Proposition 2 1/2 was a major accomplishment from the 1980s to rein in runaway Massachusetts taxes. In fact, many young people may not know that Massachusetts used to be called Taxachusetts. Proposition 2 1/2 limited the growth of local taxes to 2 1/2 percent year over year unless the voters were okay with larger growth that had to be passed by a 2/3 vote each time. Lincoln's supposed conservative taxation will generate over 6 million in extra funds this year alone. What would 2.5% tax growth look like to a Lincoln Taxpayer? That would be $925,000. (2.5% of 37 Million Property taxes ). Yeah Lincoln has not needed a 2 1/2 percent override in many years but please don't misinterpret that as Lincoln is running an efficient town. It's just that we are over taxed to the point that limiting local tax growth to 2.5% doesn't seem to apply to us anymore.
I believe excessive reserves promote wasteful spending on big items. We spent 94 Million on a new school and still ran out of money so that the Town doesn't get the benefit of our enormous net-zero investments. We had a third party buy and install the panels for us and we now pay the owners of the panels monthly electric bills. If more people challenged the wasteful layout and size of the building, maybe we would have gotten a better building in the end with less "value engineering" which lowered school costs and benefits. Maybe it's time to have a diversity of FINCOM members so more viewpoints are represented on the Committee. Who knows, we might force the town to make some hard decisions to become better run and keep to 2 1/2 percent growth of real expenses, not of an inflated budget. Let's respect the taxpayers by providing real budgets without all of the extra padding so that we can get the benefit of Proposition 2 1/2. Peter Buchthal Weston Rd On Mon, Jun 9, 2025 at 9:51 AM Fred Hopengarten < [email protected]> wrote: > May I suggest that the Motion under Article 25 quoted below would benefit, > if something similar is proposed in the future, by providing some context? > > > > For example: > > > > “If the Town votes to appropriate and transfer this amount, the total > would be $nn,nnn,nnn. If the Town does not favor this article, the total > will remain at $nn,nnn,nnn.” > > > > Fred Hopengarten > > 6 Willarch Road > > > > *From:* Lincoln [mailto:[email protected]] *On Behalf Of *Andrew > Payne > *Sent:* Monday, June 09, 2025 7:10 AM > *To:* Karla Gravis > *Cc:* Lincoln Talk > *Subject:* Re: [LincolnTalk] Lincoln’s burdensome taxation practices > > > > Karla G. wrote: > > The situation would be entirely different if we were presented with a > clear, transparent budget each year. That budget would explicitly show how > much free cash is being set aside for future capital projects like the > Community Center. > > The proposed amounts for our Stabilization Fund are not only "explicitly > show[n]", but they're voted on as an individual warrant article each year > (when we're making a contribution). Here's Article 25, printed in the > salmon colored sheets distributed to every voter and available digitally > for the recent TM: > > [image: image.png] > > Source: > https://www.lincolntown.org/DocumentCenter/View/98328/Motions---Final-032625?bidId= > > It’s not FinCom’s role to pre-emptively decide, years in advance and > without public input, whether the town wants to *start saving* for a > Community Center. > > It's explicitly part of fincom's charter to consider long-term capital > needs when proposing budgets, and this is done in conjunction with the > Capital Planning Committee (capcom). In my time on fincom, we were > saving for a *collection* of potential future capital needs (including a > future fire truck, a looming roads project, etc., etc.). Also, if residents > had declined a community center, we had looming renovation needs for Parks > & Rec, as well as Bemis. > > > > With regard to taxing residents of the past for future benefits, I was a > strong proponent of having a reserve policy with an *upper bound* on > reserves for exactly that reason. Fincom approved that policy, and > recommended a budget this fiscal year that returns $900k to residents. > > A transparent approach would have allowed the community to discuss whether > advance saving for discretionary projects is appropriate. > > If a voter prefers to move away from a smoothed/stabilized/gradual > growth/under-budget approach, to a more volatile approach where we have > "spiky" tax jumps, over-budget situations, and (more likely) overrides, > they can lobby for that. Keep in mind: *without spending cuts*, the tax > burden might shift across years, but it won't fundamentally change. > > > The "2nd Budget Workshop" in January is a good meeting to attend; that's > typically where the recommended budget is finalized. > > > > NOTE: I strongly suggest that you focus on specific town-level financial > concerns and (try to) separate out political issues. In my experience, > some will attempt to enlist fincom to take a particular *political* > position based on their own agenda, which is usually not that effective. > The committee's general practice is to pass the political questions to > residents at town meeting. > > > > For example, fincom did not vote to "recommend" the Community Center. In > fact, it *explicitly* said, "*Ultimately, it is the decision of Town > Residents as to their ability and willingness to pay for such a project.*" > > > > One we-vote-therefore-we-are resident's view, > > > > -andy > > > <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=emailclient> > Virus-free.www.avast.com > <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=emailclient> > <#m_-3723142524938105564_DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2> > -- > The LincolnTalk mailing list. > To post, send mail to [email protected]. > Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/ > . > Change your subscription settings at > https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. > >
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