With the town facing a looming structural budget deficit, officials have pressed forward on a pair of overrides to help plug the hole facing the town and, as a result, the school department. But town officials, including Town Administrator Thatcher Kezer, are mum on what the actual cost to residents will be.
“The short answer is, it is too early to determine the impact on taxes,” Kezer said.
The overrides, which appear on the May 1 Town Meeting warrant as Articles 31 and 32, do not contain specific dollar figures, with neither the town’s budget nor the school department’s budget finalized.
The two articles are intertwined with the total dollar figure of the overrides will in turn inform the impact on tax bills.Kezer indicated voters would have estimates or projections for the cost of the overrides before them when they are voted on.
Should Town Meeting approve the overrides in May, they will head to the ballot for approval in the town’s annual election. Notably, an override request from the school department was roundly rejected by voters during 2022’s election.
Kezer said a number of variables will determine the final impact of the overrides on the total tax levy, which will in turn affect individual tax bills. He cited the unknown amount of state aid the town will receive in the final fiscal year 2024 budget as a key determining factor that will not be settled until later in the year.
He added that, “individual tax bills are dependent on any increase in the tax levy and how their property values may change compared to other residents’ values.”