How CPA funding works in Templeton

How CPA funding works in Templeton

To The Editor: 5/15/2014

John Henshaw Templeton Community Preservation Committee ChairmanTo The Editor:  At the Templeton Annual Town Meeting on Saturday, voters will be asked to consider several warrant articles seeking expenditure of Community Preservation Act (CPA) funds. Voters unfamiliar with the CPA may wonder how we can have money available for these articles, yet have no money to pay for core and essential services. CPA funds are outside of the general budget of the town and may be used only for specific uses in four categories:  Historic Preservation, Community Housing, Open Space, and Recreation. The funds are available to Templeton as a result of Templeton voters accepting the provisions of the Community Preservation Act in 2007. Among the projects Templeton voters have approved over the years, are the conservation of the Dwelly Farm, protection of land off Dudley Road, preservation efforts for the Templeton Grange Hall and restoration of tombs in the Common Burial Ground behind the First Church of Templeton. While these projects do not help our current municipal destitution, they do help preserve our community heritage and can play a role in shoring up our civic pride that has suffered so much recently via the assaults of community discord and fiscal woes. The CPA is a state law (M.G.L. Chapter 44B) that enables towns to assess a property tax surcharge and provides matching funds from the Commonwealth to towns voting to accept its provisions. State law restricts expenditure of these funds to the specific categories listed above.  Since acceptance, every dollar assessed by the town of Templeton for the CPA surcharge has been matched by the Commonwealth — effectively doubling the size of the fund.  Residents eligible for tax abatement can see their CPA surcharge abated. The first $100,000 in assessed value is exempt from the surcharge for all residential property.  The CPA surcharge is assessed as 3% of the property tax (not property value) after the exemptions. Annually, the town has assessed from $97,623 to $118,074 and received a total of $640,259 in matching funds. The matching funds are distributed in October by the Commonwealth from the CPA Trust Fund that receives fees from registry of deed transactions.  A match of 100% is not guaranteed. The state Department of Revenue determines an annual base rate based on the availability of, and demand for, funds.  Towns that have voted for the 3% surcharge are eligible for additional rounds of funding based on population and wealth. As a result, Templeton (along with Phillipston and Royalston) has been among the towns receiving a full match every year. These funds can then be appropriated at a town meeting, following a defined process, and cannot be used for any non-CPA uses, such as town charges or building a new school. The CPA requires towns form a Community Preservation Committee (CPC), comprised of local residents, to develop and guide the process of getting funding requests on the town meeting warrant. Proponents for a proposal work with the CPC to develop projects that meet the statue requirements and provide sufficient information regarding the cost and benefit of the project to the citizens of Templeton. The CPC discusses and reviews the proposed projects and votes whether they should be submitted to the Board of Selectmen for inclusion on the special or annual town meeting warrant.  Once on the warrant and moved at town meeting, the voters of Templeton decide whether to expend the funds as proposed or not. The 2014 Annual Town Meeting warrant includes requests for funds to begin preservation of town records ($17,500), preserve the East Templeton Elementary School ($195,000), continue preservation of the Templeton Grange Hall ($73,160), preserve a civil war monument at the Common Burial Ground ($31,000 and contingent upon receiving Veterans Agency grant of $7,500), and partial funding in support of the replacement of the columns supporting the portico at the First Church of Templeton ($5,000). This final request, if voted, would provide some of the funding for the column repair and is allowed by the CPA, even though it is a church, as the structure provides community benefit in its role defining the Templeton Common. The article seeking funds for the preservation of the East Templeton Elementary School will likely feel the effects of the polarized population. Last year, a request was made for $250,000 to preserve the school and to engage the services of a preservation consultant to determine the scope and estimated cost of a full restoration of the building for future use as a town office building. The proponents had originally sought only to stop the degradation of the building by replacing the roof, boiler system and making drainage improvements. The CPC insisted that additional funds be added to the request to engage the services of a consultant who could inform the process of what would be required to complete the re-use of the building. Restoration would require addressing all issues related to putting the building into full compliance for its re-use — including strict adherence to the cost structure associated with a state-funded project. Voters rejected this approach and the project proponents re-visited the matter this year when it was decided to seek only the funds necessary to stabilize the building and protect the asset. This article would provide the funds to achieve this result and would enable the town to consider its options to move forward in the ultimate use or disposition of the building. Here’s to hoping we can channel some of the passion we have for our town to the common good. John Henshaw Templeton Community Preservation Committee Chairman