>>Valley Patriot>>
|
Tax
Break Coincidences,
Thoughts to Ponder
Georgetown Selectman Lonnie Brennan
(03/06/07)
 Before you fall
asleep, yes, the first part of this column is about
taxes. And, yes, taxes and percentages and calculations
can lead to snoring, but I promise you, there’s a
few interesting snippets to follow, so read forth in a
sprit of adventure. There’s a lot that goes into
setting a property tax: assessors and consultants, data
and numbers, and type of home, age, construction,
neighborhood, type of cabinets, flooring, land, etc. Keep
one thing in mind, however, town budgets grow every year,
and the money comes from you.
Every year, groups in town want to expand services, feed
the school system, etc. This increase gets passed onto
you with tax increases for many, some reductions for
others. It’s all in the science of assessing. In the
end, individuals might get whacked with increases, or
even get reductions, but town-wide a 2 1/2 % increase on
last year’s tax levy gets imposed.
So some sad news this year for some residents. For
example, if you wanted to pay lower taxes, be thankful
you’re not on the Finance Committee. These
volunteers were hit with an average increase of almost
4%, and one board member got hit with a whopping 15%
increase —with no changes, no remodeling, no work
— just a nice old house in a nice neighborhood. Up
went the tax bill. Next in line came the Board of
Selectmen, with an average of 3.9% (one lucky member had
just a 0.9% increase, yours truly got another 5.33%
increase). Next came the School Committee with an average
hit of 3.48%. But, drum roll please, there was some
sunshine news for at least one board, the Board of
Assessors, to be specific, whose members experienced a
collective average increase of just 0.19%.
It all looks a lot clearer if you look at the tax chart
nearby. The contrast is striking and the coincidence is
amazing. While a large number of town officials got hit
with increases, one member of the Board of Assessors saw
a 4.85% decrease, another increased by a lucky 0.25%,
though the new guy got hit with 5.15% increase. Better
luck to him in future years.
The above numbers and chart were provided to the Board of
Selectmen by member Matt Vincent, as part of some
research he did to better understand Proposition  2 1/2 and its impact
on individual homeowners. Matt shared his preliminary
data with the board, after a recent meeting for us to
toss around the table and examine it. He had collected
data on 200+ homes out of approximately 2,600, but even
this small sampling was statistically interesting. We
looked at the charts and Matt noted items of interest and
stated that his study was preliminary and there are
probably valid reasons for the spikes and valleys. He
even theorized that there’s probably a valid “calculus”
that explains why one assessor’s daughter’s
house received a 15% decrease this year, and that outside
firms must have reasons for this.
So what are we to take from all of this? What does it
mean when two similar houses, on the same street, built
at the same time and of similar construction, when one
house goes up 0.9%, and the other goes up 4.68%? What are
we to think of the good fortune this year experienced by
some? Perhaps it’s just the coincidence of
assessments — something with plausible and sensible
reasons. Our town administrator’s
half-joking/perhaps half-serious initial response when
asked what he thought of the numbers before us agreed
with our perhaps rash comments: “from first look, it
sure looks like the fix is in.” Of course, to get a
true response, he, like us, will need to look further at
the numbers.
Well, since Matt’s initial survey, we’ve
rounded up data on many hundred more homes and have yet
to find another 15% decrease, but we’ll keep
looking. There has got to be a few more rays of sunshine
out there with folks reaping decreases after years of
steady and perhaps seemingly unfair increases to their
tax bills.
Can You Hear Me Now? Firefighters
Cut Off
I nearly fell out of my chair this past week when two
members of our board of fire engineers informed the
selectmen that the Fire Department’s radio system is
problematic, leaving areas of brown-outs and cut-outs and
lack of communication in some areas of town. After some
communication problems, they ordered a survey of the
town, and confirmed the worst: little or no communication
capability in certain areas of town. Up until this
meeting, these areas of outages were unknown to the
common citizen, and my colleagues joined me in rapidly
moving to put a placeholder on the spring town meeting to
address any funding needed to eliminate this potential
safety hazard.
Can you imagine? Fighting a fire, or responding to a
medical emergency, and needing to communicate, and trying
the “can you hear me now” line and getting no
reply? Our dedicated on-call firefighters deserve the
best in gear, and our neighbors deserve the best in
safety protection regardless of what part of town they
reside. The solution is currently estimated at $55,000 to
outfit the department with new gear.
For those paying attention, this safety hazard now hits
the top of the list, side-by-side with the firefighters’
and police chief’s number one potential structural
safety hazard in town, the Bailey Lane culvert crossing.
Bailey Lane has been closed at its mid-point, after
repeated warnings by our highway surveyor on the
condition of the culvert/bridge’s deck. Two attempts
to re-construct the two-foot high culvert and to raise
the entire roadway and repave it from Taylor Street to
West Main Street have not had the support of voters.
In the meantime, the selectmen have asked to have nearly
14,000 pounds of concrete jersey barriers removed from
the bridge and metal plates placed over the culvert to
allow police cruisers to access the area until such time
as voters allow full replacement of the bridge. How to
get a fire truck across remains problematic. A third
attempt at a warrant article will take place this spring,
which, if successful this time, might allow full opening
of the crossing to all by the end of the year. Two safety
issues, communications and access for police vehicles,
both need to have short-term and long-term solutions,
yesterday. Speaking of Tax Revenue
The governor’s estimated cherry sheet was published
recently and it shows a paltry increase in state aid for
non-school departments of just over $35,000. So much for
promises of local property tax relief.
Senior Center for Georgetown?
Last week I put forth motions to do two things: First,
establish a special gift fund with the sole purpose of
establishing a fixed senior center in town. The second,
to kickoff the fund with a request to town meeting to
transfer a small sum of money into this account from free
cash. It will be a long journey, but right now, the
virtual senior center takes place in two church halls and
in two conference rooms at Town Hall. A vision and hope
of many, the Board of Selectmen unanimously agreed to
push forward with this project. It will take time, but
the work begins now. Step forward and help out.
Beware: Overrides are Forever
For those looking forward to the annual town meeting in
May, the warrant is stacked with many items and
placeholders for at least a few overrides. An override,
for those still reading, is a permanent increase to your
taxes. Something that will last forever. It is added to
the base amount the town extracts from the community: all
future calculations of Proposition 2 1/2 get based on the
new, higher amount. So be careful campers. An override
for one project empowers the town to jack up its revenue
generators to a higher level year after year.
Fortunately, we have a historically unique way of dealing
with overrides in Georgetown. Put them before the voters
(let the people vote), then just say no.
Town Loses an Icon Shoppers, merchants, office
dwellers and travelers downtown stopped in reverence to
witness the longest funeral procession through Georgetown
Square in recent memory. Dana Lampert, who gave so much
to so many, was called away from this world. His good
thoughts and wishes, and family and bonds, continue to
grow after him, A longtime member of the fire department,
he received the highest of honors and respect from his
fellow brothers and sisters in full uniform.
Lonnie Brennan is a selectman in Georgetown, you can
email him at lonnie@thechocolatecellar.com.
*Send your questions comments to ValleyPatriot@aol.com
The March 2007 Edition
of the Valley Patriot
The Valley Patriot is a Monthly
Publication.
All Contents (C) 2007, Valley Patriot, Inc.
We publish 12,000 newspapers and distribute in Andover,
North Andover,
Methuen, Haverhill, Chelmsford, Georgetown, Groveland,
Boxford, Amesbury,
Lawrence, Dracut, Tewksbury, MERRIMACK, Hampton &
Salisbury Beach, and Lowell.
|
Valley Patriot Archive
Valley Patriot Story
ARCHIVES
Prior Lead
Stories
Prior
Valley Patriot Editorials
Prior Columns by ...
Tom Duggan
Dr. Chuck
Ormsby
Paula
Porten
Ralph
Wilbur
Hanna
Ted Tripp
Valley
Patriot of the Month
Griselsilva.com
Patrick
Blanchette
D.J.
Beauregard
Jim
Cassidy
D.J. Deeb
Marcos
Devers
Bob
Desmarais
Regina
Faticanti
Jim
Fiorentini
Bill Kelly
Wilfredo
Laboy
Peter
Larocque
Vilma Lora
Ed Maguire
Billy
Manzi
Paul
Murano
Mark
Palermo
Hartley
Pleshaw
Debbie
Quinn
Raise Em
Right
Dr. Peary
Kathleen
Corey Rahme
Barney
Reilly
Angel
Rivera
Jim Rurak
Grisel
Silva
Mike
Sullivan
Sandra
Stotsky
Mike
Sweeney
Ken Willette
Scott Wood
Jim
Xenakis
|