Who is a member?
Our members are the local governments of Massachusetts and their elected and appointed leadership.
From the Beacon, January 2026
We all know that things are tough right now for local governments in Massachusetts. That’s why we at the MMA spent considerable time and energy to do a thorough assessment of the structural gaps, and have spent the last few months elevating the fiscal issues that are most critical to the success of local government in 2026 and beyond.
In October, we released our “Perfect Storm” report, outlining the systemic challenges facing all city and town budgets in the Commonwealth. In November, I wrote to you here with a preview of our recommendations for alleviating the strains outlined in the “Perfect Storm” report. Then, in December, after months of engagement with many of you, we released our “Navigating the Storm” report, which outlined our recommendations for state budget and policy actions aimed at mitigating many of the challenges we outlined earlier in the fall.
We presented a menu of options, including modest additional revenue flexibility, assurances that a range of local accounts will be fully funded, and removal of some barriers to efficiency. But the centerpiece of our recommendations — and our top priority — is a significant infusion for Unrestricted General Government Aid, in order to restore state support for municipal services toward a level that existed before the Great Recession of 2008.
As we enter 2026, we are focused on working with state leaders, and with all of you, to advocate for action on our ambitious agenda. Most notably, we have started our work with state leaders in advocating for our proposal for additional UGGA investments: $351 million for 351 cities and towns.
As our report states: “Such an investment would provide immediate and meaningful relief for local budgets statewide, and local taxpayers. It would strengthen public safety, public health, public works, and community services in every corner of the Commonwealth. It would help municipalities stabilize budgets strained by rising costs and uncertain revenues. And it would restore a measure of balance to a state-local fiscal partnership that has drifted out of alignment for more than a decade.
“Reinvesting in UGGA is the most direct and immediate way to strengthen the foundation of municipal government. The proposed $351 million investment would not only help restore historical balance, it would reaffirm the Commonwealth’s enduring commitment to its cities and towns.”
What’s laid out in the passage above will serve as our guiding principles. Advocating for this reinvestment will protect local taxpayers while simultaneously shoring up critical services that provide the foundation for the quality of life enjoyed by these same taxpayers. Most importantly, and this bears repeating, we are advocating for reinvestment — movement toward the state and local fiscal partnership that existed before the Great Recession — when allocating funds for UGGA going forward.
We are fully aware that the Commonwealth faces economic and budgetary headwinds as it plans for fiscal 2027, but in many ways, that makes it even more imperative that we start to make progress on this approach now, in order to fortify cities and towns for whatever may lie ahead in these uncertain times.
But we can’t do this alone. We need all of you, the leaders of towns and cities across this state, to assist us in making this case to both the governor and the Legislature. In the weeks ahead, we will be providing more information about how to best assist us in this effort, and we are excited that we’ll see many of you at Connect 351 in just a couple weeks to inject even more energy into this critical endeavor.