It’s a simple story, though its telling is worthy of a Dickens novel. To quote Wilkins Micawber in “David Copperfield,” “Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen pounds nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery.”
Or in the case of the Select Board’s proposed fiscal 2025 budget, “Annual income $33.1 million, annual expenditures $33.9 million, result property tax override.”
Article 10 in this year’s warrant booklet asks Town Meeting to approve spending $33.9 million to pay for the operation of town departments and the schools next fiscal year, which begins July 1. But how much of that budget the town is willing to support will be determined by the vote for or against two ballot questions—2B and 2A—at Town Election April 9. The truth about Article 10 is that without an increase in property taxes beyond the annual 2½% increase allowed by state law (plus the additional taxes provided by newly built and renovated homes), there won’t be enough money in town coffers to pay for it.
Article 10 and the two ballot questions are inseparable. Their passage or rejection has consequences not only for the level and quality of service that town departments and the schools can deliver in fiscal 2025, but also for the cost of owning or renting a home in Harvard.
An increase in a town’s tax levy beyond what’s allowed by the state’s Proposition 2½ law (the so-called “levy limit”) is known as a tax override. To exceed a town’s levy limit in any given year, a majority of voters must approve the increase at Town Meeting and Town Election. Once voted, an override, unlike excluded debt, becomes permanent, the basis for future Prop 2½ tax increases.
It’s not a popular option. Fifteen years have passed since Harvard voters last approved an override. Four years ago, in 2020, when the Select Board proposed a $320,000 override, voters said ‘yes’ at Town Meeting but ‘no’ at the polls. The negative outcome forced the Select Board and Finance Committee to return to a Special Town Meeting with a slimmed-down budget that could be paid for without the additional tax dollars.
Worried that taxpayers will balk at the entire $33.9 million amount of this year’s request, the Select Board voted in February to offer voters not one but two options, labeled 2A and 2B (also referred to as Tier 1 and Tier 2), on this year’s Town Election ballot. Question 2B would allow the town to assess taxpayers an additional $752,964 on top of the $717,549 increase in the levy limit already baked into fiscal 2025. That amount would pay for the entire recommended budget.
A vote for Question 2A adds a lesser amount to the levy, $424,000, an amount town departments and the schools say they need to maintain their current levels of service. The smaller amount, however, excludes the addition of personnel or hours of administrative support departments say they need to keep up with the increased scope of their work.
Consequences of passing or failing the overrides
If both 2A and 2B pass by a majority at the polls, 2B will prevail. If both fail, the town will be forced to limit its spending to the dollars provided by Proposition 2½ without an override, plus non-tax revenue sources such as state aid, local taxes and fees, and transfers from other accounts.
Voters who want to be assured that the town has the money it needs to maintain current levels of service in fiscal 2025 should vote for both 2B and 2A.
The motion made at Town Meeting to approve Article 10 will state that passing it is contingent on passing an override at the ballot box. If 2B fails, the motion will state, the budgeted amount will be trimmed from $33.9 million to $33.5 million; if both 2A and 2B fail, the budget will be reduced to $33.1 million.
A vote for Article 10 is not a vote for or against an override. If it fails to pass, however, the ballot questions become moot. The Select Board will need to prepare a fresh proposal and convene another town meeting to approve it.
Town Meeting has the power to change the dollar amount of an appropriation in Article 10, but cannot change the subject matter of the article itself. For example, voters could lower the appropriation for a fire truck, but cannot change it to purchasing a backhoe. Recent conversations with members of the Select Board suggest, however, they will be unwilling to accept any friendly amendments.
The voter’s guide below shows you how to cast your votes at the Town Election to ensure the outcome you prefer. (See “A voter’s key to ballot questions 2A and 2B.”) Town administration has prepared its own guide, which it plans to distribute at Town Meeting.
The details of the fiscal 2025 budget are spelled out on pages 38 through 44 of the warrant booklet. Readers should also consult the Finance Department’s five-year revenue and expense projection on page 18, also known as “the recap.” This document shows how fiscal 2025 revenues, as forecast by Finance Director Jared Mullane and others, and the two proposed overrides play against town department and school spending to create a balanced budget for the coming year. The Press has included a condensed version of this essential planning tool. See “Budget in a nutshell: The recap”.)
Impact on services and taxes
While recent reporting by the Press has clarified the benefits and losses of each ballot choice, of equal concern for many readers is the impact these options will have on taxes. The Division of Local Services within the state’s Department of Revenue provides a calculator for estimating the impact that passage of 2B or 2A only would have on the tax paid on an average-priced Harvard home if it took effect this fiscal year. We have summarized the results in a nearby table, including how to figure the increase for your own home. (See table below, “Estimated tax impact of Tier 1 and Tier 2 overrides.”)
The actual impact to taxpayers’ fiscal 2025 bills won’t be known until the town’s annual tax classification hearing, typically held in late fall.
Any increase in taxes will affect Harvard’s most vulnerable homeowners and renters, especially seniors living on fixed incomes, young families, and those struggling to make ends meet. Harvard offers qualified seniors a number of programs to reduce the burden of taxes. In a phone conversation this week, town assessor Michael Salzman told the Press he thought Harvard was more generous than other towns and that he wished more seniors would apply for its programs, from means-tested tax relief to the senior workoff program.
In addition to property taxes, Harvard homeowners also pay a 3% surcharge to send money to the town’s Community Preservation Act Fund. Salzman noted that Harvard’s bylaw provides a means-tested exemption from paying it to qualified low- and moderate-income residents and seniors. “I wish more people would apply for them,” he said.
For a complete list, go to the Council on Aging website at www.harvard-ma.gov/council-aging and select “Assistance Programs.”
