A mixed tally on overrides
Survey finds voters support some taxes
Voters in 13 area communities approved property-tax increases this spring, while those in nine other communities said no to requests to override Proposition 2 1/2.
A Globe review of election results in the 22 communities found voters more likely to approve raising taxes for capital improvement projects and equipment purchases - through debt-exclusion overrides - than they were to OK permanent tax increases to close gaps in municipal or school operating budgets.
In all nine of the communities that turned down override proposals, the extra tax money would have been used to bolster budgets. Such general, or operational, overrides passed in five of the 13 communities that approved tax increases. In eight of these communities, the overrides called for bringing in additional revenue only for capital improvements or new equipment.
Chip Faulkner, associate director of Citizens for Limited Taxation, a statewide group that was an architect of Proposition 2 1/2's passage in the early 1980s, said the election results are not unusual.
"One thing that has been consistent is, if you ask for a straight increase in cash, those have a much higher failure rate than a debt exclusion," Faulkner said.
"When you ask people to spend money for a specific purpose, like an elementary school or a firehouse, you have a much better chance of passing it."
Proposition 2 1/2 limits annual increases in local property taxes to 2.5 percent of the previous year's total tax levy, plus assessments for new development. To raise taxes beyond 2.5 percent, officials must gain the approval of the community's voters.
John Robertson, deputy legislative director for the Massachusetts Municipal Association, said that at least 81 cities and towns across the state have either held an override election or are scheduled to put one on the ballot this year. That's down from last year, when 109 of the state's 351 communities made similar requests.
"Given the economy, the price of homes and home sales, and the price of gas, communities are only going to the ballot if there's a really compelling reason to do so," Robertson said.
The municipal association, a nonprofit advocacy group, has reported that 47 communities have held votes on operational overrides, and the requests were approved in 22, raising a combined $32.7 million in new taxes. Four more communities have plans to hold similar override requests this year, records show.
Among area communities, there was no shortage of elections to watch or drama to unfold this spring.
Much of the attention was lavished upon Newton, where voters turned down a $12 million Proposition 2 1/2 operational override that was earmarked by officials for schoolteachers, the branch libraries, and other city services for the new fiscal year.
"Certainly, in Newton, there was a general belief that the city was not managing people's money well, and that they were making extravagant payments to things handled poorly, the prime example being Newton North High School," said Jeff Seideman, cochairman of Newton for Fiscal Responsibility, a citizens organization that opposed the override.
The estimated cost of the new Newton North facility has ballooned to $197.5 million, and the project has been cited by state treasurer Timothy Cahill, among others, as an example of mismanagement.
Furthermore, Seideman said, "we have a general societal feeling that expenses are growing everywhere around us, and everyone else has to figure out a way to live within their means. While everyone else is tightening their belts," he said, Newton's voters "didn't feel the city was doing so."
Rob Gifford, cochairman of Move Newton Forward, a citizens group advocating for the override, said budget cuts have been implemented throughout the city and schools, and some - particularly the closure of the Newton Free Library's four neighborhood branches - have led to complaints by community residents.
Gifford pointed not only to economic concerns but also to the school project's cost escalations as probable reasons for the override's defeat. "There's a lot of anger about that and questions about how that project is going on that caused some of our 'yes' voters to stay home or vote 'no,' " he said.
Meanwhile, in Shrewsbury, where residents have never approved an operational override, voters kept the streak alive by rejecting a request for $1.5 million that would have funded school and town services for the 2009 fiscal year, which started Tuesday.
And voters in Sudbury turned down two alternatives for overriding Proposition 2 1/2, one for $1.8 million and the other for $2.8 million, and will see school cuts, as well as reduced police and firefighter overtime and rising fees.
But there were also several instances of tax increases winning approval. In Millis, voters agreed to purchase a $400,000 firetruck through a debt-exclusion override, as well as to raise taxes by $180,000 to pay for additional fire and emergency medical staffing.
Natick passed a $3.9 million operational override to cover schools, library, and police services, and Wayland residents approved a $1.9 million tax increase to bolster the town's operating budget, as well as a $1.93 million debt-exclusion override to pay for new town vehicles and school technology equipment.
Robertson said the nearly 50-50 approval rate for general overrides "is roughly the same as the past couple of years." Even though times are more difficult, he said, local officials "are making a compelling case to voters, and voters are responding positively."
Among the 81 communities requesting tax increases, there also were 52 proposals to provide funds for capital improvements, such as schools or building renovations, or for equipment purchases, Robertson said.
"Communities really want to maintain their infrastructure," he said. "Many have made investments in buildings, water and sewer, and highways, and they don't want them to fall into disrepair, even in tough times."
Robertson said that it's difficult to pick out trends, as "every community has its own story, politics are different in every community."
But no matter the details of a community's particular story, don't look for problems to vanish next override season, Robertson warned. Citing slowing growth in communities, declining motor-vehicle excise taxes, and stagnant state aid, as well as rising health-insurance and energy costs, "it's hard to see any relief next year," he said.
"I think we'll still be seeing a lot of communities going to the ballot." 