CMMCP Membership Changes

1975 - Present

The Project was created by the Massachusetts State Legislature in 1973, and currently consists of 44 cities and towns in Central Massachusetts, from both Worcester and Middlesex Counties, covering over ~785 square miles. Please click here for more information on our service area.

  • 1975: 32 communities
  • 1976: 32 communities: Sterling joins, Chelmsford withdraws
  • 1977: 30 communities: Carlisle & Lancaster withdraw
  • 1978: 33 communities: Chelmsford, Fitchburg & Lancaster join
  • 1979: 33 communities: No change
  • 1980: 34 communities: Lunenburg joins
  • 1981: 35 communities: Leominster joins
  • 1982: 31 communities: Bolton, Hopkinton, Sterling & Stow withdraw
  • 1983: 30 communities: Acton withdraws
  • 1984: 30 communities: No change
  • 1985: 30 communities: No change
  • 1986: 30 communities: No change
  • 1987: 30 communities: No change
  • 1988: 30 communities: No change
  • 1989: 30 communities: Wilmington joins, Harvard withdraws
  • 1990: 28 communities: Natick joins, Boylston, Grafton & Lancaster withdraw
  • 1991: 26 communities: Groton & Northbridge withdraw
  • 1992: 26 communities: No change
  • 1993: 25 communities: Shirley withdraws
  • 1994: 27 communities: Blackstone & Stow join
  • 1995: 28 communities: Dracut joins
  • 1996: 28 communities: No change
  • 1997: 28 communities: No change
  • 1998: 28 communities: No change
  • 1999: 29 communities: Millbury joins
  • 2000: 29 communities: No change
  • 2001: 34 communities: Acton, Auburn, Hopkinton, Millville & Northbridge join
  • 2002: 35 communities: Sturbridge joins
  • 2003: 36 communities: Webster joins
  • 2004: 36 communities: No change
  • 2005: 36 communities: No change
  • 2006: 36 communities: No change
  • 2007: 39 communities: Boylston, Lancaster & Uxbridge join
  • 2008: 38 communities: Boylston withdraws
  • 2009: 38 communities: No change
  • 2010: 39 communities: Devens joins (November)
  • 2011: 39 communities: No change
  • 2012: 40 communities: Boylston joins
  • 2013: 41 communities: Lowell joins, Groton joins effective 7/1/2014, Uxbridge withdraws
  • 2014: 40 communities: Groton drops out (no services rendered)
  • 2015: 41 communities: Gardner joins
  • 2016: 41 communities: No change
  • 2017: 41 communities: No change
  • 2018: 42 communities: Worcester joins
  • 2019: 42 communities: No change
  • 2020: 44 Communities: Grafton joins effective 4/1, Bolton joins effective 7/1
  • 2021: 44 communities: No change
  • 2022: 44 communities: No change
  • 2023: 44 communities: No change

How to Become a Member Community

Cities may join CMMCP by a vote of the City Council; towns may join by a majority vote at a Special or Annual Town Meeting. Please call (508) 393-8766 or email our Executive Director for an approximate assessment and an information packet to be mailed out.

Comments

Membership was in flux the first 7-8 years, with towns coming into the program, dropping out, and coming back in again due to the recession we experienced in the last 70's and early 80's. But it was stable in the mid 80's as the economy recovered, until the recession in the late 80's and early 90's started to take its toll. Towns were closing libraries, turning off street lights, and our service area shrank to its lowest point (25). A few towns joined in the next 10 years or so, but when West Nile Virus was found in Massachusetts in 2000, many towns expressed interest in the program. We saw an unprecedented expansion from 2001 - 2003, gaining 7 new towns in just those 3 years. Other cities and towns have joined the Project in the past decade, and we frequently meet with city and town officials about our program.

Please check this link for surveys of area residents from 2007 - present, as well as a survey of member Boards of Health performed in 2013: CMMCP Research & Efficacy.

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