Which towns do you think should consolidate? (Boston, Worcester: real estate, 2015)

[KemBro71]

I mean, there some legitimate reasons to consider regionalization if not annexation or "consolidation" but none were proffered here.

However, I get the sense sometimes that people just like obsessing over maps and roads and transit lines and drawing things with their sharpies.

[GeoffD]

I'm laughing thinking at Andover and Lawrence being consolidated into one school district. Absolutely no chance of that ever happening.

[bitesize]

Originally Posted by jayrandom

Businesses already pay a higher property tax rates than residents. In places with local income taxes, those are usually charged based on where the income is earned.

Originally Posted by KemBro71

We have a version of that...a state income tax levied even if you live out of state.

A spider's web of local or regional taxes would be a disaster and would do nothing for job creation in most parts of Mass...if anywhere at all.

Most towns and cities do not have a local income tax. Even if they did it (all towns and cities having local income tax) would have to be mandated state wide or even nationally otherwise it wouldn't look much different than it does not (nice areas already cost more to live in).

[massnative71]

If none else, let Brockton annex Easton!

[Lampert]

Originally Posted by Boston Shudra

Lunenburg, Leominster, Westminster, Gardner, Ashburnham, Ashby, and Townsend should be consolidated into Fitchburg.

Brockton could take Avon, Stoughton, Whitman, Abington, Holbrook, East Bridgewater, West Bridgewater, and Easton.

Worcester is already pretty big, but if hard-pressed I’d suggest consolidation with Holden, Auburn, Leicester, Paxton, Boylston, West Boylston, Shrewsbury, Grafton, and Millbury.

How aware are you of these places?
I could understand saying Fitchburg and Leominster could consolidate but places like Townsend, Ashby or Westminster have nothing in common with either Fitchburg or Leominster. The only results would be that the new city would completely overlook the needs of the small rural town.

Same for the other 2 areas.

A consolidation can make sense only if you can bring some advantages for everyone in term of efficiency and such.

[yesmaybe]

Cambridge absorbing Somerville would make sense.

[Japanfan1986]

Just turn the whole state into Boston just to see how it affects the real estate market.

“Yes, I’m doing great! I just got a house in Boston, in the Pittsfield neighborhood!”

[mdovell]

We might see this. I have a old colleague from high school that's been doing municipal finance for years. Basically the pain train is coming in the next few months. We might be looking at a total aid cut of at least 10%. Overrides could be expected but in lieu of that layoffs including education. Framingham is already asking for 10% from employees.

In Mass and CT to be frank there's no need for very small towns to exist. They'll have to regionalism for schools and then what's the point of having a small town? Covid is pretty much eliminating the local process and replaced with zoom.

With Brockton I think the neighboring towns could annex a mile or two inward. Then divide it by half down the middle. Call the west one north Bridgewater and concentrate on the rest.

Much of Mass is U shaped. You have your higher end communities in the 128 belt throw in Duxbury, Longmeadow, Williamstown that is awash in cash. Then you have your gateway cities that are largely broke but the state pumps in large amounts of capital. As a result you have professional staff in both groups. The bottom of the U is the middle class areas that until now didn't have much for problems but weren't looking for other forms of income.Add in a decline in student population and a flattening of general population and it adds up.

I'd argue Springfield could take chicopee but that's because nearly a third of Chicopee is the military base. I'm not saying it's a bad area but to plan a city around a base makes for very sharp turns and just a lack of taxable property. If towns merge they can sell off the excess buildings and get more taxable revenue.

There's talk in the Berkshires of having just one school district. From what I've been told is it isn't a matter of if but a matter of when because the logistics would be pretty complicated and that's before covid.

In many cases there are towns with no real difference between them. Whitman/Hanson, Rockland/Abington

Much of the compensation from the state comes from demographics. Council on aging has foundations that are based on the number of seniors. This might be going down. Then there's compensation on education, roads, special education etc. Even if a town is growing that doesn't mean they have the will to hire for legit positions. The bigger the area the higher the likelihood of HR. Without HR there can be significant liabilities if it is a side project for someone else. Other towns might have the librarian be the IT staff. That's all well and good but what you can get with a IT degree vs a MLS are two completely different things.

Of course on a county basis you could give Franklin to Vermont, Berkshire to NY, Hampden and Hampshire to CT and Bristol to RI.

[KemBro71]

Originally Posted by mdovell

We might see this. I have a old colleague from high school that's been doing municipal finance for years. Basically the pain train is coming in the next few months. We might be looking at a total aid cut of at least 10%. Overrides could be expected but in lieu of that layoffs including education. Framingham is already asking for 10% from employees.

In Mass and CT to be frank there's no need for very small towns to exist. They'll have to regionalism for schools and then what's the point of having a small town? Covid is pretty much eliminating the local process and replaced with zoom.

With Brockton I think the neighboring towns could annex a mile or two inward. Then divide it by half down the middle. Call the west one north Bridgewater and concentrate on the rest.

Much of Mass is U shaped. You have your higher end communities in the 128 belt throw in Duxbury, Longmeadow, Williamstown that is awash in cash. Then you have your gateway cities that are largely broke but the state pumps in large amounts of capital. As a result you have professional staff in both groups. The bottom of the U is the middle class areas that until now didn't have much for problems but weren't looking for other forms of income.Add in a decline in student population and a flattening of general population and it adds up.

I'd argue Springfield could take chicopee but that's because nearly a third of Chicopee is the military base. I'm not saying it's a bad area but to plan a city around a base makes for very sharp turns and just a lack of taxable property. If towns merge they can sell off the excess buildings and get more taxable revenue.

There's talk in the Berkshires of having just one school district. From what I've been told is it isn't a matter of if but a matter of when because the logistics would be pretty complicated and that's before covid.

In many cases there are towns with no real difference between them. Whitman/Hanson, Rockland/Abington

Much of the compensation from the state comes from demographics. Council on aging has foundations that are based on the number of seniors. This might be going down. Then there's compensation on education, roads, special education etc. Even if a town is growing that doesn't mean they have the will to hire for legit positions. The bigger the area the higher the likelihood of HR. Without HR there can be significant liabilities if it is a side project for someone else. Other towns might have the librarian be the IT staff. That's all well and good but what you can get with a IT degree vs a MLS are two completely different things.

Of course on a county basis you could give Franklin to Vermont, Berkshire to NY, Hampden and Hampshire to CT and Bristol to RI.

No doubt that regionalization (schools, emergency services, etc.) is happening, and the pressures to do so rising. It makes sense in many cases.

This is not the same as annexation or "consolidation."

[yesmaybe]

Framingham might be a worst case because a ton of their tax revenue has to come from the retail which is obviously devastated by the shutdown.