This policy brief summarizes a 2006 working paper by the Research Department at the Boston Fed and the Center: Measuring Disparities in Non-School Costs and Revenue Capacity among Massachusetts Cities and Towns. The paper develops new measures of environmental costs and local revenue capacity as...

Municipal governments in Massachusetts have experienced difficulties raising adequate revenues to meet their expenditure needs. Responding to these challenges, policymakers have been investigating additional revenue sources for municipalities, such as new local-option taxes. Using a...

This paper examines the distribution of unrestricted municipal aid in Massachusetts, which has been a major concern to civic leaders and elected officials of many communities, including Springfield. The paper develops a measure of the municipal fiscal gap indicating the relative need of...