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Coast is clear in Rockport

Email|Link|Comments (1) Posted by mdick May 7, 2008 10:04 AM

The $2,735,000 Proposition 2 1/2 debt exclusion passed by more than a 2-to-1 margin at Tuesday's town election in Rockport.

The vote was 1,230 in favor, 509 opposed. The voter turnout was 34 percent, which Town Clerk Fred Frithsen termed average for a town election.

The override will pay for repairs and capital needs, including school roof repairs, educational technology replacement, replacement of five school buses, town computer systems replacement, a fire truck, and firefighter breathing apparatus.

Because the town is retiring debt in fiscal year 2009, town officials say that the impact will be minimal to taxpayers. The override for all items except the roof repairs are for five years; the roof repair debt will be spread over 20 years.

Sandy Jacques, outgoing Finance Committee chairman, explained that the tax rate is expected to go down in fiscal 2009, and that the impact of the debt exclusion won't be felt on tax bills until 2010 at the earliest, depending on when bonds are issued for the projects and purchases.

-- David Rattigan

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1 comments so far...

I was on the Melrose School Committee when Prop 2 1/2 passed and I was
totally outnumbered there as a conservative who pushed for Back to Basics.
Learning the old fashioned way would cost a fraction of what is spent now on
education and other fancy frills. Whoever heard of schools with swimming
pools and La Scala sized auditoriums etc.
But those who would like to see Property tax relief don't hold your breath.
For anything meaningful to happen the laws would have to be changed, i.e.
"full and fair" house valuations and the inclusion of "growth" in the yearly tax
levy ( that means new construction). The latter enables communities to exceed
the 2 1/2 limits by any amount.

Posted by Susan M. Kelleher May 9, 08 02:45 PM