Despite the obvious financial strains on municipal budgets caused by this pandemic, cities and towns continue to accept the tax burden that comes with joining Community Preservation Act.
Nine communities did just that on Election Day.
Framingham, Franklin, Greenfield, Hopedale, Lancaster, Lee, Milton, Shrewsbury and Whitman all agreed to increase local taxes, which can be used for affordable housing, historic preservation and open-space investments,
With these nine in the fold, 186 of the state’s 351 municipalities have now signed on to the CPA.
We’ve always believed the CPA route made more sense for suburban and rural communities trying to protect acreage from development, thus preserving that town’s unique character. We’re not convinced it’s a viable option for urban centers, where the CPA would make little dent in realizing expensive needs like housing.
And like many state-reimbursement initiatives, the commonwealth again hasn’t lived up to its CPA obligation.
The commonwealth was supposed to match what each participating CPA municipality raised through its own property taxes, but as the CPA’s popularity grew, state funding diminished.
The Department of Revenue estimated that fiscal year 2020’s state match rate would be a record low of 11.5%, but forecasts a CPA Trust Fund balance that would allow for a match of 17.7% for fiscal 2021.
That’s far cry from a full reimbursement, but not surprising, as public-school systems have found with the state’s failure to completely fund charter-school compensation.
If the state continues down this pecuniary-challenged path, future CPA communities will see little or no funding from Beacon Hill.
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November 06, 2020 at 01:17PM
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Does it pay to join the CPA? - Lowell Sun
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