Read Roberta Schaefer's monthly column in the D.B.A Magazine
NEW REPORTS
2008-2009 Annual Report 
Worcester's FY10 Budget: Challenges and Opportunities for Reform
This report, produced annually, reviews the City Manager’s FY10 budget. After explaining Worcester’s budget crisis and the measures the City Manager has taken to address it, The Research Bureau offers some recommendations for long term and short term fiscal reform.
Benchmarking Public Safety in Worcester: 2009
This report measures the performance of Worcester’s police department, fire department, and ambulance/emergency medical services.
Public Employee Pensions: Is it Time to Retire the System?
This report examines the public pension system in Worcester and Massachusetts. After detailing the basics of the system, its history, the difference between retirement benefits for public employees and employees in the private sector, the impact of the current recession on the system’s funding, as well as its overall cost to taxpayers, The Research Bureau makes a number of recommendations for reform.
Read Dr. Roberta Schaefer's April 6, 2009 testimony to the Massachusetts House Public Service Committee hearing on pension reform
Measuring Downtown Worcester's "Curb Appeal:" ComNET Results
This report complements The Research Bureau’s recently-released report , “What’s Up With Downtown Worcester?: Prospects for Revitalization.” Discussed are the results of the Downtown ComNET (Computerized Neighborhood Environment Tracking) survey, which tracks the physical condition of a neighborhood, including streets, sidewalks, and buildings.
What's Up With Downtown Worcester?: Prospects for Revitalization
This report discusses the progress that downtown Worcester has made over the last decade and the projects proposed for the near future. After assessing certain challenges to revitalization, The Research Bureau makes some recommendations about how to strengthen the prospects for further progress in downtown Worcester.
Benchmarking Economic Development in Worcester: 2008
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.
Downtown Worcester Office Occupancy: 2008 Survey
Detailed property listings (appendix A)
Annual analysis of downtown office occupancy rates in Worcester’s Central Business District and detailed listing of office space available for lease.
Benchmarking Municipal Finance in Worcester 2008: Factors Affecting the City's Bond Rating
This report examines six indicators of municipal fiscal health that are key determinants of a municipality's bond rating. Worcester's current bond rating of low A was upgraded by Standard & Poor’s from negative to stable primarily because of improvements in financial management.
Maintaining Municipal Parks: Thinking Outside the Picnic Basket
This report discusses Worcester’s parks and the challenges the City faces with maintaining these facilities in light of budget cuts and decreasing revenues. Based on our analysis of parks in other cities, The Research Bureau offers some options to help maintain parks and recreational facilities in Worcester.
Choosing a New School Superintendent to Address Worcester's Challenges
This report discusses the challenges facing the next Superintendent of the Worcester Public Schools and highlights characteristics common in high-performing urban schools across the state which are credited with contributing to higher student achievement.
Benchmarking Public Education in Worcester: 2008
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 Regional Research Bureau, Inc.
319 Main Street, Worcester, MA 01608
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