide world-class education and municipal services, ensure safe streets and neighborhoods, and maintain local roads and vital infrastructure. This is fundamental to our state’s economic success and competitiveness.
The lasting impact of the Great Recession has challenged cities and towns greatly. Communities have eliminated 15,000 jobs and, despite a tightly capped property tax due to Proposition 2½, municipalities are more reliant on the property tax to fund essential services than at any time in the past 30 years. Adequate funding for municipal and education aid is necessary in order for cities and towns to provide the basic local and school services that the residents of Massachusetts deserve and expect, and to mitigate today’s overreliance on the most regressive of the major revenue sources in the state: the property tax.
We applaud President Murray, Chairman Brewer, and the entire Senate for adopting a local aid resolution that embraces a $25 million increase in Unrestricted General Government Aid (UGGA) in fiscal 2015, and appreciate your early commitment to fund this vital municipal aid program so that cities and towns can incorporate these funds into their budget planning now.
We also applaud Chairman Brewer and the members of the Senate Ways and Means Committee for advancing a fiscal 2015 state budget proposal that offers impressive investments in three major accounts of concern to scores of communities and school districts: S. 4 would make a signature commitment by increasing funding for regional school transportation reimbursements by $18.7 million, an exceptional step that would bring reimbursements up to the highest percentage in a generation; full funding of the Special Education Circuit-Breaker account for the third consecutive year with a $7.9 million increase; and a $1 million increase in Payments-in-Lieu-of-Taxes (PILOT), a key account for dozens of communities. These are outstanding proposals.
In terms of UGGA, the good news is that the stage is set for increases in municipal aid in the final fiscal 2014 supplemental budget that you will consider later this year. Lottery proceeds are now forecast to exceed the original estimate for fiscal 2014 by $20 million and will certainly end the year significantly higher than that amount. The Lottery was established to serve as a vital source of local revenues, with all of the available proceeds to go directly to cities and towns, so that communities can use these local funds to support municipal services and reduce overreliance on the property tax. That’s why the Lottery was created decades ago.
Regarding Chapter 70 education aid, the Local Aid Resolution adopted in March reflects the same Chapter 70 amount that the Governor filed in January, an overall increase of $99 million, with most cities, towns and school districts receiving minimum aid increases of $25 per student. This increase will allow municipal and regional school districts to reach the “foundation” level of spending and phase in a portion of the target share/down payment aid equity provisions adopted in 2006.
However, this funding level means that a significant majority of school districts would only receive minimum aid, which, to be direct, is not adequate to allow cities and towns to maintain existing school programming. Most minimum aid communities would need to cut current education services or divert more funds from the municipal side of the budget, which is why we continue to raise the minimum aid amount as an ongoing issue of concern that we hope can be addressed at an appropriate time before the beginning of fiscal 2015 in July.
In this letter, we have highlighted the most important and visible amendments that impact cities and towns. With 948 amendments before you this week, there are dozens of important funding and policy proposals that would impact cities and towns, and we urgently and respectfully ask you to take action on all of these matters to support the interests of the communities you represent. Please invest in essential municipal and school programs, and please protect local government from proposals that would restrict or interfere with their management authority and decision-making powers.
PLEASE SUPPORT KEY BUDGET AMENDMENTS TO AID CITIES AND TOWNS:
• FULL FUNDING FOR REIMBURSEMENTS FOR CHARTER SCHOOLS LOSSES – Please Support Amendment 561
Under state law, cities and towns that host or send students to charter schools are entitled to be reimbursed for a portion of their lost Chapter 70 aid. The state fully funded the reimbursement program in fiscal 2013 and is about to fully fund the program in fiscal 2014 through a special $27.6 million supplemental appropriation that will be sent to the Governor’s desk this week. For fiscal 2015, the reimbursement account should be funded at $113.4 million. However, the Governor’s fiscal 2015 budget would only fund charter school reimbursements at $75 million, which would guarantee a shortfall of $38 million in fiscal 2015. S. 4 would fund fiscal 2015 charter school reimbursements at $80 million, which is still $33 million below full funding.
Shortfalls in the charter school reimbursement program cause major fiscal distress in every community that has a significant charter school presence. Only a small fraction of public school students attend charter schools. Underfunding this program would force cutbacks for the vast majority of students who remain in the traditional school setting. It is important to recognize that full funding for charter school reimbursements will provide fiscal relief to many of the most vulnerable and challenged school districts and communities in Massachusetts.
Please support Amendment 561 filed by Sen. Chang-Diaz and nine other senators to fully fund charter school reimbursements due to cities, towns and regional school districts by providing the full $113.4 million necessary to meet the state’s obligation.
• FULL FUNDING FOR MCKINNEY-VENTO HOMELESS STUDENT TRANSPORTATION COSTS – Please Support Amendment 567
The Senate Ways and Means budget would level-fund reimbursements for the transportation of homeless students at $7.4 million, which is $7.5 million below the full reimbursement called for under the state’s unfunded mandate law. Two years ago, the State Auditor ruled that the adoption of the federal McKinney-Vento law imposed an unfunded mandate on cities and towns. The program was funded at $11.3 million in fiscal 2013 and cut to $7.4 million in fiscal 2014. Level-funding the program would continue to impose a significant burden on those cities and towns that are providing transportation services to homeless children who have been placed in their communities by the state.
Please support Amendment 567 filed by Sen. Eldridge and five other senators. This amendment would fully fund the $14.9 million in reimbursements due to municipalities and school districts for the cost of transporting homeless students from temporary shelters to school.
• INCREASE FUNDING FOR THE SHANNON ANTI-GANG GRANT PROGRAM – Please Support Amendment 578
Please support Amendment 578 filed by Sen. Donoghue and 12 others to increase funding for the highly successful and effective Shannon anti-gang grant program that provides essential funding to help cities and towns respond to and suppress gang-related activities. This amendment would add $2.5 million and bring total funding up to $9 million.
• INCREASE FUNDING FOR THE SAFE AND SUCCESSFUL YOUTH INITIATIVE – Please Support Amendment 940
Please support Amendment 940, filed by Sen. Chang-Diaz and 12 others to increase funding of the Safe and Supportive Youth Initiative from $4 million to $9.5 million. The program seeks to reduce youth violence through wraparound services for those most likely to be victims or perpetrators of gun violence, and is vital to violence prevention efforts in dozens of communities.
• MAINTAIN FUNDING FOR THE COMMUNITY PRESERVATION ACT – Please Support Amendment 4
In recent years, the state’s match for the Community Preservation Act has been woefully underfunded. In fiscal 2014, the state budget included a provision to use end-of-the-year surplus revenues from fiscal 2013 to boost reimbursements by $25 million, breathing new life into the state’s CPA match. The House of Representatives’ fiscal 2015 budget would maintain this policy and transfer $25 million from the “consolidated net surplus” left over from fiscal 2014 into the Community Preservation Trust Fund, but the Senate Ways and Means budget does not include this language, which means the CPA program would be significantly underfunded in fiscal 2015.
Please support Amendment 4 filed by Sen. Creem and 21 other senators that would restore the $25 million transfer to the Community Preservation Act Trust Fund. Because of lagging deeds excise collections, this money must be added to the CPA program. Otherwise, cities and towns that have adopted the CPA will see a much lower state match next year.
• RE-ESTABLISH THE FOUNDATION BUDGET REVIEW COMMISSION – Please Support Amendments 560 & 21
The foundation budget school spending standard that guides Chapter 70 funding was first enacted as part of the landmark 1993 education reform law and has largely remained unchanged since that time. In addition to the need to adjust the foundation budget to reflect the many substantial changes that have occurred in public education over the past 20 years, the current foundation budget structure clearly understates many key education expenses and does not fully reflect the cost of operating modern school systems, as evidenced by the fact that cities and towns spend $2.1 billion more to run their schools than the amount called for in the foundation budget.
Please support Amendment 560 filed by Sen. Chang-Diaz and 20 other senators and Amendment 21 filed by Sen. Tarr to re-establish the Foundation Budget Review Commission under Chapter 70 for the purpose of reviewing the way that the foundation budget is calculated.
PLEASE OPPOSE AMENDMENT 89:
• PROTECT MUNICIPAL DECISION-MAKING AUTHORITY ON HEALTH INSURANCE – Please DEFEAT Amendment 89
Amendment 89 would unilaterally extend a three-year freeze on changing retiree health insurance contribution percentages by an additional two years. Under existing law, any city or town that used sections 22 or 23 of Chapter 32B (the 2011 municipal health insurance reform law) to implement plan design changes or join the GIC must wait until July 1, 2014, to change retiree health insurance contribution percentages. Amendment 89 would unilaterally extend that freeze for two more years, until July 1, 2016, for any municipality that has adopted or may soon adopt the provisions of the 2011 municipal health insurance reform law. Under this amendment, any community that has used or plans on using Chapter 32B to make plan design changes or join the GIC would be prohibited from changing retiree contribution percentages unless the municipality voted to change the contribution rate prior to January 1, 2014. This proposed change would delay the ability of nearly 100 communities to take action on retiree contribution percentages. At a time when OPEB costs are becoming unsustainable, Amendment 89 would thwart municipal authority and prevent local taxpayers and their elected leaders from even considering reasonable changes in contribution ratios.
It is important that you vote to defeat Amendment 89, which would undermine the decision-making power of cities and towns to determine health insurance contribution percentages for retirees. Municipal officials have been operating in good faith under the current law, and it is unfair and unwise to interfere with their authority to act in the best interests of local taxpayers, employees and retirees.
SUMMARY
This is a critical time for our economy, and for cities, towns and local taxpayers. We respectfully ask that you adopt the local aid investments and targeted funding detailed above and oppose efforts to weaken municipal authority and resources. Massachusetts is starting to find some new vigor in its economy, but we can only reach our full potential for statewide growth and job creation if all 351 cities and towns have the resources to adequately serve the residents and businesses of the Commonwealth. Please contact us at any time if you have any questions or need additional information by having your office reach out to me or MMA Legislative Director John Robertson at (617) 426-7272 or jrobertson@mma.org.
Thank you very much for your support, dedication and commitment to our cities and towns.
Sincerely,
Geoffrey C. Beckwith
Executive Director, MMA