It’s local budget season in Massachusetts: headlines are full of proposed teacher cuts, Prop 2½ overrides, and mounting pressure on municipal finances.
That’s why it is so striking that some of the strongest support for statewide rent control is coming from a city already in fiscal trouble — and from teachers who are fighting to preserve jobs amid cuts.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and the Boston Teachers Union (BTU), both supporters of the rent control ballot question, are currently locked in a budget battle. Last week, BTU protested outside City Hall over a proposal that would eliminate 200 teaching positions, 100 classroom aides, and additional support staff, despite a $74 million increase in the education budget.
That protest came just one week after BTU leaders testified at the State House in favor of rent control — a policy that a Tufts study says would reduce Boston property values by 24% over the next ten years. A 24% hit to the tax base would mean even worse budget challenges and deeper cuts to services like public schools.
The Boston Globe editorial board weighed in on the city’s budget mess this week, noting that “while the mayor seems to view her hostility to developers as some sort of badge of progressive virtue, the result is less tax money for schools, parks, streets, and all the other programs her constituents need.” Their conclusion: controlling spending is essential, but over the long term, growth in housing and commercial development is “at the heart of keeping this city moving.”
Our Housing for Massachusetts team was in Worcester yesterday talking with local leaders about these same pressures — and how the rent control ballot question would make them exponentially worse by shrinking local property values and municipal revenue. More on that conversation next week.
How is the local budget shaping up in your city or town?
Are your local leaders supporting or opposing rent control — and how are they planning to fund schools, public safety, and basic services if property values take a hit?
Share what you’re seeing on the ground and join the conversation on LinkedIn.
