“Meeting the Fiscal Challenges of FY09 and Beyond Requires a Reform Agenda”

Cities and towns across the Commonwealth are struggling to maintain services in the face of an economic downturn, increases in fixed costs such as health insurance and pensions, and declining revenue from the lottery (which constitutes a substantial part of state revenues a located to cities and towns). As a result, the governments of more than 50 communities, including many that are much wealthier than Worcester (such as Shrewsbury, Newton and Brookline) have proposed Proposition 2 ½ overrides to fund  basic expenditures.