Millville override in hands of voters
Town says it needs funds to maintain local services; polls open Tuesday at 8
MILLVILLE — A proposed $1 million Proposition 2½ operational override to maintain local services next year is now in the hands of voters.
Polls at the St. Augustine Church Hall, 17 Lincoln St., will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday.
The question on the ballot is as follows:
“Shall the Town of Millville be allowed to assess an additional $1 million in real estate and personal property taxes for the purpose of funding the operating expenses of the schools and other town departments for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2018?”
In a last-minute push to get information out to voters, Selectmen Joseph G. Rapoza and Jennifer Dean Wing recently held six office hour-style meetings with residents to answer questions about how the override will affect real estate tax bills and the town’s operating budget.
Meanwhile, opponents of the override, namely the Millville Citizens Against the Override, have been burning up social media and organizing supporters for Tuesday’s critical vote.
Town officials are reluctant to predict how many of the town’s roughly, 1,200 registered voters will turn out, but many feel the turn out could be one of the biggest in recent memory because of the heightened voter interest.
Originally, the selectmen and Finance Committee had proposed a $1.8 million tax override, which was rejected by special town meeting voters 121 to 88 on April 30. The $1.8 million took into account the Blackstone-Millville Regional School Committee’s projected
“This is about being positive for the future of our town.” —Millville Town Administrator Jennifer M. Callahan
school budget increase of nearly 18 percent and a town structural deficit of nearly $1 million.
The selectmen and Finance Committee went back to the drawing board to make additional budget cuts to lower the deficit and are now proposing the $1 million operational override.
The Finance Committee proposed two town operating budgets at the annual town meeting on May 14 – an override-contingent budget of $6,3343,733 and a $6,183,222 budget with no override – depending on the outcome of the vote on Tuesday.
Since Proposition 2½ was approved by state voters in 1980 (the law went into effect in 1982), Millville has only had one override measure on the ballot, which was back in 2012. The property tax cap essentially limits municipal governments to a 2.5 percent increase in assessed property taxes each year, but officials can bust this cap if they can get a majority of voters to agree.
The override is being proposed as part of a strategic financial plan to right-size the budget and reset the tax rate to address ongoing operational deficits and balance the budget. The town is facing a massive structural deficit due to continued use of one-time revenues to fund increases to the school budget. Town officials say that without an override, the town may not be able to meet its legal requirement of providing a balanced budget will have exhausted most of its one-time revenues.
The override will permanently add $1 million to the town’s tax levy, and if it passes, it would mean a total tax increase of approximately $1,415 over a period of eight years for the average $250,000 single-family household.
If the override passes, town officials say, it:
•Keeps town trash service.
•Funds the Senior Center and a certified Millville Free Public Library.
•Funds a 3 percent school supplemental increase.
•Cuts unfilled non-essen- tial positions.
•Keeps street lights on. If the override is defeated, it:
•Cuts town trash service.
•Closes the Senior Center and a certified Millville Free Public Library.
•Funds a 3 percent school supplemental increase.
•Cuts and reduces essential and non-essential positions (the town would need to cut an additional $300,0000 from the budget, which would likely include police and fire personnel)
Override supporters says passage of the operational override will right size the town’s budget and reset its tax rate over a number of years.
“Despite running a very lean operation with limited staff, the town can no longer balance the budget with onetime revenues,” said Town Administrator Jennifer M. Callahan, adding she is confident voters will do what’s right for the town.
“This is about being positive for the future of our town,” she said. “The successes of Millville are real and many state officials and agencies – even our Lt. Governor Karyn Polito – recognize we are a community that is on the move by embracing change and innovation.”
As town administrator, Callahan says she has pursued building new external partnerships along with sound grant proposal development which has resulted in over $2.2 million in funding assistance for crucial projects which cannot be met through the annual operating budget. Such assistance, she says, will continue to yield positive results in addressing aging infrastructure, producing strategic plans to guide the town forward and providing the community with improved services.
“Despite many of these challenges, the community has recognized the need for innovative thinking which embraces the possible over the impossible,’ she said. “I am optimistic about the future of Millville for it has demonstrated the necessary resolve to succeed in the face of crisis. The energy which has surfaced as a result of coming together to embrace the change necessary to move the community forward is both real and focused on building a community which is sustainable for future generations to come.”
Callahan said the override will right size the budget and reset the tax rate, which will allow the town to then focus on what needs to be done to build a sustainable community moving forward.
“What all this simply boils down to is the fact that revenues haven’t kept pace with the cost of education,’” said Rapoza. “When I first came to town in 2006 I started tracing fund balances and over the next 10-year period we used $1.82 million in one-time revenues to balance the the budget. That was our bank account and we kept going to the bank. There are no revenues to continue.”
“In 2015, the selectmen contacted the Department of Revenue and Department of Local Services, which came in, did a survey and published a report with 13 recommendation, including hiring a professional town administrator,” he said. “We moved to do that and today we have Jennifer Callahan, who has moved the town forward light years.”
“For Millville to continue staying viable as a town we need the override,” Rapoza said. “Otherwise, were going to lose services that are important to the people of our community. A takeover of Millville by another community is not the solution. The solution is is an operational override structured in a way that will ensure a future for the town for at least the next eight years.”
“The fact remains that the vote on Tuesday will determine which direction Millville residents will choose.,” said town historian and longtime resident Margaret Carroll. “Either we continue to work with the state as we are currently doing or we have the state come in to manage our town at an undetermined level of control.”
One fact is certain that a balanced budget is required in order to set a tax rate by December,” she said. “Another is the School District needs a certified budget by July 1 to fully fund the start of the fiscal year, otherwise the Commissioner of Education will establish only a 1/12th budget for the schools to operate. If we do not take positive action on these two responsibilities, then it could be out of our hands. Residents can keep Millville’s future under its own control by supporting this Override. It is a reasonable solution.”
Opponents of the override say town officials have not been transparent and are asking them to come back with a more adequately explained proposal and sound financial plan.
“We formed the ballot question committee, Millville Citizens Against the Override, to ensure a complete picture of the financial situation of the override was presented to the citizens of Millville so people could make an informed vote,” the committee said in a statement Friday. “We are against the override for three main reasons: the lack of
transparency from the town; the fact that the town’s leadership has admitted this is not a long-term solution; and the harsh economic impact this has on the citizens of our community.”
“The town has not done a good job of explaining the need, impact, and benefits of the override in its current form,” the statement says. “We have not seen any plans plans of how this override will support the long-term growth of Millville. We personally have requested to those plans twice at the town meeting on May 14 and through an email this week, which we sent to the Board of Selectmen, town administrator, and Finance Committee chairman. Our goal is for the town to come back with
a better explained proposal and a sound financial plan that sets Millville up for long-term success. We encourage the citizens of Millville to vote no on this override on Tuesday, June 19.”
According to the group, the town put out a sheet that said the median household ($250,000 home) will see a $190 average annual increase if the override passes. “This is highly inaccurate,” the statement says. “The actual average annual increase to a $250,000 home will be $736 if the override passes.”
The group also says there has been no rationale behind why $1 million is needed when the town’s actual shortfall is about $450,000.
“There has been no explanation as to what presumptions are being made that allow the town to project eight years into the future if the override passes,” says the
group. “Emails to town officials have not been answered and discussion on the override is not permitted at the Board of Selectmen meetings.”
The group also believes the town’s projection sheets are calculated incorrectly. “This has been demonstrated and proven,” the statement says.
The group says the bigger issue is the “harsh” impact an override will have on the town’s citizens. For example”
•Average $150,000 home will pay $441 more per year on average if override passes.
•Average $250,000 home will pay $736 more per year on average if override passes.
•Average $350,000 home will pay $1,031 more per year on average if override passes.
•Average $450,000 home will pay $1,324 more per year on average if override passes.