Published monthly by the Worcester Telegram & Gazette as a specialty publication of the advertising department. Copyright by the Worcester Telegram & Gazette Corporation.

Rod Lee

D.B.A. Editor/Special Publications Manager

Issue Date	Title of Article	Brief Summary
Aug 07	"MORE Bang for the Buck"	One way local governments in Central MA are responding to ever-increasing fiscal challenges is through MORE (Municipalities Organized for Regional Effectiveness), a regional collaborative initially proposed by The Research Bureau. MORE is an informal arrangement among towns which enables them to save money through the joint purchase of goods and services or address issues that transcend traditional political boundaries such as conservation or economic development. (Read more...)
Sept 07	"Are PILOTs the panacea for Worcester's fiscal woes?"	Since businesses in Worcester are already taxed to the legal limit, the City Council sees PILOTs (payment-in-lieu-of-taxes) as the only remaining alternative to cushion property tax increases. Unfortunately, implementing PILOTs would threaten Worcester's non-profit health care and educational institutions, which account for 38% of the city's jobs and all the new construction in the city. (Read more...)
Oct 07	"A bad bet?"	After extensive research on the issue, The Research Bureau concludes that siting a casino in Worcester or the surrounding region would generate social and economic costs that far outweigh the promised benefits. (Read more...)
Nov 07	"It's all about autonomy"	Leaders of high performing urban schools in Massachusetts with similar populations as Worcester's believe that the authority they have to make decisions at the school level about hiring and firing, expenditures, length of school day and school year, and class schedule are crucial to improvements in student achievement. (Read more...)
Dec 07	"'One-way' waste!"	One of The Research Bureau's oft-repeated recommendations on how to reduce governmental expenditures without damage to the public is switching from paid police details to civilian flaggers at construction sites, the norm in all 49 other states. (Read more...)
Feb 08	"Ring in the new year right!"	The Research Bureau offers several "resolutions" for Worcester public officials to consider for the new year: selling some assets which require taxpayer subsidies, privatizing services that are appropriate to do so, developing a long-range plan to improve streets and sidewalks, developing a plan to change the dual tax rate to a single tax rate, supporting and expanding the work of MORE. (Read more...)
Mar 08	"The Right Stuff"	The Research Bureau recommends that the School Committee, whose most important responsibility is to select the next superintendent, assess the challenges facing the Worcester Public Schools and then search for the individual who can best address those challenges, whether that person is already employed the by the district or needs to be recruited from elsewhere. (Read more...)
Apr 08	"Where have all the bidders gone?"	Worcester's Responsible Employer Ordinance imposes regulations on public bidding that discourage competition, thereby limiting the number of bidders and driving up costs of public construction in the City. (Read more...)
May 08	"Change & Challenge"	The Research Bureau's April 10th forum was organized to discuss the need for different types of schools and programs to address the challenges facing the next superintendent of Worcester Public Schools. (Read more...)
June 08	"Meeting the Fiscal Challenges of FY09 and Beyond Requires a Reform Agenda"	Cities and towns across the state are struggling to maintain services in the face of economic downturn, increases in fixed costs, and declining revenue from the lottery. In the city of Worcester, the need to continue the reform agenda is imperative, with some additional suggestions proposed by the Research Bureau: reforming municipal employee health insurance, divesting the city of services not related to its core mission, contracting out city and school custodial services, and negotiating changes in police and fire contracts. (Read more...)
July 08	"Recommended… adopted!"	In 2005, The Research Bureau launched the Central Massachusetts Talent Retention Project in order to address the loss of the region's young and better educated population. As a result of The Research Bureau's research and recommendations, the Colleges of the Worcester Consortium has developed a website to serve as a clearing house for all internships in the region and other college-business programs designed to inform students about employment opportunities post graduation. (Read more...)
Aug 08	Why Wait?	In June, Governor Patrick released his Readiness Project report, a ten-year plan for public education calling for the establishment of Readiness Schools, "a new kind of teaching and learning experience" that will “enhance the flexibility and independence typically found in the charter sector." These schools will have autonomy regarding staffing, budget, curriculum and assessment, governance and policies, and school schedule and calendar. Since Worcester already has a Readiness School in the form of the University Park Campus School, The Research Bureau proposed that each college adopt a local school or start a charter school in partnership with a local business and learn how to replicate the University Park Campus School model. (Read more...)

Sept 08	Spend money fairly and efectively	The latest controversy involving the use of taxpayer money locally concerns the Worcester City Campus Corporation (WCCC), which develops real estate for UMass Medical School but is not subject to public bidding laws. This exemption enables the WCCC to limit the number of bidders on a project increasing price and excluding many local construction firms from working on publicly-financed projects. (Read more…)
Oct 08	It's not always about the money ....	Although municipalities cannot provide their best employees with multi-million dollar bonuses as businesses can, they can say "thank you" and recognize them for their hard work and dedication in providing outstanding service to their fellow citizens. This is the purpose of The Research Bureau's Thomas S. Green Public Service Awards, given annual to the "unsung heroes" in municipal government.(Read more....)
Nov 08	Downtown Worcester's Office Occupancy in 2008: What do the data show?	Office occupancy rates are a key indicator of a downtown area's economic vitality. This year's data show that Worcester's downtown office occupancy has improved slightly, but there has been no new building constructed since 1990. (Read more...)