Boxford man wins effort to put CPA repeal before Town Meeting

Seven years ago, Boxford was part of the first wave of communities to adopt the state's Community Preservation Act. Now a local resident hopes to make the town the first to repeal it.

John P. McCormack collected the signatures needed to place a proposal before the May 13 Annual Town Meeting revoking the town's acceptance of the state law. If it passes, the repeal also would need to be approved by voters in a referendum that would be included on the state election ballot in November.

The 2000 Community Preservation Act allows municipalities to levy a surcharge of up to 3 percent on property taxes to fund open space, affordable housing, historic preservation, and recreation projects. The state contributes matching dollars.

The proposed repeal would seem to face tall odds. To date, 130 cities and towns have adopted the CPA and not one has repealed it, according to the Community Preservation Coalition. The only time a repeal made the ballot was in Hingham, where it failed in 2006.

Similarly, only once have voters reduced a community's surcharge: in Ayer, from 3 to 1 percent, in 2002.

Other attempts to reduce the surcharge have failed, including locally: in Newburyport in 2006; in Rockport last fall; and most recently in Nahant, in a Town Meeting vote last Saturday.

In Boxford, the Board of Selectmen, the Finance Committee, and the Community Preservation Committee all oppose the repeal.

McCormack noted that communities have to wait five years after adopting the act to consider a repeal, so there hasn't been much opportunity to try one. "All I can say is it's worth putting it before voters to see what they think," he said.

Boxford was among the initial 27 communities to embrace the law in 2001. The town has a 3 percent surcharge, with certain exemptions. The owner of an average home valued at about $678,000 will pay a $223 surcharge in fiscal 2008.

Over the years, Boxford has used its CPA revenues for a number of land acquisitions, including the purchases of the 135-acre Sawyer-Richardson property in 2002; 29 acres of the Anvil Farm in 2006; and the 14.5-acre Cargill property last spring, all for conservation. The town also bought the 75-acre Haynes land last fall for a combination of conservation, recreation, and affordable housing.

CPA funding for historic preservation has included $698,000 appropriated last year for renovations to the town's historic Lincoln Hall.

There have been several appropriations for affordable housing, including $120,000 in 2004 for the Housing Partnership Committee to explore opportunities on town-owned sites.

Some of that money went for studies related to West Commons, a proposal defeated at Town Meeting last year that called for four affordable housing units and a new baseball field on town land in west Boxford.

"I think it's been a great tool for the town," said Peter Delaney, chairman of the Community Preservation Committee.

An unsuccessful candidate for selectman last year, McCormack was among a group of neighbors who opposed a proposal that the town spend $693,000 in CPA funds to build West Commons.

He said part of the argument for repeal is the pending decline in state matching funds.

McCormack contended that the Community Preservation Committee, which recommends disbursements of the town's CPA funds, has an agenda to build subsidized housing in town, even when it is not economical to do so.

"We have to try as a CPA committee to utilize the money for all the purposes of the CPA, and one of them is community housing," said Delaney, dismissing the idea that the committee has an agenda narrowly focused on housing.

Until now, local CPA revenues have been fully matched by a state trust fund generated from fees at registries of deeds.

But due to the growing number of CPA communities and a decline in fee revenues, the state projects that all communities will receive a 65 percent match in an initial round of funding next fall for fiscal 2008. Those communities with 3 percent surcharges will then be eligible for additional matching funds.

"I tend to think what people voted for the CPA for was open space preservation, recreation land, and historic preservation," McCormack said.

But he said future state matching dollars for those projects will be minimal, given the overall decline in state funding and the requirement that the town set aside dollars for affordable housing.

At least 10 percent of CPA fund revenues must go to affordable housing, open space, and historic preservation.

But Delaney said that even if the town's match were to fall, "That's 65 cents of every dollar you put into it. That's still a pretty good deal."

Boxford generated $481,000 in local CPA revenues in fiscal 2007, and received the same amount in a state match, said Kathleen Benevento, the town's finance director. She estimated the town will generate $522,000 in local revenues this fiscal year and estimates a two-thirds state match, or about $336,000.

Board of Selectmen chairman Stephen Davis said his board strongly favors continuing with the CPA.

"It allows us to buy any number of things" at reduced price, he said, citing the state match.

Davis noted that even if the repeal is adopted, the surcharge would have to remain in place at some level until all the debt for which its Community Preservation Fund is the funding source is repaid.

Benevento said there are currently three bonds being repaid with CPA money, two of which - the Haynes and Lincoln Hall projects - have 20 years remaining on them and the other - the Sawyer-Richardson project - 15 years.