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Advocacy Executive Director's Reports 10 simple management tools local leaders need
Local and state leaders are preparing to weather another national recession, as the bleak fiscal landscape that surrounds us has been joined by dark and threatening storm clouds on the horizon.
We can’t simply stand still waiting for the recession to come. Massachusetts needs to take action to protect our state and our communities from the worst, and position us for a swifter and more effective recovery.
As economists throughout the nation have been saying for several years, cities and towns are the building blocks of a strong economy, delivering the essential quality-of-life services that attract and keep families and businesses here. Individuals and businesses bring their families and their money to localities that offer what they want: education, public safety, sound transportation, recreation and cultural amenities, and more. These investments are our insurance policy against a repeat of the past, and a down payment on our future.
Too often today, local leaders are faced with just two choices, raising regressive property taxes again, or cutting the very services that build our economy. We need to expand these choices by investing more authority in our cities and towns.
Ask any resident of the United States and they will tell you, rightly, that local government is the most efficient and transparent level of government we have. Local budgets are scoured by citizens and debated in city and town halls, at town meetings, in local newspapers, on cable television, and in local elections. This is not a criticism of our federal and state partners, just a recognition of the efficiencies that come from many hands and eyes on the job locally, and the ability of communities to set priorities in targeted and effective ways. While many may bemoan the length of time this all takes, there clearly is a benefit that comes from the exhaustively detailed process at the local level.
Yet, for many years municipal officials have been seeking the full management authority and independence they need to further maximize savings and efficiencies at the local level. Many federal and state laws, rules and regulations, while originally well intentioned when they were put in place, have outlived their usefulness, and ironically serve to impede the ability to modernize or maximize systems and savings opportunities in our cities and towns.
We can easily identify 10 reforms that can be acted on now to give local leaders the authority and resources they need today. These include the following action items:
• Close the telecommunications property tax loophole. Our outdated state tax statute allows telephone companies to avoid an estimated $78 million in local property taxes and shift this burden onto homeowners and other businesses, and a recent decision by the Appellate Tax Board confirms that Verizon and others owe taxes on all of their poles and wires, but the taxes collected for poles and wires will be tied up for years in delays and appeals unless legislation is passed now. The loophole that Verizon is using to avoid taxes on equipment should be closed as a part of this reform.
• Provide local option revenue capacity for cities and towns. Especially in the area of a local sales tax on meals (raising an estimated $120 million statewide for each percent), and an expansion of the local lodging tax (raising an estimated $20 million or more), this would provide significant property tax relief and revenues to fund vital services in many communities across the state.
• Give cities and towns the authority to set health insurance plan design without going through collective bargaining. This would allow municipalities to adjust their health plans to more realistic levels for co-pays and deductibles, and to use tiered networks to encourage and generate high-quality and lower-cost medical claims management experience, providing immediate and significant savings in the area of health insurance for nearly every community. (This change would merely give local government the same power the state has to make these decisions outside of collective bargaining.)
• Allow cities and towns to enroll their future retirees in Medicare. Pass House Bill 2728, a local option bill that has received initial approval in the House, would create a new Section 18A in Chapter 32B, the law governing local health insurance, and allow communities to enroll their future retirees in the federal Medicare program (without having to move their current non-Medicare retirees into the federal system), providing significant health insurance cost savings.
• Abolish the antiquated Civil Service system. This turn-of-the-last-century system is inefficient and outdated, especially for all non-public-safety personnel, and duplicates local grievance procedures already in place in collective bargaining agreements. (For those interested in retaining the system for public safety hiring and promotions, that could be maintained on a local-option basis only.)
• Amend the Micro-Purchasing Threshold under Chapter 149. Pass House Bill 38, which would upwardly adjust the threshold from $1 to $5,000 for requiring three written quotes for the procurement of goods and services under state’s construction purchasing law, and allow cities and towns to use sound business practices instead of the costly and time-consuming procurement process for small repairs and other work. (This bill would fix an unintended flaw in the recent construction reform law.)
• Make it easier for communities to enter into intermunicipal agreements. Pass Senate Bill 2401, an MMA bill that has been passed by the Senate and received initial approval in the House, which would allow communities to enter into interlocal agreements with other cities and towns to collaborate to share resources and deliver services without having to wait or go to all of the town meetings for approval, enabling the municipal executive body to execute these agreements at any time during the year.
• Restore the successful Municipal Incentive Grant program. This key state program, suspended several years ago during the last fiscal crisis, would provide direct grants to cities and towns to fund innovative management improvements and joint service delivery initiatives with neighboring communities, creating pilot projects and demonstrated best practices to be showcased and adopted by other municipalities. The most effective programs that bring results in regional collaboration and service delivery are managed locally, not through state agencies or other layers of government, and this successful program recognized that reality, and would jump-start many valuable initiatives locally.
• Allow cities and towns to create regional public safety dispatch centers. Changes such as the creation of a regional public safety call center for 911 frequently require communities to get approval through the local collective bargaining process because of the structural change involved, which makes it nearly impossible to move forward, especially because many communities would need to act simultaneously, blocking what many see as a logical step in coordinating and maximizing efficiency in an essential local service.
• Allow cities and towns to combine municipal and school business functions. Many localities have consolidated these functions, yet in many others the local school department or committee resists this opportunity for greater coordination and efficiency. State law should clarify that the decision to create a centralized structure should be made by the local municipal executive authority.
This list of 10 key management tools for cities and towns is offered in a spirit of partnership and collaboration. With state leaders facing a $1.3 billion budget gap, we recognize and appreciate all that is being done to stabilize local aid this year, especially the increase in education funding and the state’s commitment to protect localities from the full impact of sagging Lottery revenues. Yet local fiscal distress can be found throughout Massachusetts, and these key reforms are needed more than ever.
Local leaders have a long and successful record of managing effectively and efficiently, even without a full toolbox. Providing those essential tools now will enable cities and towns to weather the stormy days ahead, and build a brighter future for all of the state’s residents and businesses.
Advocacy Executive Director's Reports 10 simple management tools local leaders need
10 simple management tools local leaders need
Local and state leaders are preparing to weather another national recession, as the bleak fiscal landscape that surrounds us has been joined by dark and threatening storm clouds on the horizon.
We can’t simply stand still waiting for the recession to come. Massachusetts needs to take action to protect our state and our communities from the worst, and position us for a swifter and more effective recovery.
As economists throughout the nation have been saying for several years, cities and towns are the building blocks of a strong economy, delivering the essential quality-of-life services that attract and keep families and businesses here. Individuals and businesses bring their families and their money to localities that offer what they want: education, public safety, sound transportation, recreation and cultural amenities, and more. These investments are our insurance policy against a repeat of the past, and a down payment on our future.
Too often today, local leaders are faced with just two choices, raising regressive property taxes again, or cutting the very services that build our economy. We need to expand these choices by investing more authority in our cities and towns.
Ask any resident of the United States and they will tell you, rightly, that local government is the most efficient and transparent level of government we have. Local budgets are scoured by citizens and debated in city and town halls, at town meetings, in local newspapers, on cable television, and in local elections. This is not a criticism of our federal and state partners, just a recognition of the efficiencies that come from many hands and eyes on the job locally, and the ability of communities to set priorities in targeted and effective ways. While many may bemoan the length of time this all takes, there clearly is a benefit that comes from the exhaustively detailed process at the local level.
Yet, for many years municipal officials have been seeking the full management authority and independence they need to further maximize savings and efficiencies at the local level. Many federal and state laws, rules and regulations, while originally well intentioned when they were put in place, have outlived their usefulness, and ironically serve to impede the ability to modernize or maximize systems and savings opportunities in our cities and towns.
We can easily identify 10 reforms that can be acted on now to give local leaders the authority and resources they need today. These include the following action items:
• Close the telecommunications property tax loophole. Our outdated state tax statute allows telephone companies to avoid an estimated $78 million in local property taxes and shift this burden onto homeowners and other businesses, and a recent decision by the Appellate Tax Board confirms that Verizon and others owe taxes on all of their poles and wires, but the taxes collected for poles and wires will be tied up for years in delays and appeals unless legislation is passed now. The loophole that Verizon is using to avoid taxes on equipment should be closed as a part of this reform.
• Provide local option revenue capacity for cities and towns. Especially in the area of a local sales tax on meals (raising an estimated $120 million statewide for each percent), and an expansion of the local lodging tax (raising an estimated $20 million or more), this would provide significant property tax relief and revenues to fund vital services in many communities across the state.
• Give cities and towns the authority to set health insurance plan design without going through collective bargaining. This would allow municipalities to adjust their health plans to more realistic levels for co-pays and deductibles, and to use tiered networks to encourage and generate high-quality and lower-cost medical claims management experience, providing immediate and significant savings in the area of health insurance for nearly every community. (This change would merely give local government the same power the state has to make these decisions outside of collective bargaining.)
• Allow cities and towns to enroll their future retirees in Medicare. Pass House Bill 2728, a local option bill that has received initial approval in the House, would create a new Section 18A in Chapter 32B, the law governing local health insurance, and allow communities to enroll their future retirees in the federal Medicare program (without having to move their current non-Medicare retirees into the federal system), providing significant health insurance cost savings.
• Abolish the antiquated Civil Service system. This turn-of-the-last-century system is inefficient and outdated, especially for all non-public-safety personnel, and duplicates local grievance procedures already in place in collective bargaining agreements. (For those interested in retaining the system for public safety hiring and promotions, that could be maintained on a local-option basis only.)
• Amend the Micro-Purchasing Threshold under Chapter 149. Pass House Bill 38, which would upwardly adjust the threshold from $1 to $5,000 for requiring three written quotes for the procurement of goods and services under state’s construction purchasing law, and allow cities and towns to use sound business practices instead of the costly and time-consuming procurement process for small repairs and other work. (This bill would fix an unintended flaw in the recent construction reform law.)
• Make it easier for communities to enter into intermunicipal agreements. Pass Senate Bill 2401, an MMA bill that has been passed by the Senate and received initial approval in the House, which would allow communities to enter into interlocal agreements with other cities and towns to collaborate to share resources and deliver services without having to wait or go to all of the town meetings for approval, enabling the municipal executive body to execute these agreements at any time during the year.
• Restore the successful Municipal Incentive Grant program. This key state program, suspended several years ago during the last fiscal crisis, would provide direct grants to cities and towns to fund innovative management improvements and joint service delivery initiatives with neighboring communities, creating pilot projects and demonstrated best practices to be showcased and adopted by other municipalities. The most effective programs that bring results in regional collaboration and service delivery are managed locally, not through state agencies or other layers of government, and this successful program recognized that reality, and would jump-start many valuable initiatives locally.
• Allow cities and towns to create regional public safety dispatch centers. Changes such as the creation of a regional public safety call center for 911 frequently require communities to get approval through the local collective bargaining process because of the structural change involved, which makes it nearly impossible to move forward, especially because many communities would need to act simultaneously, blocking what many see as a logical step in coordinating and maximizing efficiency in an essential local service.
• Allow cities and towns to combine municipal and school business functions. Many localities have consolidated these functions, yet in many others the local school department or committee resists this opportunity for greater coordination and efficiency. State law should clarify that the decision to create a centralized structure should be made by the local municipal executive authority.
This list of 10 key management tools for cities and towns is offered in a spirit of partnership and collaboration. With state leaders facing a $1.3 billion budget gap, we recognize and appreciate all that is being done to stabilize local aid this year, especially the increase in education funding and the state’s commitment to protect localities from the full impact of sagging Lottery revenues. Yet local fiscal distress can be found throughout Massachusetts, and these key reforms are needed more than ever.
Local leaders have a long and successful record of managing effectively and efficiently, even without a full toolbox. Providing those essential tools now will enable cities and towns to weather the stormy days ahead, and build a brighter future for all of the state’s residents and businesses.
Written by MMA Executive Director Geoff Beckwith
