Who is a member?
Our members are the local governments of Massachusetts and their elected and appointed leadership.
We are nonpartisan policy experts, advocates, and connectors; we are collaborative and responsive.
We bring local leaders together to:
• Articulate a clear and united municipal message
• Develop and advocate for shared policy goals
• Share information and best practices
• Work together to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of municipal service delivery
Through shared learning, shared ideas and one shared voice on Beacon Hill, we work to help municipal officials improve the lives of the people they serve.
In short, the MMA is the voice of cities and towns in Massachusetts.
At Connect 351, MMA Executive Director Adam Chapdelaine describes MMA’s “laser focus” on helping members achieve success.
MMA members and Executive Director Adam Chapdelaine discuss the value of the MMA and its range of services.
The Massachusetts Municipal Association was founded on June 27, 1979, when the Massachusetts League of Cities and Towns (formed in 1961) was consolidated with the Massachusetts Selectmen’s Association (name changed to Massachusetts Select Board Association in 2020), the Massachusetts Mayors’ Association, the Massachusetts Municipal Management Association, and the Association of Town Finance Committees. The Massachusetts Municipal Councillors’ Association was created in 1981 and added to the MMA.
The MMA is governed by a 35-member Board of Directors composed of municipal officials from across the state – mayors, select board members, councillors, municipal managers and finance committee members – who are elected by their peers.
• To develop broad support for issues affecting local government and to advocate for those issues before state and federal agencies and the general public.
• To preserve and advance the decision-making authority of local government, recognizing the association’s role as the lead municipal advocate on personnel management and state revenue sharing matters.
• To provide and develop low-cost, high-quality services for cities and towns as an alternative to relying on the private sector.
• To educate local officials and to stimulate, encourage and coordinate the communication of ideas and positions among local officials, state and federal officials, key opinion leaders and the general public.
• To improve the quality of life in cities and towns, by assisting local officials with efforts to make services more efficient and more responsive to the citizens of our municipalities.
The MMA serves as an advocate for its members before the Massachusetts Legislature, the executive branch, regulatory bodies and the courts. The association develops and pursues a municipal policy that meets present and future needs of the state’s communities.
The MMA’s five policy committees, composed of 110 local officials, meet regularly to help develop and support the MMA’s advocacy agenda.
The Local Government Advisory Commission, including most members of the MMA Board of Directors, meets regularly with the administration to discuss issues facing cities and towns and to search for ways to strengthen the state-local partnership.
Throughout the year, the MMA organizes 40-50 in-person meetings, seminars, conferences, and trainings for members, and roughly 50 timely webinars, to provide the latest information and best practices on issues affecting local government, as well as opportunities for members to build their networks, share ideas and discuss common problems. MMA webinars are available any time on the MMA website or through the On-Demand Library.
The MMA’s annual conference in January, Connect 351, is the largest regular gathering of municipal officials in New England. Each spring and fall, the MMA hosts a series of Legislative Breakfast Meetings throughout the state.
The MMA produces a range of communications products that provide the latest information about issues affecting cities and towns, as well as information about association activities and events. These include this website, the monthly Beacon, the Weekly Review newsletter, the Massachusetts Municipal Data Hub, the online Massachusetts Select Board Handbook, and social media channels.
The MMA’s professional staff responds to hundreds of inquiries each month, providing local officials with information and referrals. In addition, this website features a comprehensive Resource Library, a webinars library, the Massachusetts Municipal Data Hub, the Massachusetts Select Board Handbook, our Local Government 101 guide, Products & Services Listings, and more.
The Massachusetts Interlocal Insurance Association (MIIA), a nonprofit corporation created by the MMA in 1982, provides workers’ compensation as well as property, casualty and health insurance to more than 400 Massachusetts communities and other public entities at the lowest possible cost. MIIA helps communities contain costs through risk management and loss control.
Since 1998, the MMA’s MunEnergy program has provided savings on electricity to more than 70 Massachusetts municipalities and other governmental entities through competitive purchasing, energy efficiency and conservation measures.
The MMA partners with Suffolk University’s Moakley Center for Public Management to offer a range of programs designed exclusively for municipal employees interested in furthering their careers in local government.
Through a Department of Public Health grant, the MMA offers the Municipal Tobacco Control Technical Assistance Program to help municipalities with tobacco sales and use regulations, public education and other health-related issues. (For more information, contact Lisa Stevens-Goodnight at the MMA.)
Groups also affiliated with the MMA: