Boston Municipal Research Bureau
@researchbureau.bsky.social
Dedicated to improving government in the City of Boston since 1932. Join us today at www.bmrb.org
Over the past decade, an extraordinary amount of energy has been devoted to the exam schools. But what about the 30+ other BPS schools educating children in grades 9 - 12? The Research Bureau's latest report examines these schools: https://www.bmrb.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/SR092426.pdf
Great kickoff to our Fall Member Briefings with David Greaney of Synergy and Michael Nichols of the Downtown Boston Alliance sharing their optimism about downtown Boston. Appreciate their willingness to join us and for the dialogue with members.
Come join us in celebrating the City of Boston's employees! The Shattuck Awards are October 21st. We would love to see you there. Click here to join -- https://ow.ly/KX3Q50ZCHTS
How much education aid does the City of Boston get from the state? How has it changed over time? And how much does the City get relative to other communities? Get answers to these questions and more in our latest Research Update: https://ow.ly/fB8n50ZBuab. #bospoli
The City of Boston spends the majority of its funds on personnel. Learn more about where the money goes and how new contracts impact the City's budget in our latest report: https://ow.ly/W00b50ZvbKH #bospoli
The Research Bureau is thrilled to announce the Shattuck Award winners for 2026. Congratulations to all the nominees and winners!!! We look forward to honoring you in the Fall. #bospoli.
Last of 5: Moving BPS health insurance from its budget to the City's only changes costs on paper but the cost is identical regardless of where it sits. It's also unclear whether a transfer would be legal. Thanks for following. Get all 5 points plus more detail here: https://ow.ly/YKql50ZbYJK
#4 in our series on City of Boston's health insurance costs: The City should negotiate the ability to adjust plan design in-step with premium setting & revise how it spends-down surpluses to stabilize premiums. Read more here: https://www.bmrb.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/SR2601.pdf
City of Boston Health Insurance Cost Growth, Day 3: Changing how GLP-1s are covered will fix the problem, right? No. GLP-1s only accounted for ~15 cents of every dollar of FY26 cost growth. Read the full report: https://ow.ly/eITn50ZbaiL #bospoli
Boston Health Insurance Costs Day 2: It bears financial risk for employee health plans & absorbs cost spikes. City negotiates plan design with the Public Employee Committee (PEC), sets premiums & pays claims. Read our report: https://www.bmrb.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/SR2601.pdf #bospoli
In FY26, Boston had to dip into the health trust fund’s catastrophic reserve to pay claims. The City faces a double obligation now: pay full costs of healthcare claims and begin restoring the catastrophic reserve, driving a record 23.9% increase. Read the full report: https://ow.ly/6uvo50Zb5Xv
Hot off the presses: Special Report on Boston’s expenditures of federal funds through FY25. Read it here: https://ow.ly/xq7y50Z6TnR Boston’s spending of federal funds dropped by 23.1% in FY25 to $433.2M, driven by a 44.2% decline in COVID-19 grant spending as programs wind down.
Thank you to Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden for joining the Research Bureau today. It was a great chance to hear from the DA and give members a chance to ask questions. Thank you to Goulston & Storrs for hosting and thanks to all who joined. #bospoli
Only two weeks to go! Get your nominations for worthy City of Boston employees submitted now. Here's the form: https://ow.ly/rmFa50YRXVs #bospoli #boston
Hey @CityofBoston employees! Nominate your outstanding colleague for a Shattuck Awards. Each year, outstanding City of Boston employees are honored. We want to hear from you! Nominate deserving recipients here:: https://ow.ly/sbQo50YJ3NU #bospoli #boston #shattuckawards
The @BOSCityCouncil kicked off budget hearings today on the City's FY27 Budget. And just in time, the Research Bureau has released its analysis of the City's FY27 Proposed Budget. Take a look: https://ow.ly/kK6n50YJ2qN. #bospoli #boston
City of Boston released its proposed FY27 Budget this AM at the annual budget breakfast. Check it out at: https://ow.ly/Lk5E50YFNEx Congrats to the City's budget team. Research Bureau team now hard at work analyzing the budget. Full report to follow! #bospoli
Remember ARPA? Passed in 2021 but money still to be spent in cities across the country. Boston has over $100m to spend by the end of this year. The City has made great progress but a few projects still have significant $$$ to spend. Learn more at https://ow.ly/XEyH50YCmrf
Today's Globe editorial highlights the City's budget challenges w/ some generous references to the Research Bureau. Take a read-- https://ow.ly/lmRm50YCqfM Relevant BMRB Reports: Health care costs: https://ow.ly/nvxZ50YCqfO New Growth: https://ow.ly/oxbi50YCqfL #bospoli
Boston's health insurance bill is eating into city services. The city forecast a 22%+ increase in FY27 costs until yesterday's agreement. Funding will still be a challenge. Learn more about the City's policy choices in BMRB's report https://ow.ly/QMIx50YyWNj #bospoli #mapoli #boston #budget
#BPS starts hearings on Thurs, February 12. Check out our analysis from last week -- https://ow.ly/7fao50YcXJy Now, we've gone a level deeper and come up with key items for the School Committee to consider. Learn more: https://www.bmrb.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/RU_02_11_26.pdf #bospoli
Recognition by the @BOSCityCouncil for Vineet Gupta (@VineetBoston), a Shattuck Award recipient, for his amazing 37 years of service to @BostonBTD. A Who's Who of the City Hall transpo & planning team was there. The rules may have been bent to allow for a standing ovation.😉 #bospoli
The BPS FY27 Budget proposal came out Wednesday night. It's a challenging year -- enrollment declining; deep FTE cuts, & increasing costs. See what the Research Bureau's deep dive found: https://ow.ly/XXq050YacMV #bospoli #boston #bps #bostonpublicschools #edpolicy
Boston’s property tax rates are in the news these days. Our latest Research Update explains the key drivers of those rates. Dive into our analysis to understand the trends shaping the city’s future. Read the Update: https://www.bmrb.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/RU012926.pdf #bospoli #mapoli
Grateful to be a guest of Research Bureau member @bu_tweets for President Gilliam’s Annual Address #bospoli
Friends and supporters -- We'd like to cordially invite you to our 94th Annual Meeting. Coming up sooner than you think -- Thursday, March 12th at the Seaport Hotel. Be sure to save the date. We look forward to seeing you! #bospoli
Congratulations to Elaine Beattie, a member of our staff for 40 years, upon receiving the Frederick P. Gruenberg Award. It is the highest honor the Governmental Research Association gives those who have made outstanding contributions to the field of governmental research.
