At Saturday’s Annual Town Meeting, voters will be asked to decide on 44 articles put forward by the selectmen and various town boards. Some ask for money, others propose changes to the town’s bylaws, or, in one case, create a new position. What follows is a synopsis of each, including its fiscal impact and the consequences of voting yes or no.
At Town Election on May 8, voters will vote on three ballot questions: whether to adopt the charter recommended by Harvard’s elected Charter Commission; whether to borrow to pay for a restored entrance and ADA compliant old library; and finally whether to borrow $54 million to pay for a new elementary school.
If you’re looking for legalese, you’ll find it in the Town Meeting booklet, which all residents should have received by mail this last week. The booklet contains the exact wording of all 44 articles, their cost, and the recommendations of the Finance and Capital Planning and Investment committees. Readers should be aware, however, that the final wording and exact dollar amounts of some won’t be known until the motions for their adoption are read on the floor of Town Meeting. These motions can themselves be amended, so you need to stay on your toes.
For help with specialized terms such as “General Fund” or “levy,” see our “Glossary of Town Meeting Lingo.” For information on how to cast your vote and the special procedures for Article 25, the measure to fund a new elementary school, please see our Guide to Annual Town Meeting on page 12. Finally, for details on how to speak and legislate at Town Meeting, see the “Town Meeting Procedures,” prepared by the League of Women Voters of Harvard, on pages 28 and 29 of the warrant.
ARTICLE 1: ANNUAL REPORTS
Inserted by Board of Selectmen
No financial impact
Requires majority vote
This article, an annual formality, asks voters to hear reports from the Board of Selectmen, School Committee, and any other boards with prepared reports to present. Written reports for virtually every town committee and department appear in either the 2018 Town Meeting booklet, which includes reports from the Finance, capital, and Community Preservation committees, or the 2017 Annual Town Report, which includes everyone. The School Committee typically provides a report of its own. Hard copies of all three reports will be available at Town Meeting.
Passage of this article opens the door for any board or committee to step forward and tell the town of its activities and accomplishments over the past year.
ARTICLE 2: PAY BILLS OF PRIOR FISCAL YEAR
Inserted by Board of Selectmen
Amount: None
Money source: Stabilization Fund
Requires a four-fifths vote
The Finance Committee has deferred action on this article as there were no known outstanding bills at the time the warrant was printed. None was reported as of May 2, when the paper went to press.
ARTICLE 3: EXTEND SUNSET DATES
Inserted by the Board of Selectmen
No financial impact
Requires a majority vote
Recommended by the Finance
Committee and the Board of Selectmen
This article would extend the sunset dates for two ongoing projects: the Pond Road hazard mitigation drainage project, funded at 2016 Town Meeting, and the old library accessibility project, funded at 2017 Special Town Meeting. The dates would be extended to June 30, 2019, for both projects.
ARTICLE 4: AMEND ARTICLE 8 OF THE OCTOBER 24, 2016 SPECIAL TOWN MEETING
Inserted by the Board of Selectmen
No financial impact
Requires a majority vote
Recommended by Finance Committee
This article simply changes the numbering of sections in the town’s bylaws. Chapter 21 Council on Aging will change to Chapter 19, section 21-1 to 19-1 and 21-2 to 19-2. Turns out there was already a Chapter 21 at the time the COA bylaw was passed at October 2016 Special Town Meeting.
ARTICLE 5: FISCAL YEAR 2017 CERTIFIED FREE CASH
Inserted at request of Finance Committee
Amount: $1.33 million
Money source: Free cash
Requires a majority vote
Recommended by selectmen and Finance Committee
As required by Harvard’s bylaw, this article transfers what is left of fiscal 2018 free cash to the town’s Capital Stabilization and Investment Fund for use in funding future projects. The balance of free cash that is available depends on how much of the original $1.33 million certified by the state remains after other actions taken by Town Meeting attendees.
ARTICLE 6: OMNIBUS BUDGET
Inserted by Finance Committee
Amount: $25,790,853
Money source: General Fund
Requires a majority vote
Recommended by selectmen and Finance Committee
Although it takes months to prepare, the town’s omnibus budget is typically approved in a matter of minutes, often without a single question asked or comment made. In its nine pages (see pages 34–40 in this year’s Town Meeting booklet), the budget lays out the amount the Finance Committee recommends be spent by each department in the coming year. The document also shows how much each department spent in fiscal years 2015 through 2017, as well as the amount authorized for fiscal 2018 (actual spending won’t be known until the fiscal year ends).
The budget for fiscal 2019 totals $25,790,853 (see the line titled “Grand Total Omnibus Budget” on page 40), a 5.8 percent increase over this year’s amount.
As always, the operating budget for Harvard’s schools (line 32, page 37) accounts for the biggest chunk of town spending, totaling $13,410,529, a 3.1 percent increase over fiscal 2018. Additional detail can be found on pages 5–10 in the Town Meeting booklet, with a spotlight on plans to renovate Hildreth Elementary School, likely to be Harvard’s most expensive building project in the foreseeable future. Look for the School Committee’s own budget book, available at Town Meeting. It’s the canary yellow one.
Benefits for town and school employees (line 59, page 39) showed the most dramatic percentage increase, jumping 18.2 percent to $5 million for fiscal 2019, driven largely by a spike in health insurance costs.
Other big budget categories include the following:
General government, which includes salaries for the town administrator and assistant town administrator, finance director, and town clerk and pays for the operation of town buildings: $1.4 million (see Total General Govt. on page 35).
Public safety, including spending for police, fire, ambulance, and inspectional services: $2 million (see Total Public Safety on page 36).
Physical environment, most of which is for the Department of Public Works (see lines 34, 35, and 36) but includes the Transfer Station, water department, and cemeteries as well: $1.4 million (see Total Physical Environment on page 38).
Before a penny of this money can be spent next fiscal year, Town Meeting must give its assent. The Finance Committee and Board of Selectmen recommend that Town Meeting pass the article in its entirety.
ARTICLE 7: RESERVE FUND – FISCAL YEAR 2019
Inserted by Finance Committee
Amount: $350,000
Money source: General Fund
Requires a majority vote
Recommended by selectmen and Finance Committee
Not all of the money spent by the town is included in the omnibus budget. There are always unforeseen expenses. The Finance Committee typically recommends that $350,000 be appropriated for the town’s Reserve Fund, half for traditional emergencies, such as extra plowing and treatment of roads in an especially snowy winter, and half to cover potential unforeseen special education and other costs.
The Reserve Fund is under the control of the Finance Committee and saves the town from having to hold numerous special town meetings to authorize the expenditures of small, unforeseen sums. Whatever is left at the end of this year will be swept and added to the calculation of free cash.
ARTICLE 8: FIRE HOSE
Inserted by Board of Selectmen
Amount: $10,000
Money source: General Fund
Requires a majority vote
Recommended by Finance Committee
The National Fire Protection Association’s standard calls for hose to be replaced every 10 years, whereas all of Harvard’s hose was more than 30 years old until a replacement program began last year. In 2017 voters approved $11,000 to replace hose that had failed its annual testing. If this article is approved, the Fire Department will replace the remainder of the 30-year-old hose.
ARTICLE 9: SEASONAL MOWING
Inserted by Board of Selectmen
Amount: $15,000
Money source: General Fund
Requires a majority vote
Recommended by Finance Committee
This is the same amount the Department of Public Works requested last year for a part-time seasonal worker to mow the Common, areas around town buildings, the cemeteries, Parks and Recreation fields, and other public areas. The amount does not cover the yearly mowing of meadows and fields under the jurisdiction of the Conservation Commission; that work is contracted out.
ARTICLE 10: DPW – ROADSIDE TREE MAINTENANCE
Inserted by Board of Selectmen
Amount: $20,000
Money source: General Fund
Requires a majority vote
Recommended by Finance Committee
This article provides funds to contract with an outside company to trim trees and brush along the roads. Like most towns, Harvard has a backlog of tree maintenance work, according to DPW Director Tim Kilhart, with many “hangers” and broken branches remaining after recent storms. Last year, funds for tree maintenance from fiscal 2017 were extended to June 2018, as the 2017 amount had remained unspent due to the departure of the former DPW director. Kilhart reports that he and Tree Warden J.C. Ferguson have already coordinated to remove about 180 dead or hazardous trees along town roads and have a list of others that need removal.
ARTICLE 11: TOWN PLANNER
Inserted by Planning Board
Amount: $76,000
Money source: General Fund
Requires a majority vote
Recommended by Finance Committee
This article provides funds to create the permanent position of town planner. The town planner would be responsible for assisting the various volunteer land-use boards with professional knowledge. At present, Harvard’s town planner is hired on a part-time contract. If this passes, the position will become full time, working more hours for higher yearly compensation.
ARTICLE 12: CONSERVATION FUND
Inserted by Board of Selectmen on behalf of the Conservation Commission
Amount: $5,000
Money source: General Fund
Requires a majority vote
Recommended by Finance Committee
The Conservation Commission originally requested $100,000 for maintaining land and trails, combating invasive vegetation, and paying legal fees for land donations. While the commission gets some money each year under the Community Preservation Act, that money can be used to maintain only land purchased with CPA funds, not land the commission has long held. After meeting with other town boards, the commission reduced its request
to $35,000. While the Finance Committee recommends a further reduction to $5,000 and urges the commission to explore other funding sources, the selectmen, in their sole disagreement with the committee will recommend it be increased to $10,000.
ARTICLE 13: CAPITAL STABILIZATION AND INVESTMENT FUND FUNDING
Inserted by Finance Committee
Amount: $40,000
Money source: General Fund
Requires two-thirds vote to appropriate money to the Capital Stabilization and Investment Fund
Recommended in its current form by selectmen and Finance Committee
This $40,000 is earmarked for small capital requests submitted by the DPW. Previously, the amount was part of the line item budget of the DPW and available to the DPW director for discretionary capital purchases during the year.
ARTICLE 14: CAPITAL PLANNING AND INVESTMENT COMMITTEE DEBT PAYMENT
Inserted by the Finance Committee and the Capital Planning and Investment Committee
Amount: $74,750
Money source: Capital Stabilization and Investment Fund
Requires two-thirds vote
Recommended by selectmen and Finance Committee
This article withdraws $74,750 from the Capital Stabilization and Investment Fund to pay for principal and interest on two capital committee loans, one for past purchases of fire and DPW vehicles and a second for a town water project. See page 19 of the Town Warrant booklet, “Town of Harvard Capital Plan,” for details.
ARTICLE 15: UPGRADE TOWN’S FIRE ALARM SYSTEM
Inserted by Board of Selectmen and Capital Planning and Investment Committee
Amount: $27,066
Money source: Capital Stabilization and Investment Fund
Requires a two-thirds vote
Recommended by Finance Committee and Capital Planning and Investment Committee
This is the second phase of a three-year upgrade to the town’s 60-year-old fire alarm system. Last year Town Meeting approved about $40,000 to begin replacing the hard-wired system with a radio-controlled one that is more reliable and less costly to maintain. The new system allows 24-hour monitoring for burglar, panic, and medical alarms, as well as fire. Six hard-wired master boxes were replaced with radio boxes in the past year. If voters approve this year’s measure, the old master boxes at Bromfield House and the Center Fire Station will be replaced, and new boxes will be added at the DPW building and Hildreth House. Fire Chief Rick Sicard says all town buildings will then be on the upgraded system, and the Fire Department will be able to monitor them. Once the new system is complete, homes and businesses will be able to tie into it for a fee.
ARTICLE 16: VAULT SHELVING SYSTEM
Inserted by Board of Selectmen and Capital Planning and Investment Committee
Amount: $30,000
Money source: Capital Stabilization and Investment Fund
Requires a two-thirds vote
Recommended by Finance Committee and Capital Planning and Investment Committee
A new shelving unit for the town vault would provide more storage room and easier access to material, both of which would make the town clerk’s many trips to the vault more efficient. The unit would fill the entire vault, with stationary shelves on two ends and moveable shelves in the middle. In the process of installing a new unit, each department would weed out files that don’t require vault storage, resulting in a general reorganization.
ARTICLE 17: FIRE STATION STUDY
Inserted by the Board of Selectmen and the Capital Planning and Investment Committee
Amount: $40,000
Money source: Capital Stabilization and Investment Fund
Requires a two-thirds vote
Recommended by the Finance Committee and the Capital Planning and Investment Committee
For the past four years, Fire Chief Rick Sicard has requested $20,000 to study the feasibility of adding a second floor to the fire station, partly for equipment storage, but also to allow the first floor to be opened up for safer, quicker drive-through bays. After the issue of public safety came up at Special Town Meeting last fall during the discussion of proposed new senior housing next to the station, the selectmen decided that any study should also include traffic patterns around Town Hall as well as the feasibility of other locations for the station. This article provides $40,000 for a larger study to determine if the current building and location are adequate for the town’s needs and to suggest alternatives if they are not.
ARTICLE 18: FIRE CHIEF VEHICLE
Inserted by Board of Selectmen and Capital Planning and Investment Committee
Amount: $35,000
Money source: Capital Stabilization and Investment Fund
Requires a two-thirds vote
Recommended by Finance Committee and Capital Planning and Investment Committee
In accord with the regular replacement schedule for town vehicles, this article would allow the fire chief, with the selectmen’s approval, to buy a new command car to replace the 10-year-old one he uses now. A command car requires features and equipment such as all-wheel drive, radio communication with all fire departments within Harvard’s mutual aid group, a medical jump kit, incident command support equipment, personal protective gear, and other emergency response equipment.
ARTICLE 19: REPLACE HOT WATER TANKS AT THE BROMFIELD SCHOOL
Inserted by School Committee and Capital Planning and Investment Committee
Amount: $28,000
Money source: Capital Stabilization and Investment Fund
Requires a two-thirds vote
Recommended by the Finance Committee and the Capital Planning and Investment Committee
The boiler and the hot water storage tank at Bromfield are both more than 20 years old. The boiler is reportedly leaky and unreliable, while the storage tank is rusty enough that the capital committee’s write-up says water from it is “not suitable for use.” If this article passes, the plan is to remove and replace both the boiler and the tank.
ARTICLE 20: EMERGENCY GENERATOR – WATER DEPARTMENT
Inserted by Board of Selectmen and Capital Planning and Investment Committee
Amount: $20,000
Money source: Capital Stabilization and Investment Fund
Requires a two-thirds vote
Recommended by Finance Committee and Capital Planning and Investment Committee
Currently, when the power goes out, so does the town water supply serving the schools, town buildings, and all the houses on the town system. The town has discussed the need for a generator for several years, according to DPW Director Tim Kilhart. The state Department of Environmental Protection surveyed the town sanitary system last fall and has said it plans to recommend or require installing a permanent generator for the wells.
ARTICLE 21: THE BROMFIELD SCHOOL BATHROOMS RENOVATION
Inserted by School Committee and Capital Planning and Investment Committee
Amount: $25,000
Money source: Capital Stabilization and Investment Fund
Requires a two-thirds vote
Recommended by Finance Committee and Capital Planning and Investment Committee
If voters approve, the capital committee will provide $25,000 toward an expected cost of $50,000 for replacing the floors, wall coverings, stalls, toilets, and sinks in four student bathrooms in the high school. The School Committee has voted to provide the other $25,000 for the project from the Devens fund (money that MassDevelopment pays the district for educating students who live in Devens). This half-and-half split was also used when the town voted to replace the middle school bathrooms two years ago.
ARTICLE 22: UPGRADE CRONIN AUDITORIUM
Inserted by School Committee and Capital Planning and Investment Committee
Amount: $100,000
Money source: Capital Stabilization and Investment Fund
Requires a two-thirds vote
Recommended by Finance Committee and Capital Planning and Investment Committee
If this article passes, upgrades will begin with better lights for both the seating area and the stage of the heavily used 1990 auditorium. A new lighting control board would replace the current one, which still relies on floppy discs. And new LED house lights would give better illumination in the seating area and save about $5,000 in electricity each year, according to drama teacher Martha Brooks.
ARTICLE 23: HILDRETH HOUSE STUDY UPDATE
Inserted by Board of Selectmen and Capital Planning and Investment Committee
Amount: $40,000
Money source: Capital Stabilization and Investment Fund
Requires two-thirds vote
Recommended by Finance Committee and Capital Planning and Investment Committee
The Council on Aging Board of Directors is asking for $40,000 for architectural services to investigate alternative designs for Phase 2 of the Hildreth House renovation and expansion project. The current design, developed in 2015, calls for a two-story addition with a dining room on the first floor and a multipurpose room above, reconstruction of the existing kitchen, and creation of two new accessible bathrooms. To provide adequate space for existing programs and activities, as well as serve the needs of a growing senior population, the COA wants to consider the feasibility of a one-story addition that would double the dining capacity of the current plan and provide flexible space for other activities. A new kitchen and the required bathrooms would be included in the design.
ARTICLE 24: AMEND CODE OF HARVARD CHAPTER 62 – LICENSES AND PERMITS
Inserted by Board of Selectmen
No financial impact
Requires a two-thirds vote
Recommended by Board of Selectmen
This article changes how often the list of delinquent taxpayers is provided to any town authority that issues licenses or permits. Currently the list is distributed yearly; if this article passes, the list would be distributed quarterly.
ARTICLE 25: HILDRETH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL BUILDING PROJECT
Inserted by the Selectmen on behalf of the School Committee
Amount: $53.6 million
Money source: 25-year bond for approximately $34.8 million
Requires a two-thirds vote
Recommended by Board of Selectmen, Finance Committee, Capital Planning and Investment Committee
By a two-thirds vote, the 2016 Town Meeting approved $500,000 for a feasibility study, including schematic designs, for the Hildreth Elementary School. Since that time, the School Building Committee has following the procedures specified by the Massachusetts School Building Authority, which required the committee to consider options ranging from a minimal renovation to a new building. In June 2017 the committee voted 9–1 in favor of new construction as the best long-term value. This spring the MSBA approved a total budget of $53.6 million for the project, of which it will reimburse the town approximately $18.7 million. The MSBA requires the town to vote in support of the full construction cost of $53.6 million, but the town would not need to borrow that full amount, because the MSBA reimburses costs as projects proceed.
If this article is approved by a two-thirds vote, the town will take out a bond anticipation note (BAN) this summer to move ahead from schematic design to detailed construction plans. Next year the town will take out a 25-year bond for $34.8 million, using part of it to repay the BAN, and move ahead with construction of the new school.
If the article fails, the School Building Committee will need to present reasons for the loss to the MSBA within 10 days and decide whether to try again for approval of a new school at a Special Town Meeting before the MSBA deadline of August 8. If the committee decides not to try for a second vote, or if that vote also fails, the district would begin the application process with the MSBA over again in 2019. (See timelines of each outcome.)
ARTICLE 26: COMMUNITY PRESERVATION COMMITTEE REPORT
Inserted by Community Preservation Committee
No financial impact
Requires a majority vote
Recommended by Board of Selectmen
To see if the Town will vote to accept the report and recommendations of the Community Preservation Committee on the Fiscal Year 2019 Community Preservation Budget as printed in the 2018 Finance Committee Book.
ARTICLE 27: TOWN CLERK – PRESERVATION OF HISTORIC TOWN DOCUMENTS
Inserted by Town Clerk and Community Preservation Committee
Amount: $26,000
Money source: Community
Preservation Fund
Requires a majority vote
Recommended by Board of Selectmen
Preservation of historical town documents is required by the state. The CPC has been funding the restoration and preservation of Harvard’s original records, a few boxes at a time, over the past several years.
ARTICLE 28: CONSERVATION COMMISSION – INVASIVE PLANT MANAGEMENT
Inserted by Conservation Commission and Community Preservation Committee
Amount: $26,000
Money source: Community Preservation Fund
Requires a majority vote
Recommended by Board of Selectmen
The Conservation Commission relies on CPC funding to acquire and maintain open space in town. These funds will be used to control invasives only on land acquired by ConCom since 2000 using CPC funds.
ARTICLE 29: COMMUNITY PRESERVATION COMMITTEE AFFORDABLE HOUSING RESERVES
Inserted by Community Preservation Committee
Amount: $26,000
Money source: Community Preservation Fund
Requires a majority vote
Recommended by Board of Selectmen
Harvard’s Municipal Affordable Housing Trust did not make a request for affordable housing funds this year. The affordable housing allotment for this year is a minimum 10 percent of this year’s surtax and state match. The $26,000 will go into the CPC Affordable Housing Reserves.
ARTICLE 30: PAYMENT OF DEBT ON TOWN HALL RENOVATION
Inserted by Community Preservation Committee
Amount: $51,000
Money source: Community Preservation Fund
Requires a majority vote
Recommended by Board of Selectmen
The Community Preservation Committee has an obligation to pay down a million dollar bond on the restoration of Town Hall. This is the third year of debt payment by CPC.
ARTICLE 31: COMMUNITY PRESERVATION FUNDS – ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES
Inserted by Community Preservation Committee
Amount: $2,500
Money source: Community Preservation Fund
Requires a majority vote
Recommended by Board of Selectmen
Community Preservation Committee requires a small amount of money for administrative expenses, including Community Preservation Coalition dues and necessary legal fees.
ARTICLE 32: LOCAL OPTION RECREATIONAL MARIJUANA EXCISE TAX
Inserted by Board of Selectmen
Requires a majority vote
Recommended by Finance Committee and Board of Selectmen
Approval of this article creates a 3 percent excise tax on recreational marijuana and related products sold within the town. If it fails, marijuana will not be taxed locally. A tax on sales of marijuana in town could provide Harvard with a new source of revenue.
ARTICLE 33: AMEND THE PROTECTIVE BYLAW 125-2 DEFINITIONS, 125-14G, MEDICAL MARIJUANA TREATMENT CENTER AND 125-21 PERMITTED USES IN THE AR DISTRICT
Inserted by Planning Board
Requires a two-third vote
Recommended by Board of Selectmen
The purpose of this article is to create and amend bylaws governing the growth and sale of marijuana within the town. If it passes, one marijuana retailer would be allowed, by special permit, within the commercial district (along Ayer road). In the agricultural/residential district (the majority of town) the growing of marijuana would be allowed, up to 10,000 square feet per property. If this does not pass, the growth and sale of marijuana would not be permitted within the town.
ARTICLE 34: PLANNING BOARD – Amend the Protective Bylaw Chapter 125-56
Inserted by Planning Board
Requires a two-thirds vote
Recommended by Board of Selectmen
This article creates a new overlay district around Harvard’s wellheads, as well as those of Ayer and Littleton that are near the town boundary. Within the area, activities with the potential to harm the quality of the public well water will be prohibited. If this article does not pass, no regulation will occur. See related story for details.
ARTICLE 35: AMEND THE PROTECTIVE BYLAW CHAPTER 125-57
Inserted by the Planning Board
Requires a two-thirds vote
If approved this bylaw would create a new agritourism overlay district. The Planning Board has removed this article following concerns brought up during public hearings, but it may resurface at a later town meeting. Its purpose was to allow farmers to engage in additional tourism-related commercial activity on their properties.
ARTICLE 36: CITIZEN PETITION – AMEND CHAPTER 125
Inserted by citizen petition
Requires a two-thirds vote
Board of Selectmen abstained from taking a position on this article
This article would amend a section of the town bylaw creating the Hildreth Housing Overlay District to require that a proposed senior housing development in that district must include 25 percent affordable housing. If the article fails, housing constructed there would not include affordable units. For more details see story.
ARTICLE 37: WILD AND SCENIC RIVER DESIGNATION
Inserted by the Board of Selectmen
No financial impact
Requires a majority vote
This article asks the town to accept a voluntary stewardship plan developed by a regional study committee for the Nissitissit and Squannacook rivers and part of the Nashua River, including the stretch of the Nashua that forms Harvard’s western boundary. The study recommends that the rivers be included under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968. If approved by Harvard and other towns that border the rivers, the proposal would then go to the U.S. Congress to approve the designation.
ARTICLE 38: REVOLVING FUNDS
Inserted by the Finance Committee
No financial impact
Requires majority vote
Recommended by selectmen and Finance Committee
This article re-authorizes revolving funds for the Council on Aging (not to exceed $35,000 in fiscal 2018), Fourth of July Committee ($35,000 maximum), Harvard Ambulance Service ($208,500), the Fire Department’s S.A.F.E. Program ($15,000), Harvard Community Cable Access Committee ($25,000), and a town account for fees and spending associated with the review of permit applications (not to exceed a balance of $1,000).
No money is appropriated by this article, but it does provide necessary authorization for owners of the accounts to collect and disburse funds through these accounts.
ARTICLE 39: HOME-RULE PETITION – MEANS TESTED SENIOR CITIZENS PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTION
Inserted by the Board of Selectmen
Financial impact: The money to pay for the program would be limited to 0.5 percent of the annual levy, or between $100,000 and $150,000, in its first year, but could be raised by the selectmen to between 0.5 and 1 percent in its second and third years.
Money Source: The money needed to pay for the program would be raised by a slight increase in the tax bills of nonqualifying property owners.
Requires a majority vote
Recommended by the Finance Committee and by the Board of Selectmen
This new home-rule bylaw would allow seniors who qualify in any given year to reduce their property taxes by up to 50 percent. Applicants must have incomes below the limits set by the state senior circuit breaker: $56,000 if single; $86,000 if married. At least one owner must have lived in town for 10 consecutive years. The assessed value of the primary residence cannot exceed $720,000 and an applicant must have lived there for at least six months and one day that year. There is no asset test. Applications will be reviewed and approved by the Elderly and Disabled Tax Aid Committee. Proponents estimate that between 50 and 100 seniors might qualify in the first year. For more details see story.
ARTICLE 40: AMEND SENIOR TAX DEFERRAL AMOUNTS
Inserted by the Board of Selectmen
Financial impact: Deferred taxes are taxes that are not collected and therefore do not contribute to the levy that year.
Source of funds: Lost revenue in a given year is restored by transfers from the town’s overlay account.
Requires a majority vote
Recommended by the Finance Committee and by the selectmen.
This article will raise the maximum amount a senior may earn and still defer payment of property taxes in a given year. Passage will raise the upper income limit for senior citizens from the current $20,000 allowed by the town to $57,000, the maximum permitted by the state. The annual interest rate on taxes deferred by a property owner is 2 percent, well below the 8 percent permitted by the state. Deferred taxes and interest accrued are due on sale of the house.
ARTICLE 41: AMEND HOME RULE SPECIAL ACT APPOINTMENT OF ASSESSOR NONRESIDENT
Inserted by Board of Selectmen
No financial impact
Requires majority vote and enactment by state legislature
Recommended by selectmen
This article would allow the selectmen to replace the Board of Assessors with an appointed individual or company. In addition, there would be no Harvard residency requirement for any individual appointed to this position, and the article terminates the existing Board of Assessors. At their May 1 meeting, the selectmen discussed changing the language of the article to allow for the town to reappoint a multi-member Board of Assessors in the future.
Protagonists for this article cite the difficulty in finding board members who are willing to commit to a required week-long assessment course within two years of being appointed to the board. Antagonists cite losing checks and balances on the professional assessors that Harvard contracts with.
Because this article is a home-rule petition, it will go to the state Legislature if it passes. If the article fails, the selectmen will need to appoint at least one more resident to the three-person Board of Assessors, as the current board consists of only one member and one temporary member.
ARTICLE 42: FISCAL YEAR 2019 SALARY AND WAGE ADJUSTMENTS
Inserted by the Board of Selectmen
Amount: $62,000 or less
Money source: General Fund
Requires a majority vote
Recommended by Finance Committee
This article asks for money to bring some salaries and wages for nonunion town employees up to at least the minimum levels for their positions, based on a personnel study by Human Resources Services Inc., that compared Harvard to a dozen similar towns.
ARTICLE 43: ACCEPTANCE OF GIFTS OF PROPERTY
Inserted by Board of Selectmen
No financial impact
Requires majority vote
Recommended by selectmen and Finance Committee
There are no gifts of property to the town this year. The article is inserted annually by the Board of Selectmen and has the support of the Finance Committee, which encourages residents to consider tax-deductible donations of land to the town.
ARTICLE 44: ACCEPTANCE OF HIGHWAY FUNDS
Inserted by Board of Selectmen
Amount: Not yet available
Requires a majority vote
Recommended by the selectmen and the Finance Committee
This vote is required by state law to accept so-called Chapter 90 funds that the state Department of Transportation provides each year for the repair and improvement of the town’s 64 miles of roads. Harvard received $$347,438 for use in fiscal 2018, nearly identical to the amount apportioned by the state the previous year. The amount for fiscal 2019 is yet to be determined.
Ballot Questions
Question #1: Approve the Adoption of the Harvard Charter
Requires a majority vote
A copy of a report of the Charter Commission and of the charter itself may be found in the 2018 Annual Town Meeting warrant book. The charter was developed by the nine-member commission within the 18 months stipulated by state laws. It has been reviewed and approved by the attorney general. If approved, it takes effect immediately. There is no provision for its consideration at Town Meeting. If the vote fails, the commission will dissolve and town government will continued unchanged.
Question #2: Hapgood Library – Construct ADA Accessible Front Door and Address ADA Compliance Issues
Requires a majority vote
Amount: $383,000
Source of funds: Excluded debt
The November 2017 Special Town Meeting has already approved paying up to $383,000 for a new front entrance to the former town library and for making the building ADA compliant. Passage of this question would allow the town to borrow the money as excluded debt. If the article fails, the town would have to raise the money by other means, most likely via a transfer from the Capital Stabilization and Investment Fund.
Question #3:
Hildreth Elementary School
Requires a majority vote
Amount: $53.6 million
Source of funds: Excluded debt
This is the big one. Passage of this question will allow the town to borrow the $54 million it needs to build a new elementary school. The Massachusetts School Building Authority has agreed to reimburse roughly $18.7 million of that amount. The borrowing requires that voters first pass Article 25 of this year’s warrant and more information appears there. The financial impact of the borrowing and details of the proposal have been reported at length in the Press, while the pros and cons have been aired in forums, letters, opinion pieces, and postings on Nextdoor. Now it’s time for voters to decide.
