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Community Preservation Committee Annual Town Meeting 2012 Summary of Recommended Community Preservation Act Funding for FY 2013 The Community Preservation Committee (CPC) is recommending ten projects to the 2012 Annual Town Meeting for funding. Described on the following pages, each of these projects was evaluated by the CPC in light of the articulated criteria for eligibility and appropriateness under the Community Preservation Act (CPA). The projects have been presented at a public hearing held on December 19, 2011, at a League of Women Voters First Friday forum on March 2, 2012, and at a Town Meeting Members Association Information Session on March 22, 2012. The total cost of all projects proposed for FY 2013 is $3,448,792. The CPC also recommends approval of three additional allocations: (1) $930,300 for Busa Farm debt service, (2) $1,000,000 for Cotton Farm debt service, and (3) $150,000 for CPC administrative expenses. Therefore, the total of requested CPA allocations for FY 2013, including both projects and additional allocations, is $5,529,092. 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. 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 2011, the annual surcharge averaged $264 per Lexington household. Our commercial taxpayers contributed $683,923 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 22%, still a healthy return on investment. 1