June 22, 2020

The Honorable Gov. Charlie Baker
The Honorable Rep. Robert DeLeo (House Speaker)
The Honorable Sen. Karen Spilka (Senate President)

RE: Sustained Funding to Municipalities

Dear Honorable Sirs/Madams:

We write as local elected officials from various cities and towns that span the Commonwealth to urge you to fully and equitably fund education (Chapter 70), infrastructure (Chapter 90), and essential services which are at the heart of our work. Local governments have risen to the challenge of supporting our residents during this public health crisis.  Now that our services are needed the most, we are going to be asked to shrink even further.  Next year, Massachusetts is set to lose $6 billions in revenues, especially income and sales taxes.  We urge our state leaders to prioritize sustained funding to municipalities by raising revenues through eliminating several of the most wasteful tax breaks and tax loopholes in our state tax code.

This is the economic elephant in the room: our budgets are about to plummet.  According to an analysis from the National League of Cities, Massachusetts cities and towns are forecasted to see a greater drop in 2020 revenue than their counterparts in any other states except California, New York, and Pennsylvania.

Every year, the State and Federal Government require more from cities and towns. A cut in state aid would be catastrophic to the very vital services that we provide.  It is difficult surviving under Proposition 2.5; we are systemically limited in our ability to raise revenues. Our revenues have already been diminishing relative to rising costs in the past two decades. Not only does the public continue to expect us to repair roads and bridges, but they need us to invest in public health and social services.

Even more, we are concerned that future budget cuts will disproportionately devastate communities of color.  COVID-19 has further unveiled the racial disparities existent across our Commonwealth. According to data released by the Department of Public Health, Black and Latinx communities experienced higher rates of positive COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. The state’s COVID-19 Health Equity Advisory Group found that Black and Latinx folk have witnessed a coronavirus-positive case rate that is three times higher than white residents. This is the time to provide more support - not less - to our communities of color. Black and Latinx folk need your solidarity, now.  

Our schools are also under threat.  From Western to Eastern Massachusetts, educators are facing massive layoffs.  If current cuts are an indication of what is ahead, programs in the arts, music and physical education in our schools are in jeopardy. As experts have long cautioned, these types of layoffs have long-lasting impacts on the emotional and creative development of our youth. It is time to guarantee the Student Opportunity Act. Our poorest school districts still need the $1 billion infusion promised over the next 7 years at its passage, to ensure we foster the future leaders of our Commonwealth.

We ask you as leaders of the State Government to generate revenues in the near term to prevent cuts to these programs that protect and support our neighbors. Further, we ask you to eliminate and scale back on the tax breaks for special interest groups and very high-income households which will create much needed revenue streams.  We cannot rely on the federal government to provide the necessary revenue to fill the gaps. Moreover, we cannot solely replace lost revenue through the $3.5 billion Rainy Day Fund.  It is time to invest and maintain programs that will put people back to work and restore our state’s prosperity.

It’s time we utilize all the tools in our toolbox. Here are some of the most relevant options at the state level:
 
• Halt the implementation of the charitable deduction in 2021
• Raise the corporate tax rate
• Eliminate the Single Sales Factor for Mutual Funds
• Raise rates on long-term capital gains and dividends
 
In a time of crisis, economic austerity translates to social self-mutilation. As you may recall, 91 Massachusetts economists submitted a joint letter declaring that cuts to the state budget are categorically worse for the economy than tax increases during a recession. We must learn from past recessions and prioritize the financial longevity of our municipalities.

You have a choice: generate new revenue from well-resourced places or leave localities in financial collapse. The choice is clear.  

The cities and towns of Massachusetts are essential. We are the engines of our economy. We look to all of you at the state government for leadership and courage in these uncertain times.  If there was ever an opportunity to address the elephant in the room, it’s now.

Sincerely,  

(As of July 5, 2020)

Jonathan Paz, City Councilor, Waltham
Pat O'Brien, City Councilor, Waltham
Adam Gomez, City Councilor, Springfield
Victor G. Davila, City Councilor, Springfield
Denise M. Hurst, School Committee, Springfield
LaTonia Monroe Naylor, School Committee, Springfield
Samantha Perlman, City Councilor, Marlborough
Celine Reyes, City Councilor, Lawrence
Michael Trowbridge, Select Board Member, Mansfield
Quinton Zondervan, City Councilor, Cambridge
Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler, City Councilor, Cambridge
Will Mbah, City Councilor, Somerville
Ben Ewen-Campen, City Councilor, Somerville
Katjana Ballantyne, City Councilor, Somerville
Stephanie Martins, City Councilor, Everett
Cesar Stewart-Morales, City Councilor, Framingham
Robert Case, City Councilor, Framingham
Roberto Jiménez Rivera, School Committee, Chelsea
Zac Bears, City Councilor, Medford
Caroline Bays, City Councilor, Watertown
Joseph M. Kurland, Select Board Member, Colrain
Bill Humphrey, City Councilor, Newton
Andreae Downs, City Councilor, Newton
Khrystian E. King, City Councilor, Worcester
Domingo Dominguez, City Councilor, Salem