Residents seek to trim preservation program’s tax surcharge

Seferian, a self-described conservative member of Lexington’s Town Meeting, organized a petition drive for a Town Meeting article that would cut the local Community Preservation Act surcharge on property taxes from 3 percent to 1 percent.

With the town facing several construction projects that may need to be funded through higher property taxes, Seferian said, cutting the surcharge could help offset some of the already steep burden on local property owners.

“We’re saying: ’Hey, give the taxpayer something back in return,’’ Seferian said.

But Seferian said he is facing stiff opposition from some residents of the affluent community, and supporters of the surcharge say the amount that households pay is small considering what the money brings back to the town.

The Community Preservation Act program, which has been adopted by 147 of the state’s 351 cities and towns, provides for a surcharge of up to 3 percent on local property taxes. The proceeds, bolstered by state matching funds, must be spent on affordable housing, open space and recreation, and historical preservation projects.

Catherine Williams, a spokeswoman for the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, said that the CPA program has never been repealed by a member community, and residents in only two of its member communities, Ayer in 2002 and Northfield in 2009, have voted to reduce the surcharge percentage.

If Seferian’s petition article, bearing the signatures of 10 residents, is approved by Town Meeting members, it would then go before voters in a townwide election. This spring’s annual session convenes March 21.

Wendy Manz, chairwoman of the town’s Community Preservation Committee, said that since its adoption by the town in 2006 the surcharge has raised $14.4 million from Lexington taxpayers, and brought in another $6.4 million from the state.

The money has been used to purchase more than 50 acres of farmland and open space, create 24 units of affordable housing, improve drainage on recreational fields, and renovate some of the town’s Colonial-era buildings, among other projects, she pointed out, adding, “We’ve done a huge amount of good.’’

Cutting the surcharge from 3 percent to 1 percent would save the average Lexington household $173 a year, but it would also significantly cut the amount of money the town receives in state matching funds, Manz said.

“I don’t mean to make light of it; these are hard times,’’ she said. “But in terms of what it brings back to the town, the surcharge, even at 3 percent, is a very modest amount.’’

Katherine Roth, associate director of the Community Preservation Coalition, a nonprofit group that advocates for the program statewide, said the benefit of receiving state matching funds has largely deterred communities from repealing the act or reducing the surcharge.

“In almost every case, the effort to revoke the CPA or reduce the surcharge has fallen apart, usually in Town Meeting, because they see the benefits,’’ Roth said.

Seferian said he believes Lexington’s Town Meeting is more liberal than most voters in town, and he believes that its members will vote against reducing the tax and prevent it from appearing on the ballot.

Jane Pagett, a longtime Town Meeting member who is backing Seferian’s proposal, said even though it may be a long shot, it should remind people that some in town have a hard time with the amount of taxes they pay.

“I like to tweak people’s awareness that there’s a world beyond Lexington, and that even in Lexington not everyone lives in a $1.2 million home,’’ she said.

Pagett said she’s concerned about the prospect of Proposition 2 1/2 overrides being approved to pay for several large construction projects in the next decade, including the potential reconstruction of Estabrook Elementary School, where the presence of polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, was discovered last fall. Also, space concerns have raised the idea of multimillion-dollar construction projects for the town’s police and fire facilities.

Pagett said she doesn’t think taxpayers should be asked to pay for the construction projects and the 3 percent surcharge tax at the same time, and said that if the surcharge is cut, voters might be more willing to pay for the needed capital improvements.

Manz, whose husband, Hank, is chairman of the Board of Selectmen, noted that the local CPA surcharge had not deterred residents from approving overrides on two occasions.

However, Seferian pointed out that the state’s contributions have diminished since Lexington started its program, when it provided a dollar-for-dollar match. Last year, it provided about $858,000 in matching funds, or about 28 percent of the more than $3 million paid by town taxpayers, according to the state.

Roth said the percentage has decreased in recent years as more communities adopted the act and received matching funds, and the program has had less money to distribute. The state’s share is funded by a surcharge on Registry of Deeds transactions, and the faltering economy has resulted in fewer real estate sales for the last several years, she said.

The Community Preservation Coalition is supporting a bill before the Legislature that would increase the pool of money and the percentage of matching funds that the state provides, Roth said. The bill has been resubmitted for a third time this year, and Roth and Manz said they are hopeful that it will be approved.

Seferian said he’s skeptical that the state will increase the percentage of matching funds, but Manz said that even at their current rate, the funds “aren’t too shabby.’’

Manz said she thinks the matching funds have been a good deal for Lexington, and she’s hopeful Town Meeting will not support reducing the surcharge.

“But never say never when people are being offered a reduction in their taxes,’’ she said.

Brock Parker can be reached at Brock.globe@gmail.com.