Comments of Professor Peter Ittig at Finance & Warrant Commission

The next meeting of the Westwood Finance & Warrant Commission is scheduled for October 19 at 7:30pm. Citizens may participate by telephone or on Zoom. Instructions are on the Town Web site.Comments of Professor Peter Ittig at the meeting of the Westwood Finance & Warrant Commission September 15, 2020

I have now been a member of this Commission for a year and have some observations.

Basically, the way the budget process appears to work is that the town calculates the maximum property tax increase that may be imposed without an override and then works back from that to form the budget which this commission is asked to endorse.

Anything left over is put into reserve funds that may be used for various purposes except property tax relief. The operating budget is presented to us as a package for an up or down vote. There is no negotiation and no line item veto. The latest increase in the operating budget was 4.2% excluding debt service.

The result of this budget process was an increase in the property taxes on homes of 3% this year and last year, 2% the year before that and 4.6% the year before that. These numbers are shown, I would say hidden, in the back of the Warrant book issued by this Commission; page 66 of the most recent version in June. I have been disappointed that the Commission has not tried to restrain these tax increases, particularly as there has been a large amount of new revenue in recent years from the University Station development and other new construction, as well as revenue from the new taxes on hotels and restaurants. Voters incorrectly assume that the tax increase is capped at 2½% and the Town is happy to allow that confusion. The actual tax increase is not mentioned in the budget proposal voted at Town Meeting or in the Commission’s printed comments on that proposal. Minority objections were also omitted from the Commission’s printed comments on the budget proposal.

A relatively new issue is that increases in property taxes are now much more expensive for homeowners as property taxes are no longer deductible on Federal forms due to recent changes in Federal tax law. Until recently, increases in property taxes were partially offset by the Federal tax deduction. Future increases will not be offset on Federal taxes for most of us. This makes increases much more expensive for homeowners than in prior years.

The tax increases are a particular burden for seniors whose pensions do not rise as fast as property taxes, so their budgets get tighter every year.

I have been disappointed that this Commission is not more active in informing the taxpayers of the impact of the proposed budget on taxes and in not attempting to restrain the tax increases on homes on behalf of the taxpayers that we represent.

I encourage members to join with me in attempting to restrain the tax increases this year. At our next meeting I expect to introduce a motion that this Commission ask the Select Board to submit a budget this year that holds the increase in the property tax on homes to no more than 2½%. I invite discussion of this idea or suggestions of other ways to restrain the increases in the property taxes on homes.

Peter T. Ittig, Ph.D.
Member, Westwood Finance & Warrant Commission

The next meeting of the Westwood Finance & Warrant Commission is scheduled for October 19 at 7:30pm. Citizens may participate by telephone or on Zoom. Instructions are on the Town Web site.