The Greenfield City Council was wise when a majority voted, 7-5, to put adoption of the Community Preservation Act (CPA) on the Election Day ballot in November.
To recap, the CPA allows communities to create a local fund for open space protection, historic preservation, affordable housing and outdoor recreation through the imposition of a surcharge of between .5 and 3 percent of the tax levy against real property; in Greenfield, the proposed surcharge is 1 percent starting in the 2022 fiscal year. The money gets matched by the commonwealth according to a sliding scale. The end result is the proverbial pot of gold at the end of the rainbow — money the city can use for pet projects that might otherwise never get funded.
Seven towns in Franklin County have already adopted the Community Preservation Act: Conway, Deerfield, Leverett, Northfield, Shutesbury, Sunderland and Whately. In Northfield, for example, projects funded through the CPA have included restoration and renovation at Dickinson Memorial Library; professional cataloguing of historic sites and homes; renovations at Squakheag Village affordable housing; conservation of land that is now the site of the accessible Gunnery Sgt. Jeffrey S. Ames Trail, construction of a Civil War memorial next to Town Hall and a new playground at Northfield Elementary School. In Conway, CPA money was used to repair the town swimming pool. In Sunderland, CPA money made possible the town’s first real softball field, Merritt Field. In Whately, CPA money helped renovate its historic Town Hall building.
Municipalities must adopt the CPA by ballot referendum — hence, the City Council’s recent discussion. Some councilors didn’t want it on the ballot at all. Precinct 3 City Councilor Virginia DeSorgher said, “I think the timing is difficult … We just asked the taxpayers to fund the library.” Precinct 2 City Councilor Dan Guin agreed, suggesting the matter could be taken up in the future. Likewise, Precinct 1 City Councilor Ed Jarvis said, “I heard ‘we’re sick and tired of taxes.’”
On the other hand, Precinct 9 City Councilor Norman Hirschfeld said he previously lived in Waltham, which adopted the act and where it has been successful at generating money to develop affordable housing. “It’s been a really good program,” Hirschfeld said. Precinct 5 City Councilor Timothy Dolan said, “I think it would be irresponsible not to give voters the opportunity to do this calculation for themselves and balance the things that they value, in terms of housing or open space, with the cost.”
In the ensuing months, proponents including Karen “Rudy” Renaud, who submitted the act for consideration in September, will no doubt be making their case to Greenfield voters for its adoption. They may come up with some tantalizing projects to convince voters to part with a small additional amount of money.
We believe there is no downside to putting adoption of the Community Preservation Act to a vote of the populace. Being a property tax increase, it will be a hard sell, but voters should not be denied the opportunity to decide for themselves.