"THE ADVOCACY GROUP representing all 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts fired a warning flare up to Beacon Hill last month when it published a detailed report likening the budget woes municipalities face to a “perfect storm.”But how did communities get to this point? What kind of solutions do they want to see, and what would that mean for taxpayers?This week, The Codcast hosts a panel discussion unpacking municipal finance issues with a trio of guests: Massachusetts Municipal Association executive director Adam Chapdelaine, Amesbury mayor Kassandra Gove, and Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance executive director Paul Craney.The report from the Massachusetts Municipal Association found that unrestricted general government aid to cities and towns has dropped over the past two decades once adjusted for inflation, forcing communities to foot the rising bill for services with budgets that are constrained by a cap on property tax increases.
The Codcast In Chapdelaine’s view, the current crisis is a mix of longer-term factors that have been building for decades and the “incendiary pressure of significant inflation” in recent years. "
Find the report referenced -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/10/explore-mmas-new-report-perfect-storm.html
