Canton voters approve $4.5 million override
By Globe Staff
Voters in Canton approved a $4.5 million tax override yesterday, the town's second override in the 28 years the state’s Proposition 2 1/2 tax-limiting law has been in place.
“I think it certainly reflects the strength of the Canton community. Even during difficult financial times, the people of Canton absorbed the information and made the decision to invest in their community,” said Bob Burr, the chairman of the board of selectmen.
Under the law, the amount of property taxes raised by a community can only climb by 2 1/2 percent per year, with allowances for new growth. To raises taxes further than that, a community must vote to override the law.
Burr said the extra tax money would be used to restore a variety of cuts the town suffered in the fiscal 2008 budget in the schools and public safety agencies. It will also allow the town to cope with rising energy costs.
The town passed a smaller override in 1982. It has also approved debt exclusion overrides, which are temporary tax increases meant to pay for capital projects, Burr said.
Burr said he didn’t expect another override proposal in town any time soon. "I'm optimistic that a request for another override is not in the foreseeable future," he said.
Geoff Beckwith, executive director of the Massachusetts Municipal Association, said that the passage of an override by a town that had long avoided one “underscores how deep and wide the fiscal distress is” in cities and towns across the state.
Beckwith said towns are facing tough times because of stagnant state aid and rising costs for everything from construction to heating oil to health insurance.
