Omnibus bill to make sweeping changes to municipal laws includes allowing local tax hikes

BOSTON — Massachusetts lawmakers are spending two days this week listening to the pros and cons of an omnibus municipal aid package, a collection of bills aimed at streamlining governmental regulations pertaining to policies and procedures that also proposes to allow communities to increase their tax bite on prepared meals and local lodging.

Gov. Maura T. Healey revealed her Municipal Empowerment Act at the state’s annual Massachusetts Municipal Association annual meeting held in Boston Jan. 19. The package deals with such diverse issues as enforcing the removal of double utility poles from municipal streets to making outdoor dining and to-go cocktails a permanent feature of Massachusetts life.

Portions of the bill were heard Tuesday by the Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government. Another portion on bills pertaining to tax questions is scheduled for a Thursday hearing in the Joint Committee on Revenue.

Coming Thursday: Proposed increases in local taxes

The portion scheduled for Thursday by the Joint Committee on Finance pertains to allowing municipalities to increase local taxes imposed on food service, lodging and the excise tax on automobiles. The increases would raise $155 million a year collectively.

The bill that allows a 1% increase in hotel tax from 6% to 7% would generate $49 million overall for the 216 municipalities that charge a local room tax. Increasing the meal tax by 0.25% up to 1% would generate an additional $58 million a year collectively for the 251 municipalities that charge a tax on prepared meals.

What was discussed Tuesday?

Municipal nuts-and-bolts discussed Tuesday include:

• A bill to standardize the rate at which both school committees and municipal governments would be allowed to enter into no-bid contracts at $100,000 or less. Currently there are two figures: $50,000 for municipal contracts and $100,000 for school committee contracts

• Increase the length of time a community has to pay off a school construction capital bond from 30 to 40 years

• Making the purchase of electrical school buses and their charging stations one purchase as part of the same contract

• Allow municipalities forced to address emergency situations such as fires, floods, freezes and storms to spread the cost of mitigation and repair over three years

• Allow the rehire of retired municipal workers to address staffing shortages and vacancies in specialty positions, such as treasurers, chief financial officers and municipal managers

• Making hybrid hearings a permanent fixture in municipal government

• Allowing outdoor dining

• Keeping cocktails to-go as an option for bars and restaurants

• Change notification requirements for requests for proposals and public bids on projects, such as posting notices in the proximity of municipal areas and placing legal ads in general-circulation newspapers

• Allowing municipalities to break apart proposals, awarding a multipronged contract to different bidders based on additional criteria, not just price

• Cracking down on utility poles that are damaged and have been lashed to a second pole

“Great cities don’t just happen by accident. It takes planning and hard work,” said Lt. Gov. Kimberly Driscoll, who attended the hearing with Matthew Gorzkowicz, the state’s secretary of the Executive Office for Administration and Finance.

The bill was developed by the Healey/Driscoll administration through extensive research into the diverse needs of Massachusetts municipalities through a statewide listening tour and meetings with municipal officials and surveys.

“It’s not always sexy but it is important legislation,” Driscoll said.

In support are mayors from across Massachusetts including Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra of Northampton who thanked the committee for saving her a four-hour cross-state slog she would have had to make in the past before the advent of remote/hybrid meetings. She praised the codification into law of the hybrid/remote access to municipal meetings, especially in her more rural area where municipalities form regional bodies. Members had been forced to travel long distances for meetings, making reaching a quorum challenging.

Keeping hybrid meeting option permanently

Others, such as Amesbury Mayor Cassandra Gove, commended the facet that allows for more shared services between communities, the proposal to streamline the procurement process and to eliminate elements that bog down governing.

“We have 17,000 residents,” Gove said, pointing out that the property taxes collected by the municipality can’t take a 45% increase in the cost of solid waste disposal, a 200% increase in the price of chemicals used at the water treatment plant.

“The Proposition 2 ½ override is not cutting it,” Gove said, referring to the question often posed to taxpayers whether they will allow the municipality to exceed the 2.5% growth cap placed on yearly budgets.

One proposal, allowing the rehire of retired municipal workers, based on a similar model employed by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, was criticized by municipal officials and the state Inspector General.

“I prefer we did not use that as a solution,” to address the problem of recruiting and retaining employees, said Jeffrey Shapiro. While a statute bars rehiring retired public officials, there have been exemptions made over the years for teaching and administrative staff, law enforcement and financial officers. “We’re making Swiss cheese out of the law.”

One concern is the lack of access and opportunity for some retired workers to apply for a second career in their community. Shapiro wondered why municipalities were finding it challenging to fill positions in local government, noting that these jobs were once highly sought after.

“Is it a question of salaries, benefits?” Shapiro asked.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Sexy changes include cocktails-to-go; unsexy removal of double poles