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Another Pension Commission Report

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The Special Commission on Pension Reform met again on Monday. I was struck by the Commission’s eagerness to raise the COLA base and their reluctance to seriously consider much meaningful cost-savings. The approach they are taking is like going to McDonalds and ordering five Big Macs but making a special point to get a Diet Coke. The changes that are being considered will result in savings for new employees only (to be realized in 20+ years) but enhanced benefits will apply to current employees and retirees (adding costs now). I’m not opposed to an increase in the COLA base in principle but I think we need to have a sustainable means for funding in place, or we just exacerbate the […]

Why does this always seem like Boston's default attitude?

/0 Comments/in , , , /by Liam Day

Today’s Globe has an article on a little-known provision of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, otherwise known as the federal stimulus bill. The provision allows cities and towns to shift ownership of certain subsidized housing units to the federal government, as long as the units are in good condition. Doing so would obviously help in the short run to take the strain off of state and municipal budgets and in the long run help funnel more capital investment to the upkeep of the units themselves, something, at least according to the state’s Department of Housing and Community Development, the feds have a greater fiscal capacity to achieve. Now, I don’t know whether this is a good or bad idea. […]

Random thoughts on Globe poll

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I have admittedly only skimmed the 51 pages of questions and results in the poll performed for the Globe by Andrew Smith of the Survey Center at the University of New Hampshire. (See a graphic representation here of the Globe’s takeaways.) Note to Matt Viser and Frank Phillips: It is always good to give folks a clear sense of whether these were likely voters, random calls, etc. Page 19 of the summary document is full of interesting tidbits on policy issues of highest concern. Here are some I found interesting: – Taxes: (1) Taxes mattered most to $30-60,000 earners. (2) Curiously, taxes did not matter to African-Americans (could be an anomaly reflecting the number interviewed or maybe not). (3) Taxes […]

Driving the New Urban Agenda: Desired Outcomes for the Middle Cities Initiative

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Desired Outcomes for the Middle Cities Initiative Author(s): Jim Stergios and Maria Ortiz Perez — Publication date: 2009-07-22 Category: Economic Opportunity Abstract: As national discussions continue on the future of cities across the country, an array of stimulus strategies are being offered. These include downsizing older industrialized cities or engaging in large-scale urban renewal projects. Whatever path is taken, Pioneer urges elected officials and policymakers not to fall into old habits of things tried that failed. The challenges our cities face are not new and while stimulus can be helpful, it will not turn back generations of economic change to which cities have not adapted. [wpdm_package id=61]

The Challenge of Regionalization

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This space is a big fan of regionalization (see here and here), but we acknowledge the challenges involved. A recent report by the state on the potential of a Hamilton-Wenham tie-up highlights many of them. First, an incentive program put in place to encourage regionalization would, curiously, penalize the communities for an actual merger. By going from the Hamilton-Wenham Regional School District (which exists currently) to a single, consolidated town, they will lose $500k+ in transportation reimbursements. This reduces the overall merger savings from $1.3m (against a budget of $42.9m) to $750k. Second, the devil really is in the details of tax rate harmonization. Hamilton has a higher mil rate than Wenham, so a tax rate in between the two […]