November 01, 2008
BUDGET & TAXES > Municipal

Municipal Financial Data: 38th Edition

Driven by the global economic problems and the state's fiscal crisis, cities and towns are about to enter another period of cutbacks and serious retrenchment.Major cuts in state aid to local communities are virtually certain to take place in fiscal 2010, and perhaps beyond, at a time that state support has not returned to the levels preceding the last recession, after adjusting for inflation.With limited new growth and excess capacity and a reluctance by voters to approve overrides, municipalities will have little choice but to cut spending. Over the next two years it is inevitable that there will be significant layoffs in scores of communities across the Commonwealth.