CITIZENS Barbara's
Column Seniors Bribed to Support Tax Increases for New
Schools? Let me get this straight. Senate President Thomas Birmingham wants to use my
state tax dollars to bribe senior citizens to vote to raise my property taxes for
new schools. He admitted this at the May 25th hearing on his bill "to provide assistance
to low and moderate income elderly property taxpayers." Addressing the seniors who
were present, he expressed concern about property taxes that are forcing them to leave
their communities, then stated sympathetically that "you are not in a position to
make a fair, rational assessment of proposals to increase spending." So he offered them cash. My cash. Your cash. Their own cash, if
they still pay income taxes, and someone else's cash if they don't. Birmingham's bill
returns money to certain seniors who pay more than 10 percent of their income in property
taxes, up to $750. In order to understand this scheme, there are certain things you must know. First, property taxes, for seniors and everyone else, are limited by the
initiative law Proposition 2½, which was passed by Massachusetts voters in 1980. No
matter how much market house values increase, the city or town can only increase its total
tax levy by 2½ percent over the previous year's levy, plus a factor for new construction
or improvements. If a community wants more, it must ask its voters for an override of Proposition
2½ on a local ballot. Some overrides do pass. But when school overrides fail, proponents
often blame senior citizens. Certainly the seniors of 1980 were the strongest supporters of Prop 2½, and
seniors have been its first line of defense ever since. Younger taxpayers, who struggle
with mortgages as well as taxes, are dependent upon the senior vote to save them from
overrides promoted by people who can afford higher taxes and don't care about people who
can't. Many politicians have never liked Proposition 2½. For example, state Senator
David Magnani (D-Framingham), has voted often to change Prop 2½ and tax our homes more.
Sen. Magnani is a co-sponsor of Birmingham's bill and testified at the hearing about his
concern for senior citizens. Do you begin to get the picture? When an opponent of Proposition 2½ suddenly
expresses concern for any homeowners, it's important to find out what he and his allies
really want. Another thing you must know is that the education establishment has an insatiable
appetite for your tax dollars, and its present craving is the money in the School Building
Assistance Fund. For decades, the state has reimbursed communities for part of the cost of building
and renovating new schools. Some communities are experiencing major growth in student
populations and need to build or expand, so naturally other communities want "their
share" of the state money too. Some school administrators facing even minor student
population growth want brand-new buildings, even though state money is available for total
renovations and additions. There is also a program for repair and reconstruction that the Legislature has not
recently funded, probably because it knows that school committees will neglect maintenance
if they think that the state will pick up the cost of repairs. Many school committees neglect maintenance anyhow; it's easier to talk voters into
an override for roof repairs than for salary hikes or other operating costs. Some schools
have been allowed to deteriorate to the point where the community can now make a case for
a new building instead of repairs. This brings us back to the Birmingham bill, because a community must get a giant
override from its taxpayers to fund its share of a new school bond -- and needs to get
senior citizens to vote for it, or at least stay home. Dear seniors: we who share your support for Proposition 2½ share your fear of
losing your homes. Some of us even believe that property taxes should support only
property-related departments such as public safety and public works, and that operating
expenses for public education should come from other sources. Please don't abandon us, your children and grandchildren who also can't afford
higher property taxes. Take the tax break if it passes this summer, but vote against the
overrides anyhow. If we don't allow the legislature to divide and conquer, maybe we can
all afford to keep our homes. Barbara Anderson is executive
director of Citizens for Limited Taxation. Her syndicated columns appear in the
Salem Evening News, the Lowell Sun, the Tinytown Gazette and MediaNews Group newspapers
around the state. |