Margie Arons-Barron has a thoughtful piece on her blog this week (it also appears in the TAB) about the three proposed overrides that will go before Newton voters this March.
In particular, she raises the question about whether seniors and other non-school families will and should support the tax increases and what, if anything they gain from it. Here’s two excerpts..
I would submit that even those of us who no longer use the schools benefit from a high quality education. Just look at how well the city’s real estate market survived the recent Great Recession…..
….But even when my sister and I were no longer in the system, my father would say, “We moved to Newton for quality schools. I see my responsibility as leaving the schools in at least the same condition as we found them.”
What, if anything are you hearing from seniors and your non-school family neighbors (or do you fall into that category)?
For seniors and non-school families, there’s nothing in it for them–unless they drive or bike or walk (remember streets & sidewalks? A million for improvements? That’s badly needed.) Oh–and four new police officers (crosswalk enforcement, etc.) And the value of your home.
From first-hand discussions with folks, particularly those with no kids in the system now, the general impression I’ve come away with is they recognize there is still value to them of maintaining a high quality school system, a safe city to live in, and services, including road maintenance, that might Newton a comfortable place to live. [I’m in that category myself, where my daughter has been out of the system for 8 years.]
For folks who’ve never met an override they liked, or for some seniors on fixed, limited incomes, the calculation is often different, though I found that after explaining why the override is needed and often pointing out to the senior the programs that exist for helping seniors reduce their property tax burden a surprising number are at least more neutral to the override idea. Often seniors have been unaware such exemptions even exist, or they didn’t know how to go about applying for them. In many cases, the exemption is enough to more than offset the increase in taxes from the proposed override.
I’m in the non-senior but modest income, no child ever in the Newton schools category, and I’ll be supporting the overrides. I was brought up that supporting quality public education is a civic responsibility.
So the president has made changes to our taxes, the Governor is proposing more taxes and now the override vote in Newton. So taken as individual taxes they are not too bad – taken all together it ends up being a lot of money that we will have to pay. So personally I would be surprised if this override passes .
Joanne: You are right that there have been changes to our taxes under Pres. Obama. He has, in fact, decreased the tax burden to its lowest point in 50 years. This was done as an emergency measure to address an economic crisis, and it is an unsustainable posture going forward. btw, that was done in cooperation with Congress, if such an expression could be used.
Any informed taxpayer understands that government services cost money, and that taxes will inexorably go up from where they are now. I think that Dan Fahey assesses the current mindset correctly. I doubt that Newton residents will punish themselves because of the Governor’s tax plan. It’s time to make this investment, and most fair-minded people here understand that.
@Bill: “Fair-minded” or not, good public policy or not, best intentions or not, the bottom line is most folks are receiving less in their paychecks this month because of change to the payroll tax.
Increased taxes are a genuine hardship for some. It’s arrogant to suggest that any opposing vote equals a decision to “punish” oneself or that such voters are not-necessarily “fair-minded.”
The timing of the override is terrible as far as being taxed from other levels of government (as others have stated), but if this override gets voted down then we need to consider restructuring our city govenment. Make it more self sufficient. Any ideas???
Where’s David Osbourne when you need him???
@Tom– We have a revenue problem. If we fail to at least partially address that problem by passing the mayor’s proposed package of overrides, it doesn’t mean we have to restructure city government, [although I wouldn’t mind doing that for entirely different reasons]. In Newton’s case, the solution to the problem is to generate more revenue. If the override[s] fail, we need to do what I’ve been encouraging the city to do for years… Pursue alternative sources of revenue. For all the good things Mayor Warren has done for Newton, he has completely dropped the ball on exploiting new sources of revenue.
I think Bill was simply getting at the fact the payroll tax reduction 2+ years ago was always intended as a temporary stimulus measure, not a real tax decrease. Since the economy did improve some since then, it made sense to take it back to where it was.
The point I was trying to make was ( and TY for the Lesson on Government Bill but I already understood it) that in our family we are probably going to be getting about $2000 less this year in our paychecks , then add the additional taxes that we will have to pay because of IRS changes and add in the additional State taxes and IRS changes that the Governor is proposing and the Newton Override and what is a small amount becomes Thousands of dollars that we have to pay in additional taxes this year and thousands that we are not getting in our paychecks. So the only people I see right now being punished are “us” .
And the point I was trying to make was that if it was only the override then it might be OK. If we had the additional $2000 per year that is being taken out of our checks we could pay for the override. But without that money and the Governors proposals and the overrides cost – it will be very difficult for many even in Newton to pay additional taxes.
As I stated which was the question asked on this blog I dont think alot of people in Newton without and even some with kids will feel compelled to support the override especially in light of all the other taxes that have been added and the ones being proposed.
I hear what you are saying, Joanne, and folks have their own particular circumstances that will influence their decision on this override.
But in my view, Newton’s educational system stands at a tipping point, such that not funding the city’s added needs now can easily push the public’s perception of the Newton school system into a lower echelon. [I believe it’s already slipped some, but folks outside of Newton aren’t yet so aware of that.] And that almost assuredly will adversely affect Newton property values.
For a house valued at $500,000, were the declining school system to knock off just $50,000 if you needed to sell it in say 5 years, that would feel like a big price to have paid to have saved $300 a year for 5 years by having voted down the override.
Now folks that know me are aware I’m no apologist for overrides, having co-led the effort to defeat the one in ’08. So ,my support for this one is well-considered, seeing with my own eyes and ears how differently this mayor has managed our fiscal house. And how thoroughly he has assessed the huge infrastructure problems that went unaddressed in the past, and put forth a sound plan for beginning to tackle those shortfalls.
No one really likes increased taxes, but no one does handstands over decreased services either, or declining home values.
@Joanne– Although I don’t entirely agree with Dan’s glowing revue of the Warren Administration, I completely concur with his assessment of our educational system, as well as his math. If the mayor’s package of overrides fails to pass, our school system will suffer substantial long term damage, and as a result, the value of homes in Newton will take a significant hit. These increased taxes will be painful to a lot of people. But homeowners in Newton simply can’t afford to not make this investment.
Greg: Reread the intro to this thread and then reread (as in read, not read into) my comment.
Joanne: When is it a good time to raise taxes? Or lower them for that matter?
Not everyone who lives in Newton has unlimited funds. Somc of us work more more than 1 job and although I understand why there is a need to raise taxes – what I dont understand is why some on this blog dont seem to understand that if we are already getting less money in our check this year, will have to pay more in IRS taxes at the state and federal level and then add on to that an additional city tax ie override then it might be a bit of an issue for some Newton Familys and older residents that have limited funds.
And Bill maybe if we did not have Taxes being raised at the Federal, State and City level it might not be so much of an issue. It seems that our President, Govenor and Mayor all decided that NOW was a good time to raise taxes.
@Joanne – I definitely understand why this is a big issue for many of us. Getting hit with a possible 1-2-3, fed-state-city increase in the same year certainly makes it a lot more difficult. Like you, the last few years have been a bit of a squeeze in our house which make an override a very hard decision – i.e. choosing to pinch ourselves even more.
The pinching aside, we’re definitely going to vote in support of the override. It’s very clear given the condition of our schools, the increasing school population, and the backlog of delayed or ignored maintenance that is a genuine and real need. The decision’s a bit easier for us since we have “skin in the game””- a daughter in elementary school. Even without kids in the schools, as others have pointed out, neglecting the problems in the schools for much longer, will affect all of us in the years to come. One of the biggest factors that props up the values of all our houses is the perceived quality of our schools.
I agree with you though that proponents of the override don’t do themselves any favor by trivializing the sacrifices that an override vote will involve for many citizens, particularly if both the state and federal taxes do rise at the same time.
What Jerry said.
We have no kids in the schools, but I’m going to vote for the override because so many of our schools and other facilities that are already in bad shape will just continue to deteriorate if we don’t. The kids, in our classrooms didn’t cause any of the foibles that contributed to the current fiscal challenges we face, so it’s not fair they should suffer. Bill Brandel made an obvious but important point that there is never a really good time to ask for a tax increase, and Dan Fahey placed in full context the negative cost effectiveness of opposing the override for any senior contemplating a sale of their house.
That said, I’d caution proponents not to trivialize the impact of a $350.00 yearly tax increase on many seniors and other residents with modest incomes and please counter any supporter that comes out with the following nonsense.
1. “If people can’t afford the increase, they should move out.”
2. “We need the very best of everything for our students” . ***
3. “Wealthy and prominent people want to move into Newton, but they will expect the best of everything before they do.”
I mention these three statement because I heard all of them articulated rather insensitively at one time or other during past override attempts. This was right about the time Graham Gunn was being hired as an architect for Newton North. The $195,000,000 price tag for Newton North still smarts with a lot of people. I try and tell them that neither the Warren Administration, the kids currently in school, or just about all other Newton residents who currently need vital services had anything to do with any of this. In a sense, it is time to move on.
***The second would read much better as “our kids deserve the best curricula and facilities we can reasonably provide, and we need the override to make that happen. “
Joanne: I do think that most people get the fact that the timing is unfortunate (they will be paying those taxes) and I doubt that there are very many in this city who would trivialize it.
The question is whether we face up to the impact of deferring maintenance and infrastructure investment over the last two decades. You introduced this thread by asking whether seniors and other non-school families will and should support the tax increases. Well, should they? And if not now, then when? What other option do we have?
Bob: Welcome back.
Bill: Thank you. Khi also thanks you.
Jerry & Bob – Thank you for articulating so well what rubs so many of us the wrong way. I will vote for the override because I understand that Angier, etc. are falling apart and unsafe for kids. That doesn’t minimize the fact that the extra few hundred bucks per year is going to be painful, when my budget is already pared to the bones. People who trivialize that or say it means people like me should move elsewhere make it less likely the overrides will pass, by antagonizing those of us for whom it will be difficult.