To the editor:
“Say Yes to the CPA”
We are longtime Watertown residents with young children destined for our fine schools, and we are excited to be voting Yes on Question 5. As people who are deeply devoted to our town, we believe that the Community Preservation Act will bring innumerable benefits to us all.
When we decided to raise our families here, we did so for two reasons: First, we were inspired by the commitment of Watertown Strong Schools and other advocates to making our schools great. Second – and just as important – we love the community here. Raising four young children between our two families, we enjoy using Watertown’s parks, attending concerts in Saltonstall Park, strolling along the River, and watching the construction vehicles building up our town. These outdoor spaces are central to the way our families experience Watertown.
Like many working families, we live on a tight budget. Yet, we are happy to contribute to the CPA because we know that this investment of about $10 per month (the cost of a couple of drinks at Halfway Café, and less than our Netflix subscription) will be well invested in the form of $2 million in parks and playing fields, affordable housing, and preserving our historical heritage – the things that we love about this town.
Of course Watertown must have strong schools, but we do not believe that the vision for this community should involve a trade-off between the quality of our schools and the well-being of the rest of our our community. We believe that Watertown is strong enough to support both. We are pro-strong schools and pro-CPA. Watertown deserves strong schools and beautiful open spaces for everyone. We must invest in historic preservation so future generations appreciate the incredible history of this town. And we must support our neighbors and future neighbors by ensuring Watertown is an affordable place to live. In Waltham, Belmont, Newton, and 161 other towns and cities in Massachusetts, the CPA has been used to renovate old playgrounds, repurpose abandoned parcels of land into multi-use recreational spaces, and support homebuyers to enter into the housing market for the first time.
We chose Watertown as the place to live and raise our families because we believe it is the best town in Massachusetts. We are thrilled that our kids will grow up calling Watertown home, and we know that they will grow up with the same sense of community pride that we have, and that our neighbors have. Everyone in Watertown deserves the best possible quality of life, and we are a community that is deeply committed to supporting one another in that effort. Let’s vote yes on #5 on November 8th as a demonstration of that commitment.
Bevin Croft, Jessica Middlebrook, David Pereira, and David Weintraub
Main Street and Wilmot Street
For details about the CPA, check out InvestInWatertown.org and CommunityPreservation.org.
(Editor’s Note: the last letters about the Nov. 8 election will be run on Sunday Nov. 6, and must be submitted by Saturday, Nov. 5 at 5 p.m.)
Why now? It might be “both” for your families and I congratulate you on having enough finical success to afford both. There is no getting around 2 irrefutable facts. 1. FIVE THOUSAND households in Watertown are housing cost burdened, spending over 30% of their income to live here. 2. New developments have increased the taxes the town takes in. There is more money in the budget every year for everything under the CPA tax. I want to have nice parks and monuments too. I just don’t want to tax our cash strapped neighbors to death. Folks keep saying its only 10 or 20 bucks a month which is what gets many upset. It’s not our money to take. What if some family’s health insurance goes up and the deductible goes up too? They are one kids trip to the emergency room away from financial trouble. Let them decide what to do with their money.
John,
“Let them decide what to do with their money” – your words. Yet your forcing residents to adopt a debt exclusion that in words of Watertown Residents for Strong Schools, could cost taxpayers HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. Why are you forcing these residents to pay for this when they are only “one kids trip to the emergency room away from financial trouble” EXPLAIN HOW WE CAN AFFORD THE DEBT EXCLUSION JOHN WHEN RESIDENTS CAN’T AFFORD $10 PER MONTH PER THE CPA????
I’ll try. Lets remember, I’m not the elected official here. When it’s time for a school override, I would suggest we do it on a sliding scale, based on things that someone, somewhere, that’s smarter than me, can calculate. (that someone shouldn’t be hard to find). This blanket one size fits all CPA tax is bad policy. No renter can get an exemption. Ever. (I’m an owner with no kids, so I have no horse in the race in that sense, other than a passion for helping our youth and our schools). We have more renters than homeowners. This jeopardizes that. Hope that helps.
Thanks for confirming you have no real plan for explaining how house poor renters and homeowners can pay for a massive debt exclusion while saying they can’t afford the CPA at $10 per month (Newton’s small $11.4m debt exclusion cost the average homeowner $394 per year/$33 per month).
I feel this anti CPA argument puts you, and those who really do care about the kids and the schools (and I do believe you care) into a indefensible position come time for the debt exclusion vote. Let’s remember there’s alot of people with a vested interest in the schools, including Watertown Strong Schools founder Candace Miller, who are voting for this initiative.
The fact remains that the CPA is a relatively harmless expense to most people and helps kids as well. Think of it similar to a Medical Savings Account – where if you go to the doctor often – you get to use your that money you set aside tax free. Watertown has, and will continue to, spend money that is eligible for CPA matching funds. Look at the park renovations Victory, Casey, Moxley, and Filippello we’ve done and continue to do. My kids and their friends enjoy these parks immensely. Look at the Winter St home acquisition. People can agree or disagree with how the Council spends (or in some opinions waste) our tax money, but you can’t disagree that these projects were and are eligible for partially matching CPA funds.
I’ve have more than a few older CPA supporter friends who are empty nesters and who have told me that they will have trouble supporting a debt exclusion for our schools if the CPA is rejected. They feel that having the CPA rejected, and then being asked to pass a debt exclusion to renovate all our schools in a couple of years will be too heavy handed to support. Let’s remember that most eligible voters in this town don’t have children in the school system.
Did I read that right? “I’ve have more than a few older CPA supporter friends who are empty nesters and who have told me that they will have trouble supporting a debt exclusion for our schools if the CPA is rejected” Are you suggesting these folks want to punish kids out out of spite, because people were “heavy handed”. That would be a shame.
No real plan? I just suggested one! More to follow in the am. This is exhausting. Ponder this till tommorow H2O-I’m not hoping I’m right about this as I’m not an I told you so type guy. It solves nothing. If I’m wrong about what I think will happen if the CPA passes then I’m wrong. They can get it back on the ballot easy enough. If Candace is wrong we’re screwed for anther 40 years. Why take that chance. This we can afford “both” is skyding without a parachute. We just don’t know what’s in the hearts and minds of strangers and I frankly am petrified for our children of finding out. Appreciate the conversation. John.