State CPA aid plunging

Preservation cash may fall even more

Thanks in part to the sluggish real estate market, a key source of state funding that some communities use to buy green space and affordable housing has been reduced - with larger cuts due next year.

About 20 communities, ranging from the large, such as Quincy and Plymouth, to the small, such as Marion and Wareham, saw their funding through the Community Preservation Act drop an average of 20 percent.

But the impact varies, from about 1.5 percent to more than 30 percent.

Plymouth saw its funding drop from about $1.1 million to $760,000, while Carver slipped from $326,000 to $321,000, according to data released last week by the state Department of Revenue's Division of Local Services.

The reductions leave the communities with fewer resources to purchase open land, preserve historical structures, and create recreational facilities.

And the cuts could be much steeper next year, with the state dropping its match of what communities raise by roughly two-thirds, said Robert R. Bliss, Department of Revenue spokesman.

"No one is happy about it," said Stuart Saginor, executive director of the Community Preservation Coalition, a nonprofit that represents program communities and other groups. "Where we all got concerned is the projection of a 35 percent match for next year."

Statewide, 140 communities have adopted the Community Preservation Act, which was designed as a way to help towns buy open space or for other programs. The program, which began in 2000, is funded both locally and by the state.

Communities raise money through a surcharge of up to 3 percent on property taxes. The state raises its contribution through a surcharge on real estate transactions and until this year matched the amount raised by towns dollar for dollar.

But a combination of a slower real estate market and more towns opting into the program has left less state money available. The state is handing out about $55 million this year, down from $68 million. How much a town receives varies, depending on how much it raises for itself and a state formula.

If there is a bright side, it's that real estate prices have dropped, making it somewhat easier to purchase open space. But communities are already worrying about the projected reductions for next year.

Saginor said a bill before the Legislature would raise the surcharge on real estate transactions so the state could provide at least a 75 percent match on what towns raise. The program "is the best funding source for municipalities to preserve historic buildings, or building affordable housing, or protecting and creating valuable open space and recreational areas," he said.

The program gives towns leeway to focus on what they see as their most pressing needs.

"Plymouth likes historic preservation, Marshfield has done a terrific job focusing on open space, while Cambridge is all about housing," he said. "It is different for every community."

Marshfield is in the middle process of buying more than 40 acres of open space in three separate parcels, said Jose Carreiro, chairman of the Community Preservation Committee.

The program can be used to pay for some town projects, helping ease budget pressure on communities. For instance, Hanover a few years ago used preservation act money to purchase land that can used for playing fields and open space. If not for that money, the town would have had to pass an override.

"We're keeping the town from having to cough up money for things like playing fields," said Diane Campbell, chairwoman of the Hanover Conservation Preservation Committee.

This year, the town spent $750,000 of program money to buy a house and barn on Center Street. The purchase was a program trifecta - it preserved a historic building and 4 or 5 acres of open space, and will provide for affordable housing.

Cohasset has used the money for a variety of purchases, such as buying land to protect water resources and an engineering study on the town common duck pond. It is spending $300,000 to replace windows in historic Town Hall, said Town Manager William R. Griffin.

Matt Carroll can be reached at mcarroll@globe.com.