MUNICIPAL FINANCE CHALLENGES

AND POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS

Josh Goodman, senior officer, State Fiscal Health, The Pew Charitable Trusts,  suggests that states loosen their grip on regulating what cities can do, so local government can be flexible to meet unique shifts in policy.

“If a state mandates small class sizes in schools, it can add billions of dollars in expenses for a huge city such as New York,” he said.

“Boston is highly dependent on property taxes, but they might not keep pace with inflation.

The state hasn’t given the cities the ability to levy income or sales taxes, so the cities are limited in how they fill [the budget] gap.”