March 5, 2026 – Executive directors and staff representing the Commonwealth’s 13 Regional Planning Agencies gathered for a day of advocacy at the State House to brief lawmakers and staff on the wide range of projects completed thanks to District Local Technical Assistance (DLTA). DLTA is funded by the state budget and included in line item 1599 – 0026. It has been level funded at $3 million since 2019.
The event kicked off with remarks from Rep. Paul Donato and Senator Jamie Eldridge about the importance of DLTA to their communities. Leader Donato (D-Medford) remarked that “DLTA helps towns plan for the future and regionalize services to reduce costs. Because of these dollars, Malden and Medford have seen an increase in access to sustainable transportation options like Bluebikes and the creation of new parks."
“In many communities with limited planning capacity, local planning projects and even state funding applications simply would not happen without the support DLTA provides. These dollars support everything from bus fleet electrification in Acton, Boxborough, Marlborough, Southborough, and Wayland, to helping communities like Littleton create a climate action plan and update their ADU bylaws to increase access to housing and to support our aging population,” said Senator Eldridge (D-Marlborough).
Jenny Raitt, Executive Director of the Northern Middlesex Council of Governments (NMCOG) served as emcee for the briefing and highlighted the ways smaller municipalities in her region would have been unable to apply for One Stop grants without the support that DLTA offers.
Jerrard Witten, the Executive Director of the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission (MVPC), said that DLTA dollars have been used to develop a priority growth strategy for the region. MVPC’s work identified sites that have local and regional support for future housing, commercial, or industrial development that may not be used as such. These locations were selected based on existing development patterns, access to infrastructure, and proximity to major transportation routes. You can learn more about this work here. Jerrard also highlighted the work MVPC is doing to help develop more multifamily housing in Haverhill through their regional housing plan.
Janet Pierce, Executive Director of the Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission (CMRPC), demonstrated how DLTA can regionalize best practices and support the arts. CMRPC’s report offers practical, adaptable approaches that local cultural councils of all sizes can use to strengthen operations and expand community impacts. You can read the full report here.
Kim Robinson, Executive Director of the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (PVPC), explained how DLTA dollars were used to secure state and federal grants which resulted in a return of $16.40 for every DLTA dollar invested in the region. DLTA allows RPAs to provide expertise at the regional level that individual towns simply could not afford to hire on their own. These dollars also help reduce administrative burden, aggregate demand, and unlock purchasing power that frees up limited municipal staff to focus on core services.
To close out the event, Jenny Raitt of NMCOG returned to discuss how DLTA funding is especially necessary this year. While the future of federal discretionary funding is uncertain, without DLTA, she said many municipalities will be at a disadvantage when it comes to competing for state and federal dollars that are available. While DLTA has been helping communities with local plans and projects for several years, it has not received an increase since 2019—meaning that the size and number of projects that RPAs are able to take on have all decreased. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Inflation Calculator, DLTA has lost over 20% of its value due to inflation since 2019.
To ensure that RPAs can continue to support all 351 municipalities, the speakers and attendees called on the Legislature to provide $4,000,000 or a $1,000,000 increase for District Local Technical Assistance in the FY27 budget.
- See project examples from some of your RPAs here
- See slides from the speaking program here
- Learn more about DLTA here