Governor Maura Healey and Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll dropped a hefty municipal support package today at Massachusetts Municipal Association's shindig. The so-called Municipal Empowerment Act will let cities and towns have more say in taxes for meals, hotels, and even cars, as per Mass.gov.
Not only is this bill responding to gripes from local leaders about having their hands tied, it also proposes a bump up in Local Aid, promising a 3% boost next fiscal year. Together with funding for schools and infrastructure, Healey's team is dealing the cards of fiscal reform, eyeing smoother local operations and an easier tap into local talent pools. Traveling the state and getting feedback from over 130 municipal big shots, Driscoll's listening tour has been all about finding ways to prop up local government, and this Act, revealed Healey, is the fruit of those chats.
With the annual budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2025 just a corner away, Healey's administration is signaling a 3% increase in Unrestricted General Government Aid, now $1.31 billion. According to a Mass.gov statement, the plan will also back the ever-so coveted Student Opportunity Act and raise funds for public schools. The number crunchers expect Local Aid to hit $8.7 billion, a 3% rise from the current fiscal veggies.
It's been crafted to streamline some serious bureaucratic mazes, giving towns control over more than just liquor licenses. Cities could soon make outdoor dining and takeout cocktails a regular thing, even keep up those virtual public meetings everyone's gotten used to. The head honcho of finance, Secretary Matthew J. Gorzkowicz, threw in his two cents, saying the package will jazz up Massachusetts' localities, keeping them attractive and sprightly. Adding to this, a two-year, $400 million Chapter 90 bill will be flung into the mix, which, according to Transportation Secretary Monica Tibbits-Nutt, will fix up roads and bridges while enhancing transit options for the Massachusetts crowd.
The Massachusetts Municipal Association's top dog, Adam Chapdelaine, and the incoming President of the Massachusetts Mayors Association, Easthampton Mayor Nicole LaChapelle, gave their thumbs up to the Act. According to Mass.gov, Chapdelaine is thanking his lucky stars for the proposal, while LaChapelle reckons it's just what the doctor ordered to keep those city and town budgets balanced. Michael Ward from UMass Boston calls the bill a big improvement, set to free up local heads from financial headaches and give them breathing room to tackle other big fish.
