The overall municipal financial picture stabilized in 2006. Nevertheless, most communities continue to face a fiscal squeeze as underlying costs grow faster than revenues, according to the Foundation's 36th annual analysis of local revenues and spending. Total local revenues rose 4.7 percent in…

In order to help address the "relentless squeeze" on municipal finances in Massachusetts, the state should dedicate 40 percent of tax revenues to local aid and develop a new system for benchmarking local costs, according to the Foundation's 35th annual analysis of local revenues and spending. In…

Cities and towns are facing a combination of higher property taxes and employee layoffs as a result of cuts in state aid, according to the Foundation's 34th annual analysis of local revenues and spending. Although the 2005 state budget provides modest relief from the recent deep cuts in aid, total…

In the 33rd edition of its annual summary of trends in local revenue and spending, the Foundation concludes that deep cuts in state aid to cities and towns have produced significant increases in property taxes across the Commonwealth, including rising burdens for the state's poorer cities and towns…

In the 32nd edition of its annual summary of trends in local revenue, spending and property taxes, the Foundation concludes that municipal finances have entered a new and much more difficult phase. While overall performance remained healthy in 2002, continuing weakness in the state economy and the…

In the 31st edition of its annual summary of trends in local revenue, spending and property taxes, the Foundation reports that municipal finances reached a high water mark in fiscal 2001. Looking ahead, however, the report cautions that cities and towns can expect declining fortunes as they grapple…

Presentation to seminar sponsored by the West Springfield Chamber of Commerce. Provides an overview of the disproportionate impact of property tax classification on the tax burden of Massachusetts businesses, with updated numbers for fiscal 2000.

Despite the state's progress in reducing the overall burden of property taxes in the years since Proposition 2½ was adopted, Massachusetts businesses continue to pay a disproportionate share of the local property tax bill, according to this in-depth analysis. The report estimates that communities…