THE PIONEER BLOG

Taylor Armerding

Labor leader admits it – unions have bought the Legislature

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Robert Haynes supposedly represents organized labor, as head of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO. But lately he is becoming a walking, talking advertisement for why public-employee union power needs to be restrained. Haynes admitted publicly this week what everybody knows – that those unions have bought the overwhelmingly Democratic Legislature. Now that there is a possibility (and only a possibility) that they won’t get what they paid for in one instance, they are mad as hell and not going to take it any more. His rant came at midweek, after the House voted overwhelmingly, 111-42, to strip municipal employees of their right to bargain over health care benefits – a move launched by, of all people, House Speaker Robert DeLeo. “It’s pretty […]

Steve Poftak

Do You Believe in Medicaid Miracles?

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The 1980 Miracle on Ice actually happened. For all our sake, the Medicaid Miracle that is embedded in both the Governor’s Budget and the House Budget better come true as well. For years, Medicaid costs have advanced robustly, at roughly 7% per year which is a big number given that it’s building on a base of billions. So, what do the budget forecasters in the Governor’s office and the House project for next year? Growth of only $100m in Medicaid — growth of 1% or less. That will require the state to drive down its per Medicaid enrollee costs by 3.5% next year. How have we done at that recently? On average, per enroll costs have gone up by 5% […]

Taylor Armerding

R.I.P. to a stellar public servant

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There have been, and will be, hundreds of good things said about Sam Zoll, who died this week of cancer at 76 – all of them true and all of them deserved. But I’m going to pile on anyway. Zoll, for 28 years the chief justice of the Massachusetts District Courts and also a former Salem city councilor, state rep and mayor, did not just talk about good government. He lived it – personified it. The high-profile story about him helping U.S. Senator Scott Brown turn his life around when he was a 12-year-old shoplifter is inspiring, but to those who knew Judge Zoll, it is not the least surprising. It was typical. He did things like that thousands of […]

Steve Poftak

A Solid Step to Muni Healthcare Reform

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Pioneer has long been part of a broader chorus calling for reform to municipal healthcare costs. We’ve examined how GIC’s cost increases have been far below those of our Middle Cities, and repeatedly (here, here, and here) called for reform. We even went so far as to build an on-line decision support tool for several communities that would allow individual employees to determine how switching to the GIC would impact them personally. Last night, the House convincingly passed a reform amendment that would allow municipal managers greater control over plan design and also easier entry into the GIC (the state employees’ insurance pool) if need be. Big Labor has reacted (once again) with what is seemingly its single bargaining tactic: […]

Jim Stergios

Stealing from our ed reform blueprint

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It used to be that Massachusetts was the state that everybody talked about in education. Experts studied it from around the country. And business and political leaders came a-calling: I know you guys have high business costs, but we have to learn how you improved your educational system so quickly. We’re not a yawn yet, but other states are much more influential in state education debates across the country. Trip Gabriel in today’s New York Times highlights the work of Jeb Bush in a number of states. Mr. Bush, for example, has been closely involved in new education bills and laws in Arizona, Florida, Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Utah. And Gabriel further notes the energy in […]

Taylor Armerding

Tax-exempt only in name

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“Fairness” is one of the most abused words in politics. And it is taking a beating again by the City of Boston, in its quest to find yet another way – any way – to avoid controlling its spending. Nonprofits aren’t a new target – they have been a target for decades. Legally, they are exempt from property taxes. But municipal officials throughout the state have for years been “asking” them to “contribute” a PILOT – payment in lieu of taxes – to cover the cost of whatever government services might be provided to them. You know, as a matter of fairness. These “requests” are a bit like Don Corleone making someone an offer he can’t refuse. If a standard […]

Jim Stergios

National standards dissent and pep rallies

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About a week ago, the state of Texas responded to national standards proponents, including the federal government, which are trying to drag it screaming into the mix of states who have adopted the so-called Common Core. The Lone Star state released draft state math standards that are built on the foundation of Massachusetts’ now defunct standards and those in place in Singapore. The goal: To craft standards that are the best in the nation. We’ll see how US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will respond now that Texas has the best standards in the land. Closer to home, Massachusetts Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester recently traveled to central Massachusetts to meet with members of the Tantasqua Regional School Committee. The committee […]

Jim Stergios

Education news from other states

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Last July, while most of the Massachusetts educators were at the beach, the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) endorsed Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester’s recommendation and voted to replace Massachusetts’ best-in-the-nation academic standards. There is lots of gab about what all that means—and major media outlets have spilled a lot of ink copying the press releases from public officials. Falling into the category of “So much effort to advance unproven ideas” are the folks at EdWeek, who continue to monitor DC chatter, the national testing vehicles being developed, a thus-far postponed debate on where proficiency will be set (cut scores), and a manifesto issued by the Shanker Institute arguing for a national curriculum. The tentacles of the Gates […]

Joshua Archambault

Connector Saving Taxpayer Money

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On this blog– and in the press– I have often been critical of the policy choices of the Connector and its governing Board. However, credit is due to the staff at the Connector for the latest round of negotiations with CommCare’s managed care organizations, in which $80 million of taxpayer money was saved.  With a projected 11% membership growth this coming year, any savings is welcome in a program with subsidies of roughly $840 million. As Executive Director Glen Shor said in his monthly update e-mail, this will mean that CommCare “members will not have to face the prospect of benefit reductions…”– good news in a tight budget year.

Steve Poftak

Permitted to Succeed? Part Three

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My last two blog posts (here and here) have provided some ideas about some key aspects of the Mayor’s initiative to reform the permitting process. If we can get the physical layout right, the organizational structure right, and the culture right, the last step is to build in accountability measures. Right now, its noteworthy that the City’s performance measurement program is silent on the topic of permitting times. It measures the number of permits issued and complaints responded to, but not how long it takes. (And while we are at it – can we get BAR performance reports to show historical results that are comparable to current year results. Right now, we get year-to-date results for the current year and […]

Steve Poftak

Permitted to Succeed? Part Two

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In response to Mayor Menino’s pledge to create a “one-stop shop” for permitting, we’ll be examining what factors need to be addressed in order to spur job creation in Boston. On Day One, we looked at the leadership issues that would need to be resolved. Day Two – changing an organizational culture of highly personalized, uneven customer service – is harder. To make the permitting process easier for entrepreneurs, the culture of the bureaucracy that’s involved has to change from a process orientation to results. That means viewing business owners as customers, not obstacles. Talk to people trying to start businesses in Boston and you quickly hear about uneven experiences with the staff at the Inspectional Services Division at 1010 […]

Joshua Archambault

Harvard’s Effort to Make Cities Matter

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Harvard’s Advanced Leadership Initiative has recently launched an interesting academic exercise of a virtual think tank at the Harvard Business Review website HBR.org on the topic of revitalizing cities. The series of thought pieces serve as the appetizers for an upcoming multi-day conference feast at Harvard Law School on the same topic. Thursday, April 28-Saturday, April 30. Globally, 2008 marked the first time that a majority of citizens would reside in cities. Locally, the most recent census data showed significant growth in many smaller cities in Massachusetts. While large cities like Boston garner significant attention and resources as they adapt to population growth, the new growth in these smaller cities is more significant since they often have fewer resources to […]

Joshua Archambault

Pioneer Goes Local! “MuniShare” Municipal Report Contest

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As part of Pioneer Institute’s annual Better Government Competition, Pioneer is offering two $3,000 awards for the best municipal reports. No daunting application and little effort!  Entering is as simple as submitting a report by e-mail, with a brief (150-word) summary. What Kind of Reports? We are interested in public opinion surveys, departmental studies, environmental audits, and really, any type of report. The only requirement is that the report tackle an issue that fellow municipal governments might face as well. The reports can focus on department-specific or municipality-wide issues, and can be up to ten years old. There is no minimum or maximum length and no limit to the number of entries from a municipality. The more, the better! Selection Process: A panel of judges with vast experience […]

Joshua Archambault

Lessons from Massachusetts Health Care Reform (Romneycare)

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Last month marked the first anniversary of the federal healthcare law; this week the fifth anniversary of Massachusetts’ own health reform. President Obama likes to tout the federal effort as paralleling the Massachusetts’ reform, but the fact is that Obamacare has created a lot of uncertainty for states across the country, including Massachusetts. For example, will Massachusetts now have two individual mandate penalties? Will we shift close to 100,000 individuals from the new healthcare exchange to Medicaid? What are the implications of the federal law for the cost picture in already expensive Massachusetts? Obamacare is of little benefit to Massachusetts beyond pouring billions more dollars into the Massachusetts healthcare industry, which is likely to push the cost of care even […]

Steve Poftak

Permitted to Succeed? Part One

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Mayor Menino’s new budget proposal included the intriguing commitment to create a “one-stop shop” for small business permitting. The state has long strived to create these kind of permitting shops, prompting one state official to muse that it might be worth putting together a guide to all the “one stop shops” in state government. To some extent, the city has consolidated some of those functions at 1010 Mass Ave., but a quick review of the city’s permitting literature reveals that there is significant consolidation to be done. With different agencies located at 1010 Mass Ave., City Hall, 26 Court St., and other locations, a true one-stop shop will require a lot of consolidation. Physical co-location is a great first step, […]