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Our members are the local governments of Massachusetts and their elected and appointed leadership.
Gov. Charlie Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito today announced comprehensive legislation to aid cities and towns across the state.
The “municipal modernization” legislation reflects what the administration heard while traveling the state, soliciting ideas and input from hundreds of city and town officials on ways that state government can help local government be more effective and efficient.
The bill focuses on strengthening the state-local partnership in four key areas:
• Updating and repealing obsolete state laws
• Promoting independence at the local level
• Streamlining state oversight
• Providing municipalities with greater flexibility
• Download section-by-section summary of governor’s bill (304K PDF)
• Download full text of governor’s bill (406K PDF)
The bill includes dozens of provisions to provide reforms and relief related to procurement, municipal finance, human resources and the general administration of local government. The bill includes a number of ideas from the MMA’s legislative package as well as other suggestions from local leaders across the state.
At the announcement today, Orleans Selectman and MMA President David Dunford called the administration’s bill “terrific for cities, towns and local taxpayers because it will remove unnecessary and obsolete barriers to efficient government and effective service delivery.”
“These proposals will allow our communities to modernize their management systems, streamline their operations, and move faster than ever to grow our local economies,” Dunford said. “All of this will make our state stronger and more competitive than ever.”
Haverhill Mayor James Fiorentini, president of the Massachusetts Mayors’ Association, added: “From day one, Gov. Baker and Lt. Gov. Polito have embraced our cities and towns and worked hard to build a strong and powerful partnership with local leaders. The Baker-Polito Municipal Modernization Act will benefit every city and town, from the largest to the smallest, and will give mayors, selectmen, managers and all local officials the tools to lead their communities with greater efficiency and effectiveness. That’s what a great state-local partnership looks like.”
MMA Executive Director and CEO Geoff Beckwith said the administration’s bill is “history-making in its depth and breadth.”
“The bill would benefit nearly every aspect of local government, from day-to-day administration to economic development in our downtowns, and reflects the kind of local-state partnership that would make Massachusetts a model for the rest of the nation,” Beckwith said.
The administration is seeking to build support for its bill when the Legislature returns to formal sessions in January.