NFIB Joins Business Groups to Push for Municipal Finance Reform
Several business groups, including NFIB, are joining to urge the Legislature to enact reforms to help cities and towns preserve essential local services through a more efficient design of employee benefits.
The coalition supports granting municipal government the ability to implement healthcare plan designs without having to bargain each change with municipal unions, and to require that all local government retirees enroll in Medicare as their primary source of healthcare coverage. These reforms can save cities and towns $100 million in the first year alone and are urgently required before the end of the legislative session on July 31. More reforms will follow.
Like small business’ costs, health insurance costs for cities and towns have increased at double digit rates since 2000 – more than five times the rate of inflation. Health insurance costs that accounted for 6 percent of municipal budgets in 2001 are projected to account for 20 percent in 2020 unless action is taken to stem the tide.
Maintaining quality education and other local services, while keeping the state affordable for small businesses to grow and prosper, is critical to the economic future of the Commonwealth. Rising health care and pension costs are forcing cities and towns to curtail services and shed jobs to balance their budgets. Employee benefit costs must be addressed or cuts and layoffs and property tax increases will ensue.