The underride cannot be discussed seriously without including the very real financial constraints facing some members of our community. Anything with the hint of offering tax relief is going to sound attractive to someone who has difficulty paying the bills. It is my assertion, and I believe the numbers will support this, that not only does the underride provide no tax relief (Donna McClure conceded this point at a recent Municipal Council meeting), it could negate the real tax relief that would be gained through smart growth and professional management of town services.
Department of Revenue data points to a strong correlation between per capita income and town levies. Of fourteen towns in Massachusetts which are similar in size to Amesbury, the correlation between how much people earn, and the town levy, is almost linear. The more people earn, the higher the levy. In this comparison with similar towns, Amesbury's levy is at the high end of the pack, although still consistent with its per capita income. Where Amesbury tax payers are hit harder is when the number of parcels in the town that share the tax levy burden is factored in. The more parcels in a town, the less each parcel’s share of the tax levy. Of the fourteen towns similar in size to ours, our tax levy is higher than all but three towns. We also have fewer parcels than all but four out of the fourteen similarly sized towns.
All that being said, what can we do to offer relief? Again, as even the authors of the petition concede, the underride, if passed, will not lower taxes. The better strategy from the perspective of demographic data is to promote smart growth in the town to better distribute the tax burden, and maintain the flexibility afforded by whatever excess levy capacity we may now have. If we do have excess capacity, let’s use it intelligently as an investment that will pay off in a better, more attractive community, with more people to share the tax burden, resulting in lower taxes for all of us. This is not a question of choosing between providing needed services or lowering taxes. Rather, it is about not losing the flexibility the excess capacity gives us to help make our town a better, more affordable place. VOTE NO TO THE UNDERRIDE!
1 comment:
By this logic, the better our town services are, the more people we will attract to our town and the larger the base from which to pull tax dollars. Better services can ultimately help to eleviate some of the tax burden shared by Amesbury's current citizens and businesses. It's a matter of seeing the issue at a greater distance. By viewing this issue even in the short term, the author is right. Passing the undrride, thereby making it necessary to eliminate or drastically curtail services, will not ease anyone's financial burdern and will harm many of our neighbors and friends and our own families.
Post a Comment