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Coverage of Prop 21/2 override campaigns in more than 30 communities in Greater Boston.
Contributors
John Drake is a reporter in the Boston Globe's Globe West bureau.
Recent ReviewsMelissa Beecher is a correspondent in the Globe's West and NorthWest bureaus. Christine Wallgren is a correspondent in the Globe South bureau. Martin Finucane is an editor in Globe West. David Dahl is the Globe's regional editor.
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MAR 26
Sudbury Lincoln MAR 27 Randolph Concord MAR 31 Scituate Walpole APR 3 Dartmouth APR 7 East Bridgewater Rockport APR 9 Kingston * APR 10 Needham APR 14 Rockland APR 24 Saugus Westwood Gloucester APR 28 Marshfield April 30 Merrimac MAY 1 Shrewsbury MAY 7 Stoneham May 8 Rowley Salisbury MAY 19 Middleborough *Town meeting vote |
« Raynham voters will have options on school budget | Main | Prospects for approval grim, Mansfield officials withdraw override plan » Friday, May 18, 2007Will Norton voters finally warm up to tax hike?Norton voters, who have never supported a proposition 2 1/2 override, will consider two proposals during a special election on June 26. Selectmen scheduled the election shortly after Town Meeting, on May 14, approved a $1.9 million temporary tax increase, called a debt exclusion, to pay off the debt on the middle school construction project, and a $1.076-million permanent tax increase, called an override, to fully fund the school’s $24 million budget for the upcoming year. School Superintendent Patricia Ansay said the latter amount would allow the school department to restore seven of the 16 teaching positions lost last year, when a $2.6 million override failed by a 2-to-1 margin. It would also allow the school department to reopen the school libraries that had closed and eliminate user fees that were put in place during the current year. About $80,000 of the total would cover the insurance costs for the seven new staff members. The $1.9 million debt exclusion would add about $63 to the tax bill on the average-priced home of $352,000 next year, but the yearly amount would then slowly decrease. The $1.076 million override would add about $154 to the yearly tax bill on that average priced home. Tax increases generally fare well at town meetings, but the ballot vote is the true test. Ansay said if this override fails, there are no positions at the schools left to cut. “We’re at the bare minimum,” she said. -- Christine Wallgren Posted by John C. Drake at 01:54 PM
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