At their annual strategic planning meeting last week, Select Board members set ambitious goals for fiscal 2024, which begins July 1. But the likelihood of having to recommend a substantial bump in taxes for fiscal 2025 cast a long shadow over the board’s deliberations.
Finance Director Jared Mullane told the board’s five members that assuming revenues and expenses continue to grow at recent rates, the town could face a nearly $1 million deficit when budgeting begins in the next month or two for the 2025 fiscal year. Mullane said that balancing the fiscal 2025 budget could require the town to raise as much as a half-million dollars in property taxes beyond the levy limit allowed by state law.
Dire budgetary predictions are not uncommon this time of year, so how seriously should this early forecast be taken? Very seriously, said Select Board Chair Rich Maiore in an email to the Press. The need for a tax override is “highly likely,” he wrote. Fixed costs are rising and the Devens fund—which helps defray the costs of educating Devens children—and other one-time revenue sources, such as pandemic relief dollars, “aren’t available or as large as they used to be,” he said. (See “What is an override?” below.)
Mullane delivered his gloomy outlook to Select Board members and Town Hall administrators at their strategic planning meeting, an annual event at which the board sets goals for the coming fiscal year. The meeting was held the afternoon of June 21 in the parlor of the recently vacated Hildreth House. All five board members were present along with Town Administrator Tim Bragan, Assistant Town Administrator Marie Sobalvarro, and the administrators’ executive assistant, Julie Doucet.
At these meetings, anyone can propose a topic, and this year’s agenda included 20 that encompassed a host of hot-button issues, from the future of Bromfield House to the proposed merger of Harvard’s fire and ambulance squads and ideas for improving attendance at Town Meeting and recruiting volunteers for town committees. The purpose of the annual session is not to solve problems but to prioritize which problems will get the board’s attention over the next 12 months.
By the time the board adjourned after three hours of deliberation, they had settled on eight major goals, summarized in a draft shared with the Press by Maiore early this week.
While preparing voters and town departments and committees for a tax override is likely to be a top priority for town officials, it’s one of 19 subsidiary goals listed in the board’s draft document that could lead to a host of developments by year’s end. (See sidebar, “Eight Select Board goals for fiscal 2024.”) A few, such as the quest for more playing fields or a reassessment of Harvard’s Transfer Station, appeared on last year’s list; others, such as making Harvard a more accessible community and a commitment to implementing Harvard’s Climate Action Plan, are new.
Two goals—increasing resident engagement in town governance and improving the town’s future financial stability—consumed nearly two-thirds of Wednesday’s three-hour conversation and are likely to get the board’s attention in the next two months. One idea for increasing attendance at Town Meeting, a subsidiary goal of the draft document, is to move its date to a Saturday at the beginning of April, before the start of spring sports and the return of outdoor-friendly weather. This would require the budget season to begin as early as Aug. 6. The schools and Capital Planning and Investment Committee have already protested that this won’t allow them enough time to prepare.
The board is also considering whether to propose revenue-enhancing measures such as a room occupancy tax that could be applied to Airbnb properties and other travel lodging or a real estate transfer fee for enactment by Town Meeting this October. And with the lease of Bromfield House to Ascentria Care Alliance for the housing of two Afghan families set to expire July 31, the board must decide whether to extend it through February 2023, as the lease allows, or terminate the lease and sell the house.
The final list will be approved at the Select Board’s first meeting of fiscal 2024 on July 18.
What is an override?
An override is a vote by the town to increase the levy limit allowed under Proposition 2½. Such an increase requires a majority vote at both a town meeting and an election. Harvard’s last override was in 2009. The levy limit is the amount of money that Harvard can raise through real and personal property taxes in any given fiscal year. Since 1980, towns have been limited by Proposition 2½ in the amount of property tax they can levy without an override vote. This limitation requires an increase in the property tax to be held to no more than 2.5% of the previous year’s tax levy plus the value of taxable property added by new construction (new growth).
Select Board goals for fiscal 2024 (July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024)
Increase resident engagement in town governance
- Increase attendance at Town Meetings.
- Increase number and diversity of volunteers.
- Research new ways to regularly communicate Select Board activity to residents.
Improve town’s future financial stability
- Explore new revenue sources.
- Assess budget process.
- Develop plan to update and collaborate with town departments and committees on plan for potential override in fiscal 2025.
Improve and increase town playing fields
- Share and gain feedback from needs assessment report scheduled for completion by September 2023.
- Identify specific parcels for potential development.
- Determine potential costs and funding sources.
Develop vision for future of Transfer Station
- Create ad hoc committee to research needs, gain resident input, and provide recommended plan.
- Develop recommendations to increase usage by residents.
Determine future of town fire and ambulance departments
- Review potential merger plan.
- Gain input from residents and town departments and committees.
- Determine whether to move forward with proposed merger.
Ensure Harvard is a more accessible community
- In collaboration with town departments and relevant committees, implement priority tasks from the Commission on Disabilities’ ADA Self-Evaluation and Transition Plan.
Increase affordable housing in town
- Work with Municipal Affordable Housing Trust to communicate and implement the 2023 Housing Production Plan.
- Conduct outreach with state and local elected officials.
Expand town’s green initiatives
- Support Harvard Energy Advisory Committee to identify potential future solar and electric vehicle opportunities.
- Work with town departments and relevant committees to implement the Harvard Climate Initiative Committee’s climate action plan.
—JO
