Amherst confluence of four committeesFinance Director Sandy Pooler crunched the numbers for next year's (FY12) operating budget tonight at a joint meeting of the Finance Committee, School Committee, Select Board, and Library Trustees (affectionately known as "The gang of four"), and--in spite of the sputtering economy--the outlook was rosy as long as the spending increases keep to 2.8%, enough to provide level services.
The town finished the year with a $1.1 million surplus, which reverted to Free Cash. Total reserves (Free Cash and Stabilization) now stand at $5.6 million--not counting the cushion (around $1 million) in the Amherst Regional School's "Excess and Deficiency" savings account.
While the state is usually portrayed as the skunk in the room, an extra supplemental appropriation of $514,000 coming in for FY12 spruced up their bad guy image among town officials. The local option hotel/motel and meals tax tallied a handsome $495,000 in FY11, up $150,000 from the previous year--and with the historic Lord Jeffrey Inn coming back on line soon, that amount should go up even higher in FY12.
The property tax is of course far and away the town's main revenue source, contributing 63%, with state aid a distant second at 20%. And within that property tax, the disparity between commercial and residential continues to be an embarrassment.
In the current fiscal year residential taxpayers contribute 91% of the tax base compared to commercial/industrial at a pathetic 9%. In 2002 it was 89% residential to an anemic 11% commercial/industrial.
Half of Amherst is owned by tax exempt entities: Amherst College and UMass coming in at #1 and #2 respectively, with the town itself #3 (mostly conservation land) and Hampshire College #4. UMass makes annual Payments In Lieu Of Taxes of $325,000 for Fire and Ambulance protection, Hampshire College does not. Amherst College kicks in $100,000 every now and then.
Town Meeting will vote next month on a couple of warrant articles that could help turn around that dismal commercial/residential ratio by stimulating commercial smart growth development. A $40,000 appropriation for a townwide housing marketing study but with particular emphasis on the Gateway Corridor area for a proposed commercial mixed use project, and Form Based Zoning in the North Amherst and Atkins Corner Village Centers.
Of course Town Meeting is also one of the main factors in stonewalling development of any kind as the BANANAs (Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anything) can usually muster the 34% minority vote required to kill a business friendly zoning change.
Half of the residential properties in amherst are owned by landlords, so half the residential tax base is being contributed by businesses.
ReplyDeleteAnd state average for rentals is 35%, so Amherst is not that dramatically out of whack.
ReplyDeleteBut they are with commercial (as described by an assessor) property.
Part of the problem is that downtown commercial buildings are assessed at about half their true market value. Every time a building sells downtown -- at twice its assessment -- the Assessor comes up with some lame excuse for why that particular buyer overpaid, and why that sale doesn't mean we should increase the assessment of other buildings. We could significantly increase the percentage of taxes paid by commercial properties in Amherst simply by assessing at fair market value.
ReplyDeleteOut of whack compared to Sudbury, Ashfield, Hamilton, Shutesbury? What's the perfect percentage?
ReplyDeleteAmherst taxpayers support an expensive school system with salaries among the highest in the area, a beautiful, renovated town hall, a large planning staff, highly paid administrators, and a new police station with dozens of holding cells. During a deep national recession, the town added a new sustainablility staffer, a tree warden, a homeless shelter, about $400k in math coaches and on and on. There are new roads and new downtown sidewalks. It's a lovely town that always seems have at least an extra million or so unspent each year. Do we need a Walmart or McKesson building too? To support what else?
I don't think we need a Walmart to support new services, it would be more so to reduce the sting of high property taxes. I like living in Amherst but hate it everytime I hear we need to raise property taxes. Especially when we have businesses walk away from Amherst or worse off don't even consider us due to silly reasons created by town officals. Case point they recently shut down new opened business only because they hadn't painted lines in their parking lot! Now common sense usually prevails and one might think they could thell them they had a week to get the lines done or then they would be shut down, but noooo not Amherst let's be fools again and shut them down.
ReplyDeleteAnon 11:37 am expresses the dominant view in town, reflected in its politics year after year: "we love just about everything about Amherst as it is."
ReplyDeleteThe general response to Anon 9:54 am's view is: "We're already viewed as completely anti-business. You want to make it worse?"
@ anon 1147...how about increasing costs? Th FD and PD are overrun..try getting an ambulance on a thurs/fri/sat night...esp if you live down south. Good luck! DOn't worry, hamp is 45 mins away (response time).
ReplyDeleteNEW PD?!? Check your facts...it was built in 1990 with under 10 cells (I think its 8 or 9) and the FS in the center is OLD...we need anohter station in the south, more FF's and more cops...thats where more $$ would help. If you dont think so, give em a call on that thurs, fri, or sat night...
Amherst businesses are hurt more by high rents than anything else. Ask them. And they are no more immune to the recession than any other business.
ReplyDeleteI think anon 11:37's point is taxes are high because the town and schools are spending a lot of money on salaries and expenses that other towns don't have. If amherst pays the high salaries to school administrators and has the most administrators making over $100K high taxes are needed to support them.
ReplyDeleteDon't begin questioning those high salaries to school administrators.
ReplyDeleteDon't question anything about our schools.
That simply is not done here.