Editor’s Note: This is the third story in several this week about ballot questions — some of which are statewide, and others are local — that voters will consider in the Nov. 3 general election.
GREENFIELD — In addition to the two statewide ballot questions, Greenfield voters will have an extra question to consider when they head to the polls for the Nov. 3 general election — whether the city should adopt the Community Preservation Act.
City Council Vice President Otis Wheeler said if the Community Preservation Act is adopted, it would impose a surcharge of 1 percent on the annual property tax levy of each individual taxpayer, not an overall increase.
“That’s a very important distinction,” Wheeler said. “It’s not an increase to the overall tax rate, but to each person’s tax bill.”
City Council voted 7 to 5 earlier this year to place the question on the November ballot. If approved, Greenfield would establish a fund used to acquire, create and preserve open space, including land for parks and recreational use; protect public drinking water sources, aquifers, wetlands, farmland, forests, marshes, scenic areas and wildlife preserves; restore historic buildings and sites; and create, preserve and restore affordable housing.
The Community Preservation Act is a state law passed in 2000 that allows cities and towns to adopt it by imposing a surcharge. Revenues come from that surcharge as well as the state’s Community Preservation Trust Fund. City Council voted that the surcharge in Greenfield would be 1 percent.
“Some people would be exempt from the surcharge, including people who qualify for low-income housing or low- to moderate-income senior housing,” City Clerk Kathy Scott explained. “A taxpayer receiving a regular property tax abatement or exemption would receive a pro-rata reduction in the surcharge.”
After a city or town imposes a surcharge on local property taxes, the state then matches the amount by a certain percentage, depending on where the city or town decides to cap its contribution. The state receives money from each town — which, when rates increase in November, will be a $50 recording fee at the registries of deeds, and a $25 fee for municipal lien certificates — and that money is redistributed to member towns and cities.
Greenfield would establish a Community Preservation Committee to study community preservation resources, possibilities and needs, and that committee would then make annual recommendations to City Council regarding how to spend the money.
The ballot question needs a majority vote to pass. State law requires adoption of the Community Preservation Act be decided by voters rather than by a government body.
Former City Council President Karen “Rudy” Renaud submitted the Community Preservation Act for consideration in September 2019, and the matter was tabled. The Ways and Means Committee then began discussing it in December.
Wheeler said the Community Preservation Act is a way to enact something close to a progressive tax that essentially puts money in the bank and would allow the city to spend from savings rather than continuing to borrow for some capital projects.
“I’ll be voting for it and I hope others do, as well,” he said. “If it fails, we’ll still have a barometer of what kind of support it has, and I’m sure it would likely come back again someday, though I probably wouldn’t bring it back. It’s such a good idea.”
Similarly, the Community Preservation Coalition calls the act a “smart-growth tool” that helps communities preserve open space and historic sites, create affordable housing and develop outdoor recreational facilities. The act also helps strengthen the state and local economies by expanding housing opportunities and construction jobs, and by supporting tourism through preservation of historic and natural resources.
Wheeler said there is a “clear benefit” for Greenfield to adopt the Community Preservation Act.
“There hasn’t been a big push for it this year — no one has been going door-to-door or campaigning for it — because of the pandemic,” Wheeler said. “It’s difficult to campaign in a year like this one. But it remains on the ballot, and people will have a chance to vote for or against it.”
Seven Franklin County towns have already adopted the Community Preservation Act: Conway, Deerfield, Leverett, Northfield, Shutesbury, Sunderland and Whately.
The presidential election will be held Nov. 3 at Greenfield High School, 21 Barr Ave., from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Additionally, early voting will continue through Friday, Oct. 30, at City Hall on Court Square (enter through the side door), or voters can opt to vote by mail.
Reach Anita Fritz at 413-772-9591 or afritz@recorder.com. Information from the State House News Service was used in this report.