2013-03-00-CPC-ATM-rpt - Laserfiche WebLink

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any eligible, worthy applications for lack of funding. Prioritizing projects within somewhat narrower CPF funding may be a necessity in the future, however. The FY 14 Marrett Road costs are noted in the budget section of this report. They appear in the chart entitled FY 14 CPA Budget and Project Recommendations on page 41 and show the survey, legal, site assessment and design and engineering work which will be undertaken in the upcoming year. As noted, the acquisition itself will be bonded, most likely over a ten year period. The only FY 14 costs related to the bonding are those related to debt service and the issuance of a bond anticipation note. These bonding costs and the ancillary costs were approved under Article 2 of the Special Town Meeting, but since they have an impact on the CPC budget, they are included in this Report. Community Preservation Act The CPA is a state statute which individual communities in the Commonwealth may choose to adopt; Lexington adopted the statute by a vote of Town Meeting in 2006. CPA communities impose a surcharge on their own property taxes of up to 3 %, and funds raised from the surcharge are restricted to use for projects in four categories: community housing, historic resources, open space and recreation. To support expenditures in these areas, the state "matches" the funds raised by the community surcharges at a certain percentage. Lexington elected a 3% surcharge on both residential and commercial taxpayers. Mindful of the burden on homeowners, however, the Town also adopted provisions which exempt the first $100,000 of home value from the surcharge, and grant a total exemption from the surcharge to lower income residents. In 2012, the annual surcharge averaged $263 per Lexington household. Our commercial taxpayers contributed $739,426 last year, representing over one -fifth of our CPA surcharge revenue. The State match, originally 100 %, has declined since 2006 as additional communities have adopted the statute and joined the funding pool, and as registry fees which feed the State fund have suffered in a weak economy. However, the match is currently estimated at 27% for FY 14, still a healthy return on investment. Community Preservation Committee The CPA requires each adopting community to appoint a Community Preservation Committee. By statute, the CPC comprises nine members, of whom three are appointed by the Board of Selectmen as at -large members and six are appointed by the following boards and committees: Planning Board, Conservation Commission, Historical Commission, Housing Partnership, Housing Authority, and Recreation Committee. Until March of this year, Wendy Manz served as Chair of the CPC; Marilyn Fenollosa has been elected to replace her. Richard Canale has been appointed by the Planning Board as a temporary replacement for Wendy Manz. The CPC is responsible for reviewing applications for funding under the CPA and recommending to Town Meeting expenditure of CPA funds on those projects it approves each