Why You Should Vote "YES."

Acton Voters Group (AVG) proposal is very simple. Don’t be fooled by our opponents trying to complicate this issue. Here is our case:

For years, Acton taxpayers at Town Meeting have supported subsidies at the transfer station for potential liabilities, the most recent being the "landfill cap" that we thought was required. A fund of over $5 million has been built up for this purpose. The purpose is no longer valid, so the funds should be returned to the taxpayers rather than used for a purpose other than for what they were appropriated. AVG recommends returning half of this fund to reduce this year’s property taxes so there is no tax increase.

As one Finance Committee member put it, if you collected money from friends and family for a serious financial hardship, and that hardship was miraculously solved, wouldn’t you return the funds?

Some have questioned whether taxpayers have actually subsidized the transfer station with that much tax revenue. The answer is YES. In the last 15 years or so, about $5 million or more has been appropriated by Town Meeting for the transfer station. Since the transfer station operates as an Enterprise Account, it should be self-supporting. Any subsidies are owed back to taxpayers.

Along with Free Cash and the regional school’s E & D fund, Acton has over $8 million in reserves. By using a portion of our reserves to lower propoerty taxes, taxpayers will hold the line on a tax increase this year and still preserve over $5 million in reserves. And there will be no cuts to the approved budgets at last April’s Town Meeting.

What is a responsible level of reserves? Since town officials have repeatedly refused to create a policy on reserves (which is strongly recommended by the Department of Revenue or DOR), we must use DOR guidelines to decide what is enough. Otherwise, we are all just guessing.

DOR recommends a 3-5% reserve level. And they do NOT recommend that reserves routinely be used to fund recurring operating expenses. In fact, reserves are recommended for one-time expenses like capital, emergencies, and to lower the tax rate as we propose to do. (CLICK HERE FOR DOR INFO) NESWC and FREE CASH are examples of non-recurring revenue sources, according to the DOR.

Using reserves to fund recurring operating expenses is a terrible idea.

The Acton Voter Group proposal closely follows DOR recommendations and is fiscally prudent because it takes away funds that our leaders plan on spending on recurring operational expenses. It also helps citizens by reducing taxes. To compare plans, CLICK HERE.

Does the ALG plan really "preserve the reserves?" by taking them from $8 million to $1 million in three years? Hardly.

The Acton Voter's Group three-year plan, in contrast, allows our operating budgets to increase 4% per year, preserves future reserves, and produces balanced budgets.

The Acton Voters Group is going to give voters a clear choice about the use of reserves. How you vote will signal our town leaders about their spending decisions during the upcoming budget cycle.

Send them a clear message that Acton’s taxes are too high, we need a tax break, and we do not want reserves used on recurring operating expenses by voting YES on October 2.