Voters reject tax hike for new station

Residents in Sudbury have rejected a tax increase to fund the construction of an $8.1 million police station, continuing a yearlong seesaw on the proposal. The Oct. 16 vote to turn down the plan followed approval of the proposal by a two-thirds majority of Town Meeting in March, days after voters rejected the proposal the first time.

"It's a disappointment," said Sudbury Town Manager Maureen Valente, "but the board and I truly respect the vote of the residents."

In the spring, Sudbury residents rejected the Proposition 2 1/2 override to pay for the new station by only 53 votes. When the supermajority of Town Meeting approved the proposal a few days later, the Board of Selectmen decided to give residents a second chance to approve the tax increase, and scheduled last week's vote.

"My suspicions are that there are many reasons for and against it," said Selectman Lawrence W. O'Brien, "including the size of the station, price, current state of the economy, and residents' desire to get a little property-tax relief."

Approving the measure would have raised the annual taxes by $141 for the average property in town, but town officials said the plan was timed to kick in at the same time as other bonds were paid off, and the net effect would have been a reduction in the average household tax bill of $8.

Students form nearly 26 percent of Sudbury's population, compared with the state average of about 17 percent, Valente said. The town has invested more than $100 million in education infrastructure over the past 10 years, leaving little room in the budget for other municipal facilities. To pay for the police station, officials had to ask voters to override the limits of the state's property tax law, Proposition 2 1/2.

The 2,229-1,670 vote left policy makers scratching their heads last week, and frustrated police with a building that they say is falling apart.

"We will have to investigate this further," said O'Brien. "The bottom line is that an upgrade of some sort from the current situation is necessary."

The Sudbury Police Department occupies a 6,400-square-foot station built in 1961. The department has complained about heating system problems, exposed wires, and a lack of office space in the building.

"You have people giving statements about domestic violence in hallways, and 21 officers sharing one work station to check mail and write reports," said Police Chief Peter Fadgen, who described the working conditions in the Boston Post Road facility as "deplorable."

"I understand why people voted the way they did," Fadgen said, "but I felt as though I owed it as a manager and as a police chief to the people who work for me to put it out there and let people know what the working conditions are."

The proposal called for a 18,500-square-foot police station on town land near the firehouse. Construction would cost $6.5 million, with another $1.6 million proposed for equipment and computers for a new joint public-safety communications center, which would handle all of the town's 911 calls. Currently, 911 calls in Sudbury are directed to police dispatchers, who redirect calls for fire and medical emergencies.

"It is strongly recommended that we switch to an integrated 911 service for police, fire, and ambulance," Valente said. An integrated service would reduce response times and delays for emergency calls, she said.

In the meantime, O'Brien said, the potential short-term repairs such as replacing a roof, faulty wiring, and a malfunctioning heating system at the current station may cost taxpayers more in the long run.

"It's beyond its current life span," O'Brien said of the building. "Do we make cost-effective repairs, or do we make some major expenditures now and try to come up with an answer for somewhere down the road in a couple of years?"