Dynamic & Representative Government

Local government can lack the time, focus, staff, capacity, and resources to identify and address regional needs, and public decision-making is spread across various levels of government, often for reasons more historical than practical.

This was particularly evident during the pandemic. Although local leaders communicated and collaborated more closely than ever before, they didn’t have a mechanism to create a tailored approach to regional circumstances. The result was a COVID response that was partly an inconsistent patchwork of local approaches and partly a blanket of policies standardized for the entire state, whether appropriate for all areas or not.

In absence of strong county authority, the region’s municipalities rely heavily on state government and regional agencies such as the MBTA and MWRA for critical resources and programs. Sometimes, however, such entities lack meaningful local representation. They have no direct accountability to voters.

In addition to greater representation and collaboration across levels of governmental jurisdictions, creative problem-solving and partnerships are needed among municipalities and with the private and non-profit sectors. Having the staff, capacity, and ability to convene and work across sectors and jurisdictions is a major challenge for local government. Such work competes with usual job duties and local time-sensitive issues.

Access to reliable data is another challenge. Data collection, standards, and ownership vary widely depending on the source, making it difficult to understand problems fully or to track progress towards solutions. Regional Planning Agencies (RPAs), if adequately resourced and staffed, could help to fill many of these data needs.

Municipalities are funded through a variety of sources, but the largest and growing source for most is the property tax. Some communities rely on residential property taxes for nearly 95 percent of their revenues. Others have large commercial and industrial tax bases, while some cities rely on annual appropriations of state aid in large measures. This dependence on property taxes fuels some of the glaring disparities in school district quality.

Proposition 2 ½ restricts the growth in annual property tax levies, while at the same time, fixed costs such as medical, retirement, and infrastructure maintenance eat up an increasing share of local spending. In order to meet these needs without expanding reliance on the property tax, the Commonwealth should authorize new techniques to allow localities to generate needed tax revenue, preferably in a progressive manner.

Despite the pandemic, most municipal budgets are looking solid in the short term due to federal stimulus and less dire economic impacts than early estimates contemplated. However, we cannot allow rosy short-term forecasts to mask longer-term threats and unmet investment needs that are likely ahead. Negative impacts from climate change, an uncertain commercial property market, and unpredictable long-term levels of federal support all point to the need for new tools enabling local government to raise sufficient revenue using more equitable and predictable mechanisms to meet our long-term local and regional needs.

Another challenge is increasing the representation and participation of all residents in the processes of local governance. People of color are under-represented as elected and appointed officials and our research has found that municipal employees are older and Whiter than regional averages. There are a variety of reasons for this lack of diversity, including the segregation of our region, historically racist hiring practices, and civil service constraints. Meanwhile, serving in government can be a thankless job, limiting the appeal for some. As the Baby Boomers begin retiring over the next decade, attracting new employees and volunteers, and especially BIPOC candidates, will be critical to building the capacity and effectiveness of the next generation of governments.