Elections

LETTER: CPA is a Tax That Supports Special Interests of Proponents

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Yes the so called Community Preservation Act (CPA) is back. After being rejected by the voters overwhelmingly, CPA supporters are hoping that after eleven years we forgot the deceptions and that new residents would believe their propaganda. NO we have not forgotten lies like tenants won’t pay or the empty promises like 100% matching funds. We didn’t fall for their con-job in 2005, and we shouldn’t in 2016. This year’s red herring somewhat imaginative, so I’ll give them points for creativity.

Community Preservation Act

OP-ED: Just Like 11 Years Ago, Community Preservation Act is Wrong for Watertown

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Eleven years after being soundly defeated by nearly 20%, Community Preservation Act (CPA) proponents have decided to take another bite at the apple. Back in 2005, they placed the measure on the municipal ballot. Then, highly informed voters, focused keenly on local issues, were able to give it proper deliberation and rejected it. Having seen the CPA cannot withstand such scrutiny, these same special interests decided hide it on the 2016 Presidential Ballot. So what is this CPA?

Community Preservation Act

LETTER: CPA Would Improve Quality of Life, Home Values in Watertown

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Watertown Voters should vote ‘Yes’ on question 5: “Should we bring the Community Preservation Act to Watertown?” We all know of projects that could improve the quality of our lives and the value of our homes in Watertown. CPA would create a dedicated fund to pay for such projects through a 2% surcharge on all property taxes, from businesses as well as home owners. The extra revenue that Watertown would have available by adopting CPA now would be about $2.2 million per year. The revenue would grow as the many capital projects that are being developed in Watertown are completed in the next few years and start paying property taxes. The dedicated fund could be used to help renovate our playing fields and parks, preserve our historical sites and buildings, and keep up with our affordable housing needs.

Elections

Early Voting Available for First Time, Find Out How & About the Registration Deadline

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Town Clerk John E. Flynn and the Watertown Election Commission are pleased to announce that all registered voters will be able to vote before Election Day for the first time ever in Massachusetts. Early voting will begin on Oct. 24 and continue through Nov. 4, 2016. Prior to the enactment of this new law, the only way a registered voter was allowed to vote prior to Election Day was through absentee voting.

Elections

LETTER: Yes on 5 Committee Says CPA Won’t Harm School Funding

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The Community Preservation Act (CPA) does not compete with school funding. To the contrary, it will strengthen our schools and the education we offer Watertown’s children.  
Imagine an “outdoor classroom” of restored open space and buildings where teachers and students study how Watertown was settled, using historic maps and artifacts that bring learning alive. All of this would qualify for CPA funding and for matching state funds and grants that Watertown would otherwise be unable to get. And affordable housing programs funded by the CPA would make it possible for our teachers to live in Watertown and spend more time with students instead of long hours commuting.

Elections

LETTER: Resident Urges Watertown to Follow Other Towns and Adopt the CPA

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We all have friends in neighboring communities. Most likely these people live in towns that have already passed the Community Preservation Act (CPA). Since 2000, 161 cities and towns in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts have adopted the CPA. In our region, Arlington, Belmont, Cambridge, Lexington, Lincoln, Newton, Somervile, Waltham and Weston benefit from matching State funds for historic preservation, open space, including recreation, and affordable housing. The good people in Watertown deserve to benefit from the Act as well, especially as we have been paying into the trust fund with the State for all these years without receiving benefits.

Elections

LETTER: Resident Opposes CPA, Wants to See Money Spent on Schools

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The Community Preservation Act (CPA) will create an additional tax burden on Watertown homeowners where funds will be controlled by the small group people who campaigned for it. Meanwhile, Watertown’s schools need funding for essential improvements. The CPA will, “…establish a dedicated funding source” for the specific wants of a minority of Watertown residents. That is probably why it is being pushed by the Historical Society of Watertown (Society), Invest in Watertown (Invest), and five members of Watertown’s Town Council (Council). These people treat Watertown homeowners and renters as an endless source of money for them to spend, no matter that many homeowners have higher priorities such as schools, homes, and family. Watertown homeowners can ill afford a continuing, “…additional excise of [2%]…” to fund the Society’s intense desire to socialize at the “Shick House” or Invest’s on Walker Pond and dog parks. Watertown homeowners are not a bottomless piggy bank; they cannot fund the wants of every interest group’s pet project. As desirous as it may be for Invest’s supporters to see an entirely new bureaucracy dedicated to dog parks, ponds, and open space, the CPA sends no money to where it is most needed: the Watertown Public Schools.