A Look At Other Underrides - #1- Upton in 2001

An underride has been used only 13 times since Proposition 2 1/2 was enacted. It's a fair question--what led those other communities to reduce their levy limit? The answers are instructive to Amesbury.

In 2001, the Town of Upton approved an underride for $143,477. Why? Previously, the Town had approved an override worth more then that for the construction of new school facilities. (In fact, Upton had resorted to overrides more than once before this to pay for capital and school costs that outran the allowed levy limit.) The school project came in costing less than expected. The underride was enacted to withdraw that unexpected savings from the overall tax base and return the base to a lower level.

This underride, then, was a reasonable action for the responsible management of Town finances. It was tied to specific circumstances that allowed the community to judge that it had clear excess capacity tied to a previous override and that removing that capacity would not affect services. This is in contrast to Amesbury's proposed underride, which has not been connected to clear consequences by its supporters.