Eleven years after being soundly defeated by nearly 20%, Community Preservation Act (CPA) proponents have decided to take another bite at the apple. Back in 2005, they placed the measure on the municipal ballot. Then, highly informed voters, focused keenly on local issues, were able to give it proper deliberation and rejected it. Having seen the CPA cannot withstand such scrutiny, these same special interests decided hide it on the 2016 Presidential Ballot.
So what is this CPA? Why do Watertown residents from across the political spectrum oppose it? Simply put; it’s a property tax increase. The worst kind of tax increase. It’s a surtax or a tax on a tax. So every tax increase gets taxed again! And by the way if you rent, you’re not exempt. When taxes go up, so don’t rents. The Tax-Escalation Clause is one of the first provisions of a lease.
What vital need will this tax increase fund? The answer is simple — it will fund nothing essential. In fact, as of yet, the CPA backers haven’t presented a single concrete proposal, with any kind of timetable, let alone a price tag. So we really don’t know! They just want us to give them $2 million per year, without knowing the specifics beforehand, so they can go a shopping spree at the Neiman Marcus of Municipal Pork Belly Spending. Yes, there are some guidelines. The money must be spent on open space, historic preservation, and public housing. But if there are essential expenditures needed in these areas, then we ought to know exactly what they are and the details before we agree to increase our taxes.
The funds will be administered by a “special” CPA Committee controlled by the very same special interest groups that want to impose this tax. In other words, more unelected, unaccountable, and shadow government. Yes, the Town Council ultimately has to approve the projects. But the fact remains is that once collected, the money will be spent. Which means if there is no worthy project, they’ll invent one! Face it; the Council will rubber stamp whatever they propose.
Here is the most insidious aspect. Based on projected CPA revenue, the Town can borrow money. That’s all we need is more debt and interest to be paid by residents. What’s worse, is that once we issue debt, we can’t vote out the CPA until the debt is paid off. More often than not, municipal bonds are issued for a 20 year term. Every few years, they can find another project that requires new 20 year bonds. So this unelected shadow government board, will have every incentive and ability to intentionally get us further in debt. Indefinitely! That’s how they’ll insure their continued existence, keep the spigot of tax-money flowing, and they will maintain the power they will yield as the masters of a taxpayer financed slush fund.
We know this happens constantly with government agencies. Take the Turnpike as an example. The tolls were supposed be taken down when the original bonds were paid off. But that would have meant a loss of revenue to fund the political patronage being doled out to cronies. Hence, the Turnpike Authority, issued new bonds in order to justify their existence.
Moving on; let’s talk about the Ponzi scheme being used to sell us this dribble – the matching funds. In 2005, they touted a 100% match for at least several years, and a very significant match thereafter for foreseeable future. Well that proved to be a pipe dream, just as we warned. The matching funds are now treading water to stay above 25%. Should Boston adopt the CPA, it will get 25% or more of the entire fund, leaving the rest to be divided by the remaining 160 communities. The whole set up is a sham. The CPA matching funds are financed by small set fee paid when a home is sold or refinanced. When the real estate market is slow, the money barely trickles in. At the same time, more communities are foolish enough to buy into the pyramid. So it’s like more people trying to eat a smaller pie.
Now let’s discuss timing. If you haven’t heard, our school buildings are in desperate need of repair, renovation, or replacement. That, no doubt, will mean a Prop 2 ½ override, which means a tax increase. Now, remember the CPA is a surtax, so when the override kicks in, the surtax will be calculated on the new higher tax bill. Do you see the vicious spiral?
What these folks are proposing is akin to homeowners who need to spend $10,000 they don’t have on critical home repairs, running out to buy a house full of luxury furniture on credit.
But it gets worse folks. Think about this. After homeowners and renters see their taxes and rents go up to fund a wish list of unnecessary projects, they aren’t going to be keen on approving an override for the schools. The special interest groups recently published a letter to the editor. It says, the CPA will help school funding, not hurt it. And I quote – “Imagine an “outdoor classroom” of restored open space…” You know, if the CPA goes through, our students may well need outdoor classrooms, because fed up, overtaxed residents won’t be able to foot the bill in order to renovate our decrepit school buildings.
It’s taken 900 words to just scratch the surface of this sham. Trust me, I could easily write another 900, and 9,000 after that, to really explain why the CPA must be defeated. On Nov. 8 Vote no on Question # 5, defeat the CPA again!
John DiMascio
Copeland Street
Charlie- Preservation is spelled incorrectly in your title.
Thanks for letting me know!