A coming increase in the fees that Massachusetts charges to register deeds and other documents could nearly double the state money available to Harvard for future community projects. While the new money won’t arrive this fiscal year, it will make a difference two years from now, in fiscal 2022.
The increases are included in the 2020 Massachusetts budget, signed by Gov. Charlie Baker on July 31. The budget more than doubles the fees charged by the Registries of Deeds, the sole source of revenue for the statewide Community Preservation Act Trust Fund. Beginning Dec. 31, fees for filing most documents will increase from $20 to $50; fees for municipal lien certificates, which list the taxes and fees owed on a property, will increase from $10 to $25.
The Community Preservation Coalition, an advocacy group, estimates that the new fees will increase the annual amount available to the trust fund from last year’s $24 million to $60 million by fiscal 2021; Harvard’s portion could grow from last year’s $43,037 to $74,611.
“It’s fantastic news,” said Didi Chadran, who chairs Harvard’s Community Preservation Committee (CPC), which oversees the funds. “The funding mechanism hadn’t changed since 2000, while the number of CPA communities has exploded. We rely on the CPA as a lifeline for grassroots initiatives like the World War I Memorial Restoration Project as well as high-profile work like Town Hall renovation.”
To qualify for state money, a town must have adopted the Community Preservation Act (CPA), which Harvard did in 2001. The amount to be divvied among CPA towns, of which there are 175, is set by the Department of Revenue each year on Oct. 31 and announced Nov. 15. Because the state won’t begin to collect the higher fees until December, the town won’t see any increase in its allocation until November 2020.
The state’s money gets added to Harvard’s own Community Preservation Fund, which is managed by the nine-member CPC. Most of the fund’s income comes from the 1.1% surcharge on annual property taxes that Town Meeting approved in 2001. In fiscal 2019, Harvard taxpayers paid $226,332 into the fund, slightly less than the $230,000 the committee had estimated. But that amount, combined with state aid, brought the fund balance to $257,721 as of June 31, sufficient to cover the $259,821 approved by Annual Town Meeting in May for seven fiscal 2020 projects.
First increase since 2000
When the CPA was enacted in 2000, towns were told they could expect a state match as high as 100% of the amount they collected, with towns that adopted the maximum 3% surcharge benefitting the most. According to the Department of Revenue, the largest award Harvard ever received was $149,257 in fiscal 2017. But as more towns have adopted the Community Preservation Act and as registry fees have declined, the amount of the award has decreased. Harvard’s fiscal 2019 grant amounts to a 19% match. Gov. Baker had promised to put more money into the state fund, and this year’s fee increases are a step in that direction.
In addition to the increase Harvard can expect next year, there’s a chance that the town will gain some additional money this fall, just in time for fiscal 2021. That’s because Massachusetts ended fiscal 2019 with a surplus of more than a $1 billion, which has yet to be appropriated. There is support for allocating as much as $20 million of that total to town preservation funds. The exact amount, if any, won’t be known until the Legislature passes a supplemental budget bill this fall, and much of the money is expected to go to the state’s rainy day fund and to education.
Harvard will learn how much money it can expect from the state for fiscal 2021 on Nov. 15. Soon after, CPC will begin to consider applications for fiscal 2021 grants. Applications for CPC money are due Oct.10. Any organization may ask for money for open space protection, historic preservation, affordable housing, and outdoor recreation. Applications forms are available at the CPC website, www.harvard.ma.us/community-preservation-committee.
