Override's passage seen as sign of faith

NORTH ANDOVER -- Supporters of the $1.65 million tax override that passed in North Andover last week called it a triumph of moderation, the result of a grass-roots effort to patch critical needs after years of cuts. They also see it as a sign of renewed faith in local government after rancorous Town Meeting sessions and failed overrides in the recent past.

Most of the Proposition 2 1/2 override money will go to the schools, to reduce class sizes that had exceeded three dozen at the elementary level and to restore art and library programs at the middle school. The 4,161-to-3,761 vote represented one of the largest turnouts in recent town history (47 percent ) and the first operating override passed since 2000.

"To be able to pass a Prop. 2 1/2 override is quite an accomplishment, even if it had only passed by one vote," said Thomas Licciardello, chairman of the Board of Selectmen. "I think it was a confirmation that people are believing and trusting that we're making every effort to do things the right way."

School Committee chairman William W. Kelly credited the "Herculean effort" of a pro-override group of political newcomers, North Andover United, to chip away at the town's inherent fiscal skepticism. He said thankful officials see the result as hard-earned help at a critical time, not as an invitation to send voters future override proposals.

"I view it as a onetime event of an extreme nature," Kelly said. "This should not be something that we should rely on as a way to solve our problems."

Selectman Daniel P. Lanen, an override opponent, agreed that it would be a mistake to see this as a full reversal of town sentiment.

"I talked to quite a few people who said this is a 'last chance.' They were worried about the crowding in the classroom, and that's what kicked people over the edge," he said.

The vote split the town geographically. Precincts 1, 2, and 3 opposed the override by a combined 60 percent; Precincts 4 through 8 supported it by a combined 59 percent. Lanen sees a growing "class divide" between the first three precincts -- generally home to the older, more densely packed homes near downtown -- and the other five, which have many of the town's larger houses developed in "the out-country."

Lanen said he worries about seniors and middle-class families being able to afford the tax increases. "I make decent money, and my wife makes decent money, and I just had a second child now. I have an 8-year-old and an 8-month-old, and I can't even afford my mortgage," said Lanen, a police officer whose wife works as a nurse. "I don't know how these people who have more kids and make less money than we make can even afford to stay in this town anymore."

But Licciardello did not see this election in class terms; it was also not the story of an antitax, prospending reactionary divide, he said. This year, "strident" elements gave way to "the 80 percent of reasonable people who really got the direction going in the right way," he said.

In the past five years, a group led by the North Andover Taxpayers Association lobbied successfully against overrides, using signs, direct-mail fliers, and automated calls, to motivate wide majorities against a series of proposals. This played out against an ebb of public faith in local government, particularly about school spending during the tenure of former superintendent Harry Harutunian, who resigned last year after reports surfaced that he gave a raise to a secretary with whom he was having an affair.

Licciardello, Kelly, and others said local officials worked in the past two years to restore faith with increased scrutiny on budgets and an effort to expand the commercial base with rezoning and development projects, among other efforts. That made majorities of the selectmen, School Committee, and Finance Committee feel more comfortable about endorsing an override, he said.

After Town Meeting last month, North Andover United came together to push for the tax hike. Group leaders called it a middle-of-the-road plan to restore some service and staffing cuts at the school and town levels at a time when municipal budgets are constrained by rapidly rising costs of utilities, health coverage, and certain mandated programs, such as special education. The group, led by political newcomers, attracted about $11,000 in contributions and drew 1,000 residents to sign up for an e-mail list, said Sandy Gleed, its chairwoman.

The override, which permanently raises the tax base for the town, will mean a tax-bill increase of $281 to $5,567 for a $505,800 house in North Andover, the town's median value. Without the override, the tax increase on that same house would have been limited to $109. The increase will show up beginning with the quarterly tax bills mailed in January, Town Manager Mark H. Rees said.

Eric Moskowitz can be reached at emoskowitz@globe.com.