Greenfield Mayor in support of new municipal building authority legislation

GREENFIELD, MA (FRANKLIN COUNTY NOW) — Greenfield Mayor Ginny Desorgher announced her support for “An Act Creating a Municipal and Public Safety Building Authority” which, if passed, would allocate a third of the revenues from the Marijuana Excise Tax to assisting in the construction or improvement of municipal and public safety buildings. 

From the City of Greenfield:

Mayor Desorgher Advocates for Legislation to Support Municipal Facilities

GREENFIELD – Greenfield Mayor Virginia “Ginny” Desorgher today is announcing her administration’s support for proposed legislation that would help small towns make critical improvements and updates to their municipal facilities.

Massachusetts Senate bill 1650 and House bill 2571, which are also known respectively as “An Act Creating a Municipal and Public Safety Building Authority,” propose to allocate a third of the revenues from the Marijuana Excise Tax to a dedicated fund to assist municipalities in the construction or improvement of police stations, fire stations, EMS facilities, city or town offices, and department of public works facilities. The legislation would also create a municipal building authority, and is filed by Senator Comerford in the Senate and Representative Blais in the House, two of Greenfield’s three legislators.

While there is dedicated funding available for school buildings and libraries, no such resource exists for these types of municipal facilities, leaving towns to look to appropriations and bond authorizations.

“Many municipal facilities in Greenfield are in urgent need of improvement. We face problems in facilities such as our City Hall and Public Works Yard that create issues of accessibility and health for City staff, as well as challenges to City operations,” said Mayor Desorgher. “This legislation would help municipalities like Greenfield make needed improvements without putting undue burden on taxpayers.”

A joint hearing on the proposed legislation is scheduled for Thursday, July 24, 2025, in the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security. Mayor Desorgher has written a letter to the committee in support of the legislation, and is coordinating with Greenfield’s state legislators.