Measuring Non–School Fiscal Disparities among Municipalities

This paper develops new measures of non–school revenue capacity and environmental costs for Massachusetts cities and towns as the basis for a new municipal aid formula. On the capacity side, we account for the constraints of a tax limitation by estimating them as a function of residents’ incomes, and also take account of non–property–tax revenue sources and non–municipal budget obligations. On the cost side, we quantify the effects on local non–school spending of characteristics related to environmental costs, controlling for preferences, efficiency, and non–school local revenue capacity. Our approach is potentially applicable to other states.