Thanks to the recession, cities and towns can no longer count on attracting employers with tax breaks. The Chelmsford Independent reports on the nasty surprise that confronted budget writers in that town last week, when L1 Identity Solutions said, “On second thought, no thanks”:

Earlier this fall, Town Meeting representatives approved a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) agreement to attract the Internet security company [L1 Identity Solutions] to 250 Apollo Drive. The deal would have exempt L1 from paying some taxes on $6 million in planned building improvements.

Chelmsford would have received $298,000 in taxes and building permit fees from the company over the five-year duration of the agreement. The town would have been entitled to even more yearly tax revenue after the agreement expired in 2015.

But L1’s stock price plunged this fall, declining from $17.22 a share on Sept. 19, to $5.84 a share on Monday. As a result, the company could not raise the capital to pay for moving and construction.

Chelmsford officials are also reeling from Speaker Sal DiMasi’s prediction of cuts to local aid from Beacon Hill next year. These days, if municipal governments in Massachusetts didn’t have such bad luck, they wouldn’t have any luck at all.