Committee finds no quick fixes for structural deficit, but proposes longer-term initiatives

For years town officials have been warning about Harvard’s structural deficit, the mismatch between the revenue the town can raise from taxpayers each year and the rising cost of providing municipal services. The warnings are based on a five-year projection of future deficits beginning in fiscal 2024. In the short term, not much can be done to prevent them, according to the committee charged with investigating possible solutions, but some long-term initiatives could help.

In a preliminary 20-page report presented to the Select Board Tuesday night, the Revenue Ideation Committee, formed in 2021 to look for ways to increase and diversify the town’s income, concluded that although it had found no single strategy to reduce the burden of future budgets on taxpayers, it did believe there were ways to capitalize on existing town assets to increase municipal revenues without fundamentally changing the character of the community.

Chartered by the Select Board amid concerns that the cost of providing municipal services, including education, will continue to rise faster than revenues, the committee was asked to explore the following potential revenue buckets:

• the sale of town land
• the sale of surplus town buildings and equipment
• leasing town property for solar or wind power
• leasing cell towers on town land
• selling corporate sponsorship of town fields, trails, and other assets
• adopting a higher property tax rate for town businesses—albeit only after sheltering farms from the increase through pending state legislation or a home-rule petition.

The committee was not assigned a dollar goal, but was encouraged to investigate any opportunities that might offset future tax increases. In the current fiscal year for example, commercial and residential property owners will be taxed $26.4 million to pay for 83% of the $31.8 million omnibus budget. It would take an influx of $264,000 to reduce that amount by 1%.

In its report, the committee recommends seven initiatives. (See “Seven steps to boost and diversify town revenues,” at left.) The committee dismissed wind power as unsuitable for Harvard and decided corporate sponsorships should be left for now to Harvard’s sports booster clubs. The town is already moving ahead with plans for a cell tower in town center that could net Harvard $24,000 to $36,000 yearly, according to a report by Isotrope, the town’s cell tower consultant. And the committee sees opportunity in expanding the production of solar power by adding solar to town buildings, including the Public Safety Building and new senior center, and by either installing solar arrays on town land or leasing parcels to a solar power company.

One idea that has figured in past discussions of revenue enhancement was absent from this week’s report, namely the money that could be raised for affordable housing, historic preservation, open space conservation, or recreation by increasing the Community Preservation Act surcharge on property taxes from 1.1% to 3%. Revenue Ideation Committee Chair Kara Minar told the Select Board Tuesday her group had considered the idea, but given the committee’s goal of not increasing the burden on taxpayers, had excluded it.

The committee also discussed—but did not recommend—creating a “film commission” to market the town as a prime location for film shoots and making movies.

The committee’s No. 1 recommendation—topping its list of seven—is tourism, specifically agritourism, a term that envisions bringing people to Harvard to pick apples at Westward Orchards, for example, or visit Fruitlands, or participate in a road race, or grab a bite to eat at Carlson Orchards or the General Store. Tourism “seems to have the best chance of success,” while preserving the rural character of the town, asserts the report.

The primary source of tourism revenue, at the moment, comes from the town’s 0.75% portion of the state’s meal tax which, according to a recent finance report, averages between $20,000 and $30,000 per year. The ideation committee report does not speculate how much additional revenue an expansion of agritourism might produce, but says the Planning Board should bring a comprehensive bylaw that facilitates its growth to Town Meeting for debate and approval. The committee also recommends that the town lobby for legislation or a home-rule petition that shelters farms from any future increase in Harvard’s commercial tax rate.

Though not high on the ideators list of recommendations—it’s No. 5—implementation of a real estate transfer tax is one of the few suggestions with potential to add an estimated $200,000 or more to Harvard’s annual income, depending on the exemptions and limits placed on such a fee. The money could be used to support affordable housing projects or the purchase of land for open space and recreation.

Tuesday night’s presentation by chief ideator Minar was the Select Board’s first look at the committee’s report. Some of its ideas are among the board’s goals for the current fiscal year. Select Board Chair Rich Maiore urged members to give the report a close read and come prepared to review its recommendations at their Nov. 15 meeting.

Members of the Revenue Ideation Committee are Kara Minar, chair; SusanMary Redinger for the School Committee; Robert O’Shea for the Parks and Recreation Commission; Charles Oliver for the Finance Committee; and citizens at large Jane Biering and Dan Daly. A slot reserved for a member of the Harvard Energy Advisory Committee is empty.

Seven steps to boost and diversify town revenues