In response to the issue I raised during the July 19 meeting of the Harvard Select Board, MassDevelopment President Dan Rivera provided me with the “Budget Book” for all of MassDevelopment for fiscal 2022. This is a step forward, but more sunlight needs to shine on the operations of both MassDevelopment and the Devens Enterprise Commission.
Pages 67 through 81 contain a good breakdown of the income and expenses for the operation of Devens, including comparative information for fiscal 2019, 2020, and 2021.
What other information would be useful for town governments and citizens to understand and to plan for the eventual transition of Devens back to Ayer, Harvard, and Shirley?
There is nothing about real estate property tax revenues paid by businesses and homeowners. What arrangements are there between the Devens Enterprise Commission and businesses on Devens? Do the businesses pay property taxes? At what rate? Is there widespread property tax abatement? Without this information, it is impossible to construct a workable financial model for the possible transition of Devens back to the three towns. In short, none of the three towns has any idea what financial arrangements they might inherit from MassDevelopment when the hypothetical transfer of Devens back to the towns takes place years out.
Oddly, the title page of the document says only “FY2022 Budget.” Budget of what? This implies to me that the document was originally intended only for the internal use of MassDevelopment. Or was this simply an error of omission?
So, Mr. Rivera, more sunshine is needed to understand Devens finances better. Tell us all a lot more about property tax and maybe property tax abatement for Devens businesses and homeowners. Tell us something. Tell us more. We do have a few years before 2033 to gather this information and to provide a cohesive framework for the future of the three towns.
Ben Myers
Westcott Road
