MMA.ORGWhereas, the social and economic well-being of residents depends on the ability of their local government to provide efficient and high-quality public services; and
Whereas, local governments must be dynamic and have flexibility to access products and workers they need to best serve residents of the Commonwealth; and
Whereas, adequate staffing resources for essential municipal services is critical to the function of emergency resource deployment and the protection and well-being of citizens; and
Whereas, an efficient and standardized procurement process is essential for municipalities to competitively purchase services and products they need to provide vital services; and
Whereas, flexibilities in borrowing and spending enable municipalities to more effectively budget larger purchases and emergency-related spending in order to provide predictability for residents while ensuring the safety and well-being of the community; and
Whereas, liquor licenses are essential to the development and revitalization of downtown areas, and local officials best understand the needs and limits of their municipality when it comes to liquor license numbers; and
Whereas, cities and towns are highly reliant on the tightly capped property tax to fund local budgets, which severely limits the ability of local officials to respond to new challenges and opportunities, or meet the needs of the public through necessary investments; and
Whereas, technology capabilities and use have enabled more effective and economical means of communication between local government and residents, as well as other interested parties and service providers; and
Whereas, cities and towns must be empowered with responsibility, authority and decision-making power to ensure the functions and delivery of essential local government services are done in economically and practically sustainable ways; and
Whereas, the Legislature regularly considers comprehensive bills making needed reforms and creating efficiencies across local government, including the Municipal Relief Act, the Municipal Modernization Act, and 2024’s Municipal Empowerment Act;
Therefore, it is hereby resolved that the members of the Massachusetts Municipal Association support the following essential policy positions to ensure the efficient and effective delivery of local government services:
In the Area of Local Authority and Decision-Making:
• Cities and towns should be granted new local-option flexibility to adopt local taxes and other revenues to help pay for municipal and school services and the construction and maintenance of local capital projects, including affordable housing;
• The Legislature should amend Chapter 138 of the General Laws to allow municipalities to determine the number of liquor licenses it issues;
• Cities and towns should be given authority to adequately enforce their ordinances and bylaws as well as the public right of way, including increasing fines for noncriminal violations and increased penalties to expedite the removal of double poles; and
In the Area of the Modernization of Public Meetings:
• The Legislature should allow for a permanent option for remote meetings and participation, allowing municipalities the necessary flexibilities, not mandates, to make determinations for their public meetings while considering capacity, public interest, available technology, staff and space;
• The Legislature should support legislation to allow for remote participation for representative town meetings and caucuses, allowing municipalities that are already successfully utilizing the temporary authorization to continue with remote participation while allowing others to do so as well; and
In the Area of Municipal Procurement and Spending Efficiencies:
• The Legislature should increase the cap on municipal purchases that fall under Chapter 30B up to $100,000, bringing all municipal purchases in line with changes made last session through the School Operational Efficiency Act;
• The Legislature should support the reduction of unnecessary and costly publishing requirements;
• The Legislature should support streamlining purchasing processes, including:
– Allowing both the procurement of goods and services in cooperative purchasing agreements;
– Allowing the procurement of electric school buses and charging infrastructure as a single procurement process;
– Exempting snow hauling from the procurement process, bringing it in line with snow plowing requirements;
• The Legislature should support borrowing and spending flexibilities when needed, including providing municipalities the ability to amortize emergency-related deficit spending for catastrophic and natural disasters; and
In the Area of Municipal Infrastructure:
• The Governor and the Legislature should work with cities and towns to ensure that municipal buildings critical to the delivery of essential public services are safe and modernized, and enact a state funding mechanism and program to provide the resources needed to implement these improvements across the state; and
In the Area of Addressing Needs Across the Municipal Workforce:
• The Legislature should grant explicit authority to cities and towns to establish a process by which municipalities and executive departments may apply to the Executive Office for Administration and Finance for a “critical shortage” exemption from certain post-retirement limitations on employment for specific and critical job titles or classes;
• The state should work with cities and towns to encourage greater recruitment in critical municipal workforce areas through workforce development and training programs to help build a robust talent pipeline;
• The Legislature should establish an OPEB Commission to identify opportunities to address unfunded liabilities from non-pension employee benefits to protect local taxpayers, support retirees, and ensure that cities and towns can provide the municipal services that citizens deserve; and
• The Legislature should make necessary reforms to the Civil Service in the Commonwealth, which is cumbersome, slow, and does not meet the needs of a 21st century personnel management system.
It is further resolved that a copy of this resolution shall be provided to the Governor and the Members of the Massachusetts General Court.