Saturday, January 21, 2012

What's the deal with local aid?

I asked a few of the financial mavens I barrage with questions to explain unrestricted local aid to me last year, and I was met with, more-or-less, a head shake. Now I understand why.

The Mass Budget and Policy Center tackles the other half of the state budget that has a lot to do with local budgets: unrestricted local aid. A few highlights:
  • there isn't an overall formula
  • changes in calculations haven't taken into consideration changes in wealth that have happened in the past several years.
  • there have been cuts and restorations, but they've been the reverse of progressive.
  • reform is difficult (maybe impossible) without increases in revenue
Well worth reading!

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