What is an underride?

According to the Massachusetts Municipal Association website Proposition 2 1/2 allows a community to reduce its levy limit by passing an underride, according to the Division of Local Services. When an underride is passed, the levy limit for the year is calculated by subtracting the amount of the underride. The underride results in a permanent decrease in the levy limit of a community because it reduces the base upon which levy limits are calculated for future years. Simply put, an underride is the exact opposite of a Proposition 2 1/2 override.

A majority vote of a community’s board of selectmen or town or city council (with the mayor’s approval if required by law) allows an underride question to be placed on the ballot. An underride question may also be placed on the ballot by a local citizen initiative procedure, if one is provided by law. An underride question must state a dollar amount and requires a majority vote by the electorate.

Since 1994, a total of nine underride questions have been placed on ballots in eight communities, according to the DLS. Eight of these questions have been approved by voters, the largest being a $2 million reduction in Plymouth for fiscal 1996. The other underrides that passed were in Ayer, Holland, Orleans, Shelburne, Upton and Williamsburg (twice), all for amounts below $325,000. A proposed reduction of $388,353 was rejected by voters in Norton in 1994.

For more information see the DLS publication “Levy Limits: A Primer on Proposition 2 1/2,” which can be found on the DLS Web site (www.dls.state.ma.us/publics.htm).