NEW REPORTS
Benchmarking Public Safety in Worcester: 2010
This report measures the performance of Worcester’s police department, fire department, and ambulance/emergency medical services.
Worcester Regional Airport Positioned for Take-Off
After advocating for many years the sale or lease of Worcester Regional Airport to Massport, The Research Bureau is pleased to endorse the Memorandum of Understanding between the City and Massport for the transfer of the facility. We urge the Worcester City Council, the Massport Board or Directors, and the FAA to approve the MOU as soon as possible because of the aviation and economic development benefits that can accrue to Worcester and Central Massachusetts.
Worcester's FY11 Budget and Fiscal Crisis: No End in Sight
This report reviews the City Manager’s FY11 budget. It explains the impact that the recession has had on the City’s finances, the causes of the deficit in FY11, and the actions that the City Manager has taken in this year and prior years to address Worcester’s persistent imbalance between revenues and expenditures. The report sketches the outlook for FY12, and concludes with recommendations for further fiscal reform.
Benchmarking Municipal and Neighborhood Services in Worcester: 2010
This report describes the performance of several municipal agencies including: the Department of Public Works and Parks, the Department of Inspectional Services, and the Worcester Public Library, as well as measuring residents' civic engagement
Race to the Top: What's the Winning Strategy?
This report discusses the criteria for states to compete successfully in the Obama administration's Race to the Top Program for public schools. The Research Bureau assesses the chances for Massachusetts and the Worcester Public Schools, in particular, to receive some of the $4.5 billion in Federal stimulus funds.
Benchmarking Economic Development in Worcester: 2009
This report, generously underwritten by MassDevelopment, contains updated information for the following performance indicators: the value of the City’s tax base, property tax rates, new construction values, employment and labor force growth, the downtown office occupancy rate, and vacant, abandoned, and foreclosed properties.
Note: Subsequent to the release of this report, new data regarding tax base and tax rate became available. The report has been updated accordingly.
Downtown Worcester Office Occupancy: 2009 Survey
Annual analysis of downtown office occupancy rates in Worcester’s Central Business District and detailed listing of office space available for lease.
Detailed Property Listing (Appendix A)
Municipal Elections in Worcester 2009: Questions for the Candidates
In preparation for the upcoming municipal elections in Worcester, The Research Bureau has prepared a set of questions for the candidates. These questions focus on the critical issues facing Worcester's municipal government and public schools.
Benchmarking Public Education in Worcester: 2009
This report examines student, school, and district performance in relation to the standards implemented under the Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993 and the Federal No Child Left Behind legislation signed into law in 2002 in an effort to close the achievement gap between subgroups of students.
Worcester Public School Facts
Benchmarking Municipal Finance in Worcester 2009: Factors Affecting the City's Bond Rating
This report discusses the significance of bond ratings for a municipality's financial well-being and examines seven indicators of municipal fiscal health that are key determinants of a municipality's bond rating. It compares Worcester's bond rating of low A with the ratings of other New England cities.
Massachusetts Pension Reform: What was accomplished? What remains to be done?
This report summarizes the most egregious public employee pension abuses that were eliminated by the recently-passed Massachusetts Pension Reform Act, but goes on to list the more costly problems with the system which are in need of reform. These include the extraordinarily high rates of accidental disability pensions granted to public safety employees and the long-term sustainability of the entire defined-benefit system. It draws from our more extensive report on pension reform Public Employee Pensions: Is it Time to Retire the System?, published in March 2009.
2008-2009 Annual Report
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