MUNICIPAL HEALTH COSTS

A group of Massachusetts mayors, fed up with what they say is legislative inaction on skyrocketing municipal health care costs, has launched a ballot initiative for 2012 aimed at giving cities and towns more flexibility in reducing expensive benefits for employees, retirees and elected officials. Health costs in Massachusetts have added more than $1 billion to municipal budgets from 2001 to 2008, and some cities now devote close to 20 percent of their budgets to health care.