Hopkinton Council Hears School Bond Share Could Top 4% Tax Cap
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If the November 3 bond passes with 65% state reimbursement, a median Hopkinton home at $515,500 would pay about $335.39 more a year, the town manager said. A speaker said the town's share of the debt payments could top the 4% levy cap, which the town can exceed only by asking the state.
A speaker told the Hopkinton Town Council at its Monday night
meeting that if the town's increase comes to about $1 million, its share of
debt payments on the proposed $116 million regional school bond would be over
the town's 4% cap on tax levy growth, according to the Hopkinton Town Council's
published meeting
recording.
The tax levy is the total amount a town raises through
property taxes. A speaker said the town can only increase its levy by 4%
"or else we have to go to the state" and ask for permission to exceed
the cap. A speaker added, "I believe our 4% cap is around 700,000."
The bond goes before voters in the November 3 election. The
council did not vote on the bond; the agenda item was a discussion of the
school bond financial breakdown.
The tax math
The town manager presented a one-page breakdown, also posted
on the town website, that the regional school district requested from its three
member towns for an impact statement on the bond. The manager said the managers
and finance directors of Hopkinton, Charlestown and Richmond coordinated so the
data would be consistent. The manager said they spoke with Jeff Allen of
Charlestown and the Richmond town manager, among those involved.
The manager said the figures assume the state reimburses 65%
of the $116 million bond. Under that assumption, the manager said, the total
cost to the district after reimbursement would be $80,626,214. The district's
financial advisor supplied the annual debt service figures, according to the
manager.
Costs are split among the three towns by enrollment, and
Hopkinton's share is 39.17%, the manager said. For a median Hopkinton home,
valued at $515,500, the manager said the annual tax bill would rise $335.39 for
the bond alone. Homes with higher assessed values would pay more, and
lower-valued homes would pay less.
The manager cautioned the numbers are estimates because borrowing rates may change before bonds are issued. Any budget or operating increases would not be included in that figure, the manager said.
Questions about reimbursement
One council member asked whether the 65% reimbursement was
guaranteed, saying the state has been poor at following through. In response, a
speaker said, "We don't know" whether the town would receive it
immediately.
A speaker said that at 61% reimbursement, the median
increase would be $374 instead of $335, and said, "the world is not ending
for 20 bucks."
Another council member asked whether state bond questions on
the same ballot would add to the local figure. A speaker answered that state
bonds would be paid by state taxes and would not apply to the town's mill rate.
Debate over the bond
A council member said they were "pro the bond." A
speaker said about a million dollars has already been spent on planning and
that the repair for five years is 52 million, "I think."
A written public comment read into the record said it was
"very inappropriate for a sitting council member to tell people the way
they should vote to vote on a bond." The writer said people face choosing
between food and heating oil, and added, "if you're going to say vote yes,
I'm going to say vote no." A speaker replied, "I think we have the
right to do that."
Site, ledge and well concerns
Another speaker raised concerns about the planned site. The
speaker said there is a lot of ledge on the 14 acres, leaving about 11 usable
acres. The speaker said a well drilled last year with a grant of 250 would
require another well because a building is to be moved over it, and that 125
would have to be paid back to the grant.
The speaker said they asked the architect, SLAM, whether the
project could be built for $116 million and were told yes. Still, the speaker
said they saw the project "going way over the budget." A speaker said
the bond as written covers two new schools, with any leftover money going to
the main campus.
During a final round of public comment, a speaker said the
bond is written so the project does not go forward if the reimbursement does
not come through. That speaker said the three buildings are 65 to 75 years old
and refurbishing them would cost $54 million over five years.
What's next
The council took up advertising for residents to join the
school building committee, and a motion
to table it until after the November 3 election was made and seconded.
Earlier coverage of the bond is available in our guide to Chariho's
$116 million school bond. The town's one-page breakdown is posted on the
town website.
As governed by the Chariho Act, the bond referendum is decided by the combined vote of all three towns. Like the annual school budget, votes from Charlestown, Richmond, and Hopkinton are added together, and the measure passes or fails based on the aggregate districtwide result.
This story was sourced from the complete transcript of
the meeting and carefully summarized with an LLM. While we make every effort to
ensure accuracy, the possibility of transcription errors could lead to
inaccuracies. How
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