HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-06-01-REPSC-min Residential Exemption Policy Study Committee (Ad Hoc)
Minutes
Friday,June 1, 2018
Attendance
Mark Andersen, Chair;Vicki Blier; Howard Cloth;Thomas Whelan;John Zhao; Sara Bothwell Allen
(joined the meeting in progress);Joe Pato, Selectman Liaison. Guest; Bob Pressman.
Absent: Katie Cutler.
Mr. Andersen called the meeting to order at 8:30 am.
Mr. Whelan agreed to be the acting secretary for the meeting.
Approval of Minutes
The minutes of the 5/25/18 meeting were approved with minor changes.
Review of Public Comments
Mr. Andersen indicated that he found two questions on his email this morning which were not available
for the public meeting held on 5/29/18. Committee members will review the emails, but Mr. Andersen
indicated that the questions were addressed at the Meeting of May 291H
Mr. Pato pointed out, in response to one of the emails,that the Board of Selectmen have the legal
authority to adopt a Residential Exemption program and the calculation of the break-even is not a
choice that is made but rather that it is mathematically determined by the terms of the law.
Ms. Blier indicated that the slide presentation seems to enforce the idea that everyone benefits.
Mr. Zhao stated that it was clear that some will pay less and some will pay more under a RE program.
Also that there was no ambiguity of how the Break Even Point would be calculated.
Ms. Blier stated that were a number of consequences that the presentation did not address.
The Committee felt that the turnout for the Meeting was positive and that most attendees were there
because they would be affected by a RE program.
Ms. Blier stated that the opinion of those in attendance was that there would be a small effect on their
personal situations under a RE program.
Mr. Cloth stated that the Committee's charge is "what can we do to help those in need?"The Town
wants us to do the right thing.
Mr. Andersen recommended that we go to the Board of Selectman to request that the Committee's
charge be changed and that a review of a Means Based Program be added to our review of all available
options.
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Mr. Whelan noted that only a small number of homeowners in Sudbury received a benefit under
Sudbury's Means Based System. For example only 124 home owners received tax relief in FY 2015.The
average was$2,664 with a range of from $23 to a high of$6,140. The impact on taxpayers not qualifying
for the benefit was only$60.
Mr. Zhao observed that some home owners will stay in Lexington despite the taxes and wondered if the
Town could offer both programs.
Mr. Andersen observed that under current law, a town interested in offering a Means Based Program
would have to file a Home Rule Petition with the Legislature.There is a proposal in the Legislature to
change the law so that a City or Town could adopt a Means Based Program without the need for a Home
Rule Petition.
Mr. Pato noted that, unlike Sudbury, Lexington, could have a program that doesn't require a ten year
residency for a home owner to qualify.
Ms. Bothwell Allen suggested that we have a comparison of a RE Program vs the Means Based approach.
We would need to obtain data from people who would be affected.This type of data is not readily
available in the current system in Lexington.
Mr. Cloth indicated that the Board of Lexington at Homes could survey its members. Mr. Andersen felt
that this would be a good idea.
Other Suggestions:
An expert panel of five local real estate brokers
A panel of Landlords
A group of Economists
Mr. Andersen will be unable to attend the June 8, 2018 meeting and Ms. Blier agreed to serve as acting
chairman.The Major Topic for this meeting will be The Committee's Meeting with the Board of
Selectmen.
Future Meetings:
A meeting was scheduled for 6/22/18
We will continue meetings on every other Friday.
The Meeting was adjourned at 10:01 am
Respectfully submitted,
Thomas Whelan, acting secretary
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