Funds raised for Town's coffers
Published on December 21st, 2005
Singing a spirited rendition of Jingle Bells for the television audience watching their meeting Tuesday night, the Selectmen hope that state officials will get into the Christmas spirit and jingle a little money into the town's coffers.
Unanimously endorsing two separate resolutions, the Selectmen stood behind two revenue-boosting measures that could cut Stoneham's MWRA sewer assessments by six-percent and net over $140,000 in local gains by clamping corporate tax loopholes.
According to Town Counsel Bill Solomon, the Mass Municipal Association (MMA) is supporting House Bill 2408, which will shut down telecommunications company tax loopholes that have cost local municipalities an estimated $140 million each year.
Suggesting that the Selectmen should throw their own weight behind the bill, Solomon explained that companies shield themselves from personal property taxes by creating their headquarters in off-shore locations.
"They get out of taxes by creating an offshore company to change their status. And they're able to get out of personal property taxes," the town attorney commented.
"In Stoneham, that means $144,000 would be generated if these loopholes were eliminated. In fact, we've required that [wireless companies] make a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes to ensure they didn't get around it through this loophole," Solomon added.
Requesting support of a separate proposal, Town Administrator Ron Florino referred to a recent memo from the MWRA Advisory Board seeking to create a sewer rate relief fund with a FY07 appropriation of at least $25 million.
According to the advisory board, 62 percent of its current state funding is directly slated towards offsetting capital projects for infrastructure, a debt currently estimated at $6.4 billion.
"A 2004 affordability analysis found rates in the MWRA service area, which includes 60 communities and over 2.5 million Massachusetts' residents, are presenting a substantial social and economic burden to homeowners and threatening the economic viability of the region," the resolution reads.
"Water and sewer rate assessments to communities are expected to increase $208 million over the next five years; and homeowners in the MWRA system already pay some of the highest rates in the nation," it furthers.
According to Florino, without some type of change in the way the debt service is funded, Stoneham will see a significant rise in its water and sewer costs.
However, should the town support the resolution and it's subsequently passed, Stoneham would be guaranteed a six-percent break in its sewer assessments.
"The pulled back a lot of funding in 2003 and because of that, the MWRA has to pass this on to other communities. They're looking to get $25 million in funding this year, which would mean a six-percent reduction in assessments to cities and towns," Florino explained.
Bramac Development Trust
With a proposed 16-unit condominium development on Pomeworth Street at the former St. Patrick's convent tied up with the Planning Board for its third straight month, the Selectmen continued a site-plan hearing on the matter.
According to both Selectmen John DePinto and Cosmo Ciccarello, the need to continue the hearing yet another time is starting to become an issue, especially since interested residents might miss the meeting because of the regular trend of postponing the gathering.
"My understanding is they're still [at the Planning Board]. My question is, how long can we use this notice without readvertising?" asked Ciccarello.
"You keep crying wolf and nobody is going to show up," added DePinto.
Proposing a solution, Solomon believed that once the Planning Board proceedings were finished, the Selectmen should put a notice in local newspapers explaining that the site plan hearing will occur at the scheduled date.
That way, the Town Counsel argued, people interested in attending will have adequate and reliable notice that the meeting will actually take place.
"As long as people have notice of the general matter, I would think that's sufficient," said Solomon. "To be fair to the public, and to let them know the meeting is really 'the meeting', you can advertise to let them know."
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