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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-04-20-REPSC-min Residential Exemption Policy Study Committee (Ad Hoc) Minutes Friday,April 20, 2018 Attendance Mark Andersen, Chair;Vicki Blier, Howard Cloth, Katie Culter,Thomas Whelan,John Zhao Joe Pato, Selectman Liaison. Resident Observer, Bob Pressman Mr.Andersen called the meeting to order at 8:34 The April 13 meeting minutes were approved Apartment and House Leases Ms. Blier presented information on apartment and house leases. After speaking with a local house rental specialist and management at an Avalon property, she found that for both apartment and house leases, market supply and demand determines the level of rent that a landlord can charge. This corroborates previous information gathered from appraisers.Therefore,tax increases are not passed directly to the tenant. Rental costs are fairly comparable at the Avalon Waltham and Avalon Lexington properties.The Lexington properties serve the family demographic,while the Waltham property serves the corporate and retiree market. Planning for the Residential Exemption Public Hearing Mr. Zhao and Ms. Cutler presented a proposed timeline and agenda for a "Community Meeting." After discussion the following suggestions were offered: 1. Opening Remarks by Mr. Andersen 2. Introduction of the format and timing by Mr. Zhao.Two minutes per commenter, 2 hrs for the meeting. 3. Description of the charge by Mr. Pato (5 to 10 minutes) 4. A tutorial about the Residential Exemption designed to include answers to questions that will have been solicited from the public and emailed in prior to the meeting. (30 minutes) 5. Written questions submitted during the meeting will be answered. 6. Attendees will be invited to present verbal comments and opinions (2-minute limit per attendee) Ms. Cutler and Mr. Zhao's proposed agenda asked what materials should be offered at the meeting. They proposed copies of the state law and a glossary as possibilities.The committee had previously suggested a FAQ, which Ms. Blier volunteered to compile. She asked that committee members send her items to include. Ms. Cutler and Mr. Zhao listed placements for advertising the meeting:The Minuteman, List Servs such as the TMMA List Serve and Association groups, Face Book pages and the Town Website. Ms. Cutler and Mr. Zhao emphasized that throughout all advertising and during the presentation,the RE must be described as a "study," (not a plan), something that the Selectmen are "considering," and that we are seeking feedback. Mr. Pato stated that public concerns verbalized at the meeting should be incorporated into the report to the Selectmen. He later added that the hearing would be televised and/or recorded for on-demand viewing. Concerns about how to present concrete information about the dollar effects of a RE were discussed. Concerns were stated that presenting actual numbers would be misleading because 1. An RE would likely be phased in from a very low percentage start and gradually increased 2. Actual numbers will depend on factors that have not yet been determined. Mr. Zhao proposed presenting data from other municipalities. Ms. Blier expressed concerns that other existing municipalities are so different in composition that it may be misleading. It was suggested that no concrete figures be given. Mr. Cloth and Ms. Blier expressed that some kind of range of numbers or enough information should be given so that the attendees can get some sense of scale and effect. Ms. Blier suggested that a discussion without concrete figures would reduce the topic to a philosophical discussion about progressive taxation. Mr. Cloth stated that without presenting data for a sense of scale,we would not be able to gauge the temperature of the public. Mr.Andersen proposed providing a worksheet. Mr. Whelan suggested presenting a 10%exemption and giving a midpoint. At the close of the meeting, Mr.Andersen asked Ms. Cutler and Mr. Zhao to bring some new models for illustrating the RE effect and to bring an updated proposed hearing agenda to the next meeting. Discussion of implementation and subsequent adjustments and evaluation of the RE A discussion ensued about how to initially implement and subsequently evaluate and adjust exemption levels.All agreed that a gradual raising of the exemption level is desirable. Mr. Pato added that for operational purposes, a gradual introduction will reduce the cost to the town of mistaken owner- occupancy designations, reducing risks to the Overlay Account. He emphasized that taxpayers don't want their tax bills to jump around every year, so raising the exemption level and backtracking on that level would be undesirable. Mr Andersen stated that there won't be empirical evidence to base our recommendations on. Mr. Pato stated that a question we seek to answer is how much do our residents want to create a progressive tax situation based on asset value? He later added that we are looking for feedback on the RE as a policy, not for personal reactions to personal impacts. Mr Zhao commented that it is possible to gather empirical evidence regarding the ongoing effect of the RE, if such study does not already exist. Ms. Blier felt that the effect would be seen over the long term (real estate prices, impact on development). Mr. Cloth noted that the Town is obligated to study the problems within the current tax system, such as elders moving out because of taxes. He had also stated previously that there was anecdotal evidence that some elders feel that taxes are not a problem for them and that they tolerate high taxes as a price for staying in Lexington. He also stated that the RE is an experiment that would need analytical follow- up if implemented. Mr.Andersen wondered if it would be possible to seek a Home Rule Petition to add a means test to the RE. Ms. Blier speculated that the verification burden would be enormous for 11,000 residential parcels. A short discussion followed regarding whether household income and home value go hand in hand. Mr. Pato indicated that census data does not provide information that could be used to determine a correlation. Working Date for Public Hearing May 29,7to9 Mr. Pato will secure a venue. The meeting adjourned at approximately 10:00 am Respectfully Submitted, Vicki Blier