Unfortunately, despite its length, its tone is frequently self-contradictory, and some proposals devoid of necessary explanation.
Clearly, the writers of Articles in this warrant have two very different views of our town – some envision a woeful near future, with collapsing property values, while others perceive a rich community, with deeper taxpayer pockets than have currently been tapped, despite the town having already the highest real estate taxes in the Commonwealth.
Most controversial may be Article 14, to begin the process to allow the town to exceed the legal limit on real estate taxes. This ‘advance permission’ to exceed the 2.5 percent of assessed market value tax ceiling limit is being justified just in case property values plummet do to COVID-19 ‘within a few years.’ First, the facts don’t support the contention – per Zillow, property value in 01106 have risen 3 percent overall in the last year, and Zillow currently expects an additional 3 percent increase over the next year. There is absolutely nothing that drives a need to address this now.
In my opinion, COVID-19 does not seem to be hurting Longmeadow property values, but if we keep raising taxes beyond what folk are willing to pay, that certainly will! Furthermore, if we keep increasing our taxes, many of our senior citizens may be unable to keep their homes here – and make use of that new Senior Citizens Center, which has further increased our tax burden.
In terms of missing explanation, an example is Article 13, which includes without explanation, a change in the schools budget from $36,027,268 to $35,677,268 – a $650K increase. Given that it is the only major change in the lines listed, the failure to call it out, and explain it, is troubling.
There are several instances, in apparent contradiction to the dismal view of future property values, of requests for unnecessary spending, in this time pandemic and economic downturn. A couple of examples: Article 9, for $100K for a ‘study’ to see if Longmeadow Street / Route 5 ‘might need to be reconfigured,’ and Article 30, for $15K to fund a feasibility study for a skate park. Is this really the year to look for reasons to spend money?
Perhaps the strangest proposal is Article 36, a citizen’s proposal ‘to see if the Town will vote to allow the installation of ground-mounted thermal and/or photovoltaic solar panels within the front and/or side lot lines of a residential property.’ On the face of it, this seem like a trendy idea, with some well-reasoned limitations. However, once one dives into the details, one wonders how much of it was written by the electric company.
First, a limit to 9KW total power generation, in a world of rapidly improving panel yields, electric homes, and electric cars, appears arbitrary and disfavorable. Further limitations include a requirement for 30’ setback for homes on corner lots, vs 10’ for all others, and “Each solar panel array shall be skirted on all perimeter sides that are in view from a public way or abutting neighbor with tan, green, gray, or wood lattice and evergreen shrubbery.” First, why ‘wood lattice AND evergreen shrubbery’? Why does not one or the other suffice? This is extra expense – once again, looks like every possible barrier that is not totally obvious is being put in place. Who wants to see this on their property?
The 2020 Longmeadow is a long, complicated, and wearisome document to read. However, as the examples above illustrate, it is a must-read for every resident worried about how their tax dollars are being spent. I encourage all who can to participate in the Zoom meeting on June 22 at 7 pm https://www.longmeadow.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=546 and then attend what will surely be a very lengthy Town Meeting Tuesday, June 23 with a rain date of June 24. The meeting will be held outside at Longmeadow High School.
It seems the choice is simple – participate now, or pay up later!
LTC John Friedson
Longmeadow
