7 communities pushing to raise taxes for projects

Rockland residents yesterday voted 2,092 to 942 to raise property taxes to build an $86 million middle and high school, approving the second such tax increase in six months by a more than 2 to 1 margin.

Over the next month, at least six other Bay State towns - Billerica, Hamilton, Needham, Norfolk, Wayland, and Wenham - will hold similar special elections, seeking debt exclusion to pay for big-ticket renovation or school construction.

Most of the projects have been in the pipeline for years, but now the final step is coming amid grim economic conditions. With the state offering millions of dollars in matching money, the towns have little choice but to ask for a tax increase that will raise enough money to match the state’s share.

“It’s a difficult time for everyone, ’’ said Marilyn Werkheiser, a member of the Rockland School Committee, referring to the weak economy. “But I think people really understand the need to do these things [increase taxes] to make our town better.’’

This year, 29 communities have voted on property tax increases, according to the Massachusetts Municipal Association, a trade group representing cities and towns. Of that number, 15 were for general overrides, with seven winning approval. The other 14 were debt exclusions, for which the association did not track results. “Compared to prior years, it’s been fairly quiet,’’ said John Robertson, deputy legislative director for the association.

The latest round of property tax requests, under the state’s Proposition 2 1/2 law, is triggered by requirements of the Massachusetts School Building Authority.

A flurry of votes aim to meet a 120-day deadline, which is up Jan. 1, for a community or school district to finalize funding for a project or risk losing reimbursement from the Massachusetts School Building Authority. The authority approved 15 new projects, with reimbursements totaling $321 million on Sept. 30. The state’s share of the cost ranges from 64 percent for Rockland to 40 percent for projects in Needham and Wayland, according to the MSBA.

The 15 projects were among the largest number approved at a board meeting this year.

“The list was quite long,’’ said Emily Mahlman, a spokeswoman for the state agency. “Communities are now getting their finances in order.’’

In Rockland, the debt exclusion - a temporary tax increase allowed under the state’s Proposition 2 1/2 property tax cap - would raise taxes by $23 next year. But the amount would gradually rise to $400, according to estimates. Voters in May approved a $2.8 million permanent tax increase to keep an elementary school open.

Rockland is due to receive $53 million, one of the highest state reimbursement grants awarded this year. The project would build a new middle school, renovate the high school, and connect the two buildings.

“This would be a brand-new facility, right smack in the middle of town,’’ said John W. Rogers, the chairman of the School Building Committee and a retired Rockland school superintendent for whom the middle school is named. “It would take care of our building needs for the next 50 years.’’

But fiscal conservatives caution voters should not get swept up with the promise of state money, particularly as Massachusetts battles a $600 million deficit. “The state is spending money it doesn’t have,’’ said Barbara Anderson, executive director of Citizens for Limited Taxation, the taxpayer group that pushed for the passage of Proposition 2 1/2 passage. “I think voters should stop and think: ‘Gee, are some of my neighbors unemployed or living on fixed incomes? Even if I can afford it, should I be putting this onto my neighbors?’ ’’

Holly Horrigan of Needham thinks the proposed debt exclusion to pay for the $27.4 million renovation of her town’s Newman Elementary School is ill-timed.

“I think the town officials who put this package together are frankly out of touch with the economic realities that many members of the community and state are experiencing,’’ said Horrigan, a mother of two children at the school. “I think we should have learned by now that buying on credit . . . is a very bad idea.’’

Many of the current projects were stymied in the past by many factors, such as a state moratorium on new funding for school building projects in 2004. Under new state regulations, a community or school district must have a plan to finance the entire cost of a project, before it would be eligible for a state reimbursement grant. The state reimburses for design and construction costs, but not to buy or improve land for a project. If the 120-day funding deadline is not met, a project has to be resubmitted, with no promise of receiving the same rate of reimbursement.

“One concern of the new program is that cities and towns may have to pay a much bigger share if a [debt exclusion] is rejected,’’ said Robertson, of the MMA. “What happens then?’’

Proponents of school projects are betting on the promise of state reimbursement to help them win at the ballot box.

Wayland voters three times have rejected debt exclusions to build a new high school. Now, with the approval for 62 percent reimbursement, or about $25 million, the odds are better with this proposal, observers said.

“We’re contracted for 40 cents [reimbursement] on the dollar,’’ said Joseph Nolan, chairman of the Wayland Board of Selectmen, which voted 5 to 0 to place the debt exclusion question on the ballot. “That’s huge in this economy.’’

This week, Wayland voters will take two votes on whether to finance a new $70 million high school. On Tuesday, a special election will be held to approve a debt exclusion. The next day, a special Town Meeting will be held to authorize bonds to pay for the project over the next 25 years, according to the funding plan. “They’re big votes,’’ said Lea Anderson, chairwoman of the Wayland High School Building Committee. “There is no way the town can afford to pay for it without the funding approved.’’

Billerica, where a special election will be held Nov. 21, could not afford to pay for the new $33.6 million Parker Elementary School out of the town or School Department budget. “We pride ourselves on being able to do things in budget,’’ said Marc Lombardo, chairman of the Board of Selectmen. “A project like this, however, is just too much of a cost.’’

Voters in Hamilton and Wenham, which share a regional school district, will hold separate votes to approve a $1.5 million debt exclusion to replace the heating system at Cutler Elementary School, a project which is due to receive 42.5 percent state reimbursement. Hamilton votes on Nov. 24 and Wenham on Dec. 17, officials said.

Norfolk and Needham have put debt exclusion proposals on the ballot of the Dec. 8 special state primary election to fill the seat of the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy. Norfolk is seeking $37 million to replace Freeman-Centennial School. The town is in line to receive 53 percent reimbursement, or $17.2 million.

“There is no way we would ask the voters to bear the full cost,’’ said Beth Gilbert, a School Committee member who also sits on the School Building Committee. “Right now, there are historically low construction costs . . . That’s another advantage.’’

Needham is due to receive a 40 percent state reimbursement, or about $8.6 million, to renovate the Newman school.

“We are convinced that this is a sound project and a fiscally prudent project,’’ said Caroline Sabin, an organizer of Citizens for Needham Schools, a nonprofit that lobbies for the public schools. “It’s the right time.’

Globe Correspondent David Rattigan contributed to this story. Kathy McCabe can be reached at kmccabe@globe.com