Wenham faces inevitability of a tax hike

When heavy rain hit the region last month, Peter Hersee was glad to see that Wenham's newly installed culverts were up to the task.

"They functioned pretty well. I got no calls," the Board of Selectmen chairman said, adding that he didn't think Town Administrator Jeff Chelgren received any calls either.

That's in stark contrast to the scenario last May, when record rainfall backed up the old culverts and flooded roads and basements. Those problems precipitated a September 2006 vote to support borrowing $1.8 million to replace three culverts and do other road repairs. The town is expecting a reimbursement of 80 percent for the emergency repairs, but residents will still feel a hit on their property tax bills.

That is one of the factors that may raise the tax levy for Wenham voters beyond the restrictions of Proposition 2 1/2 in fiscal year 2008.

At the Town Meeting and election Saturday, residents also will vote on proposals for a $154,817 override to support the Hamilton-Wenham Regional School District and a $113,000 capital exclusion to purchase a highway department truck and for an electrical retrofit for the Buker School as an emergency shelter.

There is also another drainage project in front of voters, a debt exclusion for a $540,000 road-and-culvert repair on Essex Street that is not backed by the Finance and Advisory Committee.

But even if that article is withdrawn at Town Meeting, the potential tax increase for Wenham voters is 10.97 percent.

"I'm very disappointed to have to tell the taxpayers that this is the consequence of the [budget] proposal, and much of the increase is the consequence of actions taken at prior meetings," said Jack Wilhelm, chairman of the Finance and Advisory Committee.

In large part, he was referring to the debt payments on town building projects, including the $6.85 million Town Hall-Police Station project approved in several debt exclusion votes from 2002 to May 2006 and the culverts.

Because the Town Hall-Police Station project was bonded in fiscal year 2007, the full impact will be felt for the first time in fiscal year 2008.

"Even though in the voters' minds we did this three or four years ago, the full effect of the debt payments is not being realized until fiscal '08," Wilhelm said.

He noted that if the budget goes through as his committee recommends, Wenham's increases over five years will total 35 percent.

Wenham's tax base is 96.7 percent residential. Like many communities, the town has found it difficult to achieve a balance between revenues and rising costs in municipal government, including energy, health benefits, and schools.

A former member of the Board of Assessors, Wilhelm is sympathetic to residents who find it tough to keep up with the town's property tax rate.

On the other hand, he knows parents who'd like to see more spent on the Hamilton-Wenham Regional School District, which is seeking an override despite deep cuts.

Voters have been supportive of overrides, and in the past have taken guidance from the Finance and Advisory Committee. That bodes well for supporters of the school district and for the capital exclusion, which are being supported by both the committee and the Board of Selectmen.

The culvert project, on the other hand, may not receive support from either body. Wilhelm said his committee couldn't support the project this year, particularly since Wenham is still waiting for the state and federal reimbursement from the previous emergency culvert work.

"If we do get reimbursed in the next few months and are assured that a majority of the $540,000 will get reimbursed, then the Finance and Advisory Committee would again review the situation," said Wilhelm, who said engineers have deemed that it doesn't require an emergency fix.

The Board of Selectmen was scheduled to vote on whether to support the culvert proposal this week and Hersee said his board may take the lead from the Finance and Advisory Committee.

"I'm not willing to go to the mat on this if Jack is against it," Hersee said.

Wenham has tried to work within the constraints of Proposition 2 1/2 by being conservative in its spending, and with support from those who live and work in town.

In 2006, taking guidance from an Insurance Advisory Committee made up of union and nonunion employees, retirees, and town administrators, employees accepted a new arrangement that included higher copayments for their health insurance as a way to reduce the overall cost of the plan. As a result, the increase in health insurance to the town was just 1.5 percent this year, finance director Sarah Johnson said.

Wenham residents have shown faith in their officials by supporting overrides.

For example, the vote for the culvert project last fall came just a few months after the town supported a $91,082 override for the Hamilton-Wenham Regional School District's operating expenses.