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...

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...

Municipal revenues and expenditures grew by just 2.7 percent to $22.6 billion in fiscal 2012, leaving Massachusetts cities and towns in the midst of a three-year slowdown that is unprecedented in the Proposition 2 ½ era, according to the...

The Foundation’s 44th annual report on municipal finances. Despite a modest rebound in revenues, municipalities find themselves in a long-term budget squeeze as retiree benefit obligations continue to grow. ...

Massachusetts cities and towns endured the most difficult two-year period in the Proposition 2 ½ era in fiscal 2010 and 2011 with property taxes rising to their highest share of local spending in 30 years, according to the Massachusetts Taxpayers...

The tax base of the Commonwealth’s 51 cities and towns is a critical component of the Commonwealth’s fiscal health. For many cities and towns, property taxes are the largest funding source, providing revenues to pay for teachers, police,...