BOSTON (SHNS) - Rising costs and sluggish growth in state aid are leaving municipal budgets in Massachusetts in a tightening bind and increasingly unable to adequately respond to demands for better local services, according to a new report that could set the stage for future tax debates in the Legislature.

The Massachusetts Municipal Association, the trade group representing cities and towns, highlighted the issue in its report while also objecting to restrictions on local property tax increases and a ban on local income and sales taxes that they say prevent municipalities from raising revenue to meet community needs.

Between 2010 and 2022, inflation-adjusted spending on operations in Massachusetts municipalities grew by 0.6% per year. That's slower than the U.S. average for local spendi

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