Under The Current Laws, NCV Would Violate The Constitution

Last evening, concerned citizen voters of Westford, saw the spirit of Abraham Lincoln at work at the Westford Town Hall.  Anyone who has ever served as an executive for an estate, should be familiar with the term “strings from the grave”.   This refers to the power of a deceased person, who through a will, still controls assets on earth.    Last evening Lincoln’s legacy, the Fourteenth Amendment” prevailed even here in left wing Massachusetts.

State Representative Jim Arciero appeared virtually at a meeting of the Westford Select Board last evening, along with State Senator John Cronin and offered his definitive conclusion, that at least for now, the debate over non-citizen voting is a non-starter.  Arciero advised that he had consulted with the Massachusetts Secretary of State’s Office and the Mass Municipal Association, as well as, the House leadership and several members of the legislature on this matter.  His inquiries led him to believe that any attempt to extend voting rights to non-citizen would be a futile effort.

 To support his conclusion, Arciero stated the law in Massachusetts currently requires that people must attest to their citizenship when they register to vote.  He noted that while Los Angeles, Vermont and some districts in the city of Washington DC have attempted to allow non-citizen voting, there is no state constitution in the US that specifically allows it.  He said that the criteria for citizenship is defined in the US Constitution, which is the law of the land and cannot be superseded by local jurisdictions.   Additionally, registering voters is a state designated responsibility in the Constitution.  If non-citizen voting were adopted on a piecemeal basis where one community allowed it and another did not, the town clerks in those communities, would be determining voter eligibility, which is a role exclusively reserved to the state.   Arciero referenced initiatives in Concord, Lexington and Wayland that have offered petitions to allow for non-citizen voting in local elections.  He said that all these bills will be moved to committee for study, where they will probably die. Senator Cronin offered no opinion.

REMOTE TOWN MEETING ANOTHER DEAD END ON BEACON HILL

Security, Validating Participants and Costs All Cited As Prohibitive

   State Representative Jim Arciero, participated in a zoom appearance at the Westford Select Board meeting last evening and commented on an inquiry submitted by the Westford Select Board regarding remote participation at Town meeting.   He said that in his judgement the issue is a non-starter on Beacon Hill.  While he acknowledged both his obligation and that of Senator Cronin to file resolutions or petitions from the town, he offered a candid assessment about the prospects of remote (virtual) open town meeting.  Based on his discussion with House leadership and with input from  the Massachusetts Municipal Association (MMA), a powerful lobby group that represents municipal government in Massachusetts, he determined that such a bill would not succeed. 

               Arciero said that there were three specific objections to remote town meeting. These are (1) security of the voting system  (2) ability to validate participation to ensure that only registered voters are participating (3) the costs of installation and maintenance of a secured system to support remote participation.  He added that the MMA is opposed to remote participation for open town meeting.  Arciero noted that provisions for virtual meetings of town boards and committees will continue until FY 2027, per the continuation of the Covid 19 precautions, but these do not apply to open town meetings.  He confirmed that there are initiatives pending in the legislature regarding remote participation, but these will most likely be shunted off to study committees to die. Senator Cronin offered no comment on this issue.

BEWARE: STATE FINANCIAL SITUATION LOOKS GRIM

 “ We Are Looking At FY 27 With Trepidation” –  State Senator John Cronin

      State Senator John Cronin offered comments to the Westford Select Board last evening about the fiscal situation facing Massachusetts state government. The comments painted a concerning picture.  Senator Cronin took the lead on this discussion stating the legislature is looking at FY 27 with lots of “uncertainty and trepidation”.  The primary concern is a possible decline in state revenue.  Cronin stated that at the present time it is the revenue collected from both Capital Gains taxes and the surcharges from the Millionaires tax, that is keeping the state balance sheet in the black.  He warned that if there was a significant economic downturn that would affect these revenue streams, the state would be facing dire financial problems.

              Cronin stated that in January of 2026, the legislature will meet with the Governor’s office to come to agreement on projected revenue for FY 2027.  It is upon this projection that the FY 27 budget will be based.  He noted that last year’s budget was predicated upon an estimated 1B in increased revenue which never panned out. This is the cause of the trepidation going into FY 27.  He noted that policy changes being made by the current administration in Washington will bear significantly on the situation in Massachusetts.

SELECT BOARD APPROVES SINGLE TAX RATE FOR FY 2027

 Taxes To Go Up 4%  For Single Family Home Owners

  The Westford Select Board last evening voted to adopt a tax classification scheme for FYI 2027 that would hike the tax rate for single family home owners by 4%.  Home owners in properties valued at 1M, will see a hike of  $700.00 in their tax bill.   For those with homes valued at 500K the expected hike would be about $350.00.  So you ask, under what authority does a town government have to raise taxes without even a town meeting vote, not to mention a full town election ?  The answer is tax classification, a backdoor method of taxation that very few people are familiar with.

              Massachusetts state law allows municipalities to set their local tax rate each year based on an overall “fair and equitable” assessment of property values in their community.  There are three categories of properties that can be taxed by local government;  residential property, commercial/industrial property and personnel property.  These properties can be taxed at a single rate or a split rate.   A single rate means that the same level of taxation will be applied to both residential and commercial property.  A split rate means that each of these categories can be taxed at a different rate..

               According to Will Naser, the town’s tax assessor, who testified in public hearing before the Select Board last evening,  the values of all properties in Westford increased over last year.  By far, residential property represents the greatest portion of taxable property in town.  Out of a total real estate evaluation of 7.5B for all privately owned property, residential properties comprise 6.8B of that total property wealth.   The rate of taxation is based upon a formula, that uses last year’s tax levy as the foundation then adds in new growth. The new levy can be increased by up to 2.5% of that limit without an override.  However, the other factor in assessing taxation is the value of each property.  That can change from year to year.  If the values of property increases, the town is authorized to set a new rate per 1K of valuation.   A change in rate is under the sole authority of the select board.  No override is needed, Naser, reported that the value of residential property in Westford increased by 4%;  that of commercial increased by 10%.

               The Select Board voted to adopt a single rate of taxation, which is the reason for the increase in the new residential tax rate.  Through discussions with Naser the board determined that a split rate would offer minimal tax relief to residential property owners (a reduction of about $100.00 over last year), but it would substantially increase the rate of taxation for commercial/industrial property owners.  The Board and the Town manager expressed concerns about the impact a split rate would have in attracting more business to town.   Attendees offered deeply divided opinions on the question of split rate vs single rate.  Business owners said that the split rate would negatively impact them; property owners said, that in these economic hard times, residential tax payers should get tax relief.   The Board found the pro-business argument more persuasive and voted unanimously to adopt the single rate.