Who is a member?
Our members are the local governments of Massachusetts and their elected and appointed leadership.
From the Beacon, April 2025
Spring in Massachusetts means many different things — like the opening of the Red Sox season, and temperatures jumping from 30 to 60 and back to 30 again — but most pertinent to all of you as local officials is that it’s budget season, at both the municipal and state level.
On March 24, I was able to testify before the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Ways and Means to make the case for adequate funding for critical local aid accounts. I was fortunate to be joined by MMA Vice President and Amesbury Mayor Kassandra Gove, and Stow Town Administrator Denise Dembkoski, president of Small Town Administrators of Massachusetts and a member of the MMA Board of Directors.
Together, we were able to make an effective and forceful argument for local funding — funding that is so critically needed in the face of budget challenges at the local level, combined with continuing uncertainty from the federal government.
Though we are mindful of the state’s cautious fiscal outlook for fiscal 2026, we asked for an increase in the state budget of at least 3% for Unrestricted General Government Aid. We also voiced our support for critical funding for Chapter 70 school aid that matches the promise of the Student Opportunity Act, and we urged consideration of a minimum aid increase of $150 per pupil, which would positively impact 245 of 318 school districts statewide (77%). This would represent an additional investment of $39.5 million over the governor’s House 1 proposal, but there’s no doubt it would make a meaningful difference for the challenges we know districts and municipalities are facing.
In both our spoken and written testimony, we were also sure to underscore the importance of funding for other critical municipal accounts, such as school transportation reimbursements, the Special Education Circuit Breaker, rural school aid, and local road and bridge funding. We reminded members of the committee that, with a concerning federal funding landscape, continued and additional support for these accounts in fiscal 2026 is essential.
Lastly, we respectfully requested consideration of an early agreement for key local aid accounts, particularly UGGA and Chapter 70. The MMA’s requests on these two accounts would total less than $50 million above the governor’s proposal, and early agreement would provide critical budget certainty to all of you as local officials. As we all know, town meetings are scheduled, and city councils will start their budget processes in a matter of weeks. In a time when the federal government is providing the opposite of certainty, we urged the Commonwealth to be a supportive force for stability on these priority cherry sheet accounts.
As you know, this is just the start of the budget process at the state level, and we will continue to advocate for you at every step. Stay tuned for updates and calls to action from the MMA as the House budget and Senate budget are released over the course of the next several months. Working together, I remain confident that we can achieve adequate funding in the fiscal 2026 state budget that provides much-needed support for your community.