Chief Executives from 45 Cities and Towns Urge State Legislature to Support CPA

June 28, 2017: In a collaboration between the Coalition and the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, a letter was issued to the state budget conference committee this afternoon on behalf of many of the state’s largest cities and towns supporting the inclusion of the Community Preservation Act in this year’s state budget. Chief executives of forty-five communities that have adopted the CPA program signed onto the letter, urging the conference committee to support an increased state match for CPA communities in the FY18 state budget.

The 172 cities and towns that have adopted the CPA program are collectively raising approximately $150 million in local revenue each year to fund projects related to affordable housing, historic preservation, and the development of parks and playgrounds. However, as the state match has steadily declined in recent years, the match expected to fall to an all-time low of approximately 11% in November of 2018. The conference committee is currently considering an increase to the source of funding for CPA that would elevate the base match to approximately 32%, keeping it in line with the historic average distribution over the last eight years of the program.

Citing the “success stories” seen across the Commonwealth, the letter stressed how the state’s matching funds enable CPA municipalities to “create jobs, contribute to tourism and a strong local economy, build much-needed community housing, and rehabilitate our municipal parks, playgrounds and athletic fields, while at the same time preserving our history and culture.”

The conference committee is expected to issue their final version of the budget in early July.

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