Healey Budget Could Boost Local Aid by 4.4 Percent

Gov. Maura Healey gives the State of the Commonwealth in the House chamber on Jan. 22, 2026.  Ella Adams / SHNS

Katie Castellani |SHNS

Gov. Maura Healey announced Friday that her fiscal year 2027 budget proposal will boost local aid by 4.4% and filed a bill that would provide municipalities with $1.2 billion in road and bridge funding over four years.

In total, Healey's forthcoming budget proposal would dedicate $10.4 billion across local aid accounts, marking a $438.5 million, or 4.4%, increase over fiscal year 2026's budget, she announced at the Massachusetts Municipal Association's annual conference.

The budget proposal will include a 2.5% increase for unrestricted general government aid (UGGA) to cities and towns. This falls far short of the MMA's request for a $351 million increase in UGGA funds, marking a 26.5% rise over fiscal 2026 levels.

MMA CEO and Executive Director Adam Chapdelaine acknowledged the association's request was a big ask and said he hopes the 2.5% increase marks a starting point as budget talks continue over the coming months.

"We've been realistic from the start that our our ask would be really hard to do in one year, even in good times, never mind of the challenging times we're facing now," Chapdelaine told the News Service on Friday, adding the goal could take years to reach. "Over the course of this budget process, if we can have state leaders talking about this premise and accepting the premise and then finding a multi-year pathway forward - we view that as strong practice."

Healey faces a Jan. 28 deadline to file her fiscal 2027 budget. The proposed UGGA increase is in line with projected non-surtax revenue growth, according to her office, and roughly matches the most recent national measure of inflation. Last year, Healey’s budget proposal included a 2.2% increase in unrestricted general government aid.

Healey's budget proposal fully funds the final year of the Student Opportunity Act with $7.6 billion in Chapter 70 aid. This represents a $242 million increase over fiscal 2026 and would guarantee a minimum per-pupil aid of $75 for all school districts, according to Healey's office.

Rural School Aid, a program that helps rural school districts address fixed costs, would receive $20 million under Healey's proposal, up from the $8 million allocated in fiscal 2026. Healey is also requesting an additional $154.3 million to reimburse school districts for a portion of transportation costs. Additionally, Healey is proposing full funding for the Special Education Circuit Breaker, at $802.7 million. That would allow for the full phase-in of reimbursements for the costs of transporting out-of-district special education students, her office said.

“We know that cities and towns are struggling with their budgets due to high costs and disruption from the Trump Administration,” Healey said in a press release. "That’s why we’re continuing to deliver record levels of local aid, so that our municipal leaders can upgrade their roads and bridges, make sure every child is getting a high-quality education, support our veterans and deliver other critical services that people rely on."

After Healey's State of the Commonwealth address Thursday night, Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr said it was "glaring" that Healey did not talk about the stress municipalities are under and "the affordability, or lack thereof, of property taxes."

"Massachusetts faces an affordability problem. There's certainly the cost of energy, the cost of health care, are factors in that, but one of the very real factors is the cost of property taxes," Tarr said. He talked about "trying to prioritize assistance for our cities and towns so that they aren't constantly forced with facing overrides that, even if they succeed, make the community unaffordable."

Healey on Friday also filed a bill (HD 5589) that seeks to preserve the 50% increase in Chapter 90 road and bridge funding that the governor and Legislature agreed to last year. Traditionally, the annual Chapter 90 bill has included $200 million, though municipalities have long advocated for multi-year authorizations.

Healey’s latest bill would authorize $1.2 billion in Chapter 90 funding, providing cities and towns with a share of $300 million in local and bridge repair funds annually for four years. It would also mirror the approach the administration took with the last Chapter 90 outlay, in which new money is allocated on the basis of lane miles.

The bill also proposes $3.2 billion for "popular and well-used" authorizations originally part of a 2022 transportation bond bill, Healey's office said.

Additionally, Healey on Friday unveiled the Funding for Accelerated Infrastructure Repair program aimed at helping cities and towns reopen closed bridges, remove posting on restricted bridges and preserve other bridges from falling into those two categories. Specifically, the program is meant to reduce administrative burdens for cities and towns as well as provide funding for maintenance and replacement of municipal-owned bridges.

Healey’s office said the program will provide cities and towns with $75 million in total. It is supported by the $8 billion transportation plan unveiled last year meant to stabilize the MBTA’s finances and provide other transportation investments.

Phil Eng, interim MassDOT secretary and MBTA general manager, said the program is crucial for helping repair bridges and work on other infrastructure projects across the state, particularly those in Western Massachusetts.

"This program fills that critical gap. It allows us to move quickly, reopen closed structures, and prevent further deterioration before it becomes more costly to repair and disruptive to the community,” Eng said in a statement.

Katie Castellani is a reporter for State House News Service and State Affairs Pro Massachusetts.