Policy Committees of the MMA

The MMA organizes and staffs policy committees that review and develop positions on local government activities that are the subject of state and federal government interest. Policy committees present new or revised policies to MMA members for a vote at the MMA’s Annual Business Meeting, held each year in January. Committees also make recommendations to the MMA Board of Directors on specific legislative proposals.

The following are descriptions of the MMA’s current policy committees and the members who are serving in 2009:


Fiscal Policy Committee
This committee considers all municipal finance issues. Any initiative that deals solely with a financial issue is directed first to this committee. Legislation that has a fiscal impact is referred to this committee from other committees as well. This committee also develops a policy framework for local government financing in the future.

Mayors
Thomas Ambrosino, Revere
David Cohen, Newton, Chair
Thomas Menino, Boston

Selectmen
David Kielson, Chesterfield
Elizabeth Sullivan, Duxbury
Gerald Wasserman, Needham

Councillors
Gailanne Cariddi, North Adams
Patricia Grimes, Beverly
Deborah Quinn, Methuen

Managers
Richard LaFond, Carver
Bernard Lynch, Lowell
Charles Sumner, Brewster

Finance Committee
Cinder McNerney, Swampscott
Allan Tosti, Arlington

Presidential
Joseph Curtatone, mayor, Somerville
James Malloy, town administrator, Sturbridge
Suzanne McAuliffe, selectman, Yarmouth
John Musante, assistant town manager, Amherst

Technical
Stephen Cirillo, finance director, Brookline
Michael Hale, assistant town manager, Shrewsbury
Wayne Marquis, town manager, Danvers
Samuel Tyler, president, Boston Municipal Research Bureau


Policy Committee on Energy and the Environment
This committee formulates policy for the association in the following areas: water quality, water supply, air quality, solid waste, hazardous waste, wetlands, coastal areas, and wastewater treatment.

Mayors
Kim Driscoll, Salem
Scott Lang, New Bedford
William Scanlon, Beverly

Selectmen
John Drobinski, Sudbury, Chair
Jeanne Krieger, Lexington
Nancy Yeatts, Lakeville

Councillors
Henrietta Davis, Cambridge
Jacqueline Hardy, Gloucester
Robert Penta, Medford

Managers
James Merriam, Harwich

Finance Committee
John Warren, Stoneham

Presidential
Marcia Crowley, Wayland
John Giorgio, Kopelman&Paige
William Hardin, Easton
Robert Trane, Alderman, Somerville

Technical
Nancy Allen, health director, Shrewsbury
Alan Cathcart, Concord/MWWA
Robert Goober, Weston and Sampson
Linda Lowe, city solicitor, Gloucester


Policy Committee on Municipal and Regional Administration
This committee considers those issues that relate to the organization, structure, efficiency, and productivity of local and regional government and the relationships between the two levels of government. Among the issues addressed by this committee are the processes and structure at the local and regional levels for the procurement and provision of human services, safety and health inspections, and technical assistance.

Mayors
Robert Dolan, Melrose
Christine Forgey, Greenfield
Carolyn Kirk, Gloucester

Selectmen
Earl Baumgardner, Merrimac
Robert Correnti, Billerica
Angelo Firenze, Belmont

Councillors
Lisle Baker, Newton
Joanna Gonsalves, Woburn
J.P. Kwiecinski, Easthampton

Managers
Michael Boynton, Walpole
Peter Hechenbleikner, Reading, Chair

Finance Committee
Joanne Marden, Andover

Presidential
Elizabeth Kilcoyne, selectman, Ipswich
John Klimm, town manager, Barnstable
Robin Wilkins, selectman, Harwich
Jonathan Witten, selectman, Duxbury

Technical
Dennis DiZoglio, executive director, Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
Linda Dunlavy, executive director, Franklin Regional Council of Governments
Robert Lavoie, councillor, Amesbury
Sam Seidel, councillor, Cambridge


Policy Committee on Personnel and Labor Relations
This committee has responsibility for formulating policy for the association in the following areas: collective bargaining, civil service, employee benefits, police and fire collective bargaining, and pension reform.

Mayors
John Barrett III, North Adams
Thatcher W. Kezer III, Amesbury

Selectmen
Katherine Babson, Wellesley
Robert Burr, Canton
James Foley, Ipswich

Councillors
Matt Lovell, Palmer
Michael Sheehan, Malden
Robert Van Campen, Everett

Managers
James Boudreau, Norwell
David Cressman, Tewksbury, Chair
John Murray III, Acton

Finance Committee
Paul Joyce, Dedham

Presidential
Susan Adler, personnel director, Wellesley
Daniel Barbour, councillor, Taunton
Clare Jeannotte, selectman, Chelmsford

Technical
Michael Gardner, personnel director, Cambridge
Diane Crimmins, personnel director, Belmont
Stephanie McNeil, human resources director, Franklin
Julie Taylor, selectman, Berkeley


Policy Committee on Public Works, Transportation and Public Utilities
This committee considers issues that relate to regional and metropolitan transportation, transportation planning, the relationship between local governments and the Massachusetts Highway Department, and the question of levels of local control in joint state-local public works programs.

Mayors
Carlo DeMaria, Everett
Joseph Sullivan, Braintree
Michael Sullivan, Lawrence

Selectmen
Timothy Dodd, Westborough
Jim Lovejoy, Mount Washington

Councillors
Norman Boisvert, Fitchburg

Managers
Diane Norris, Danvers, Chair
Richard Reed, Bedford
Stephen Rollins, Hanover

Finance Committee
Jennifer Gonzalez, Holbrook

Presidential
Charles Blanchard, town administrator, Paxton
James Shuris, town engineer, Concord
Gregory Taylor, public works director, Mashpee
Timothy Walsh, public works director, Westwood

Technical
David Knowlton, city engineer, Gloucester
Ellen Sturgis, selectman, Stow
John Petrin, town manager, Ashland
Carl Valente, town manager, Lexington


Revenue Sharing Task Force
This task force works with the Fiscal Policy Committee to consider major components of the state-local financial relationship relating to revenue sharing for municipal services and school funding.

Clare Higgins, mayor, Northampton, Chair
Claire Freda, councillor, Leominster
Richard Kelliher, town administrator, Brookline
David Kielson, selectman, Chesterfield
Philip Lemnios, town administrator, Hull
Bernard Lynch, city manager, Lowell
Suzanne McAuliffe, selectman, Yarmouth
Marianne Regan, Office of Budget Management, Boston
Elizabeth Sullivan, selectman, Duxbury
Michael Tautznik, mayor, Easthampton
Allan Tosti, finance committee, Arlington