Subject: CPA Update from the Community Preservation Coalition

Coalition August 2008 Newsletter

Subject: CPA Update from the Community Preservation Coalition

Banner Artwork (Thacher Island Keeper’s Cottage)

Introduction

Dear ______

(Article 1)

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Changes to state CPA reporting forms

Changes are underway for some of the annual CPA forms that a community must file annually municipal officials file with the state Department of Revenue (DOR) . The DOR recently issued a revised Community Preservation Fund Annual Report forrom (Form CP-2). A more substantial change is in store for will be coming to the CP-3 form, the form that lists all the CPA projects that were approved by the legislative body of aeach CPA community in a given year. The CP-3 will be moving online, facilitating entry and correction of CPA project information, and ultimately resulting in an easily accessible web-based database oflisting approved CPA projects from all over across the state.

Read on to learn about changes to CPA reporting requirements…

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Changes to state CPA reporting forms

Changes to state CPA reporting forms

Changes are underway for some of the CPA forms that a community must file annually with the state Department of Revenue (DOR) . The DOR recently issued a revised Community Preservation Fund Annual Report form (Form CP-2). A more substantial change is in store for the CP-3 form, the form that lists all the CPA projects approved by the legislative body of a CPA community in a given year. The CP-3 will be moving online, facilitating entry and correction of CPA project information, and ultimately resulting in an easily accessible web-based database of approved CPA projects from across the state

Changes are underway for some of the annual CPA forms that municipal officials file with the state Department of Revenue. DOR recently issued a revised Community Preservation Fund Annual Report from (Form CP-2). A more substantial change will be coming to the CP-3 form that lists the CPA projects that were approved by the legislative body of each community. The CP-3 will be moving online, resulting in an easily accessible database listing approved CPA projects from all over the state.

Here is a review of each of three CPA forms that municipal officials are required to file with the state, along with the deadline for each formmust file in the coming months:

Form CP-1

The Community Preservation Surcharge Report (Form CP-1) is due at to the Department of Revenue’s Division of Local Services on September 15. The CP-1 form is a reporting reports of the amount of funds raised with a community’s local CPA surcharge local surcharge raised for the previousimmediately prior fiscal year, and is used as the basis for the October 15th annual CPA state trust fund distribution. This form must be signed by your local Board of Assessors and Accounting Officer. Your TheCommunity Preservation Committee (CPC) should review copies of the completed form.

Form CP-2

In July the Department of Revenue issued a revised Community Preservation Fund Report (Form CP-2) which municipalities will use for the first time this year to report their FY2008 CPA financials. DOR also issued a set of instructions for the new CP-2. This form requires an accounting of the municipality to report in detail on all CPA revenues, expenditures in each CPA funding category, and an analysis of the community’s CPA fund balance, including each reserve. The municipal Accounting Officer is most often the one official who completes this form. The CPC should request a copy of the completed form and review it the form prior to submission to DOR’s Division of Local Services and Massachusetts GIS.

Form CP-3

Changes are underway for the CP-3, form, which lists the details on the CPA projects approved by a municipality during the previous fiscal year. The state has been hard at work, with help from the Coalition, to create a new online CPA database to replace the paper version of this form. This interactive database, will allow where CPC members or municipal staff to can log in to enter new project data and correct or update existing data, and is primed to go live soon. Once entered, information on every approved CPA project in the state will be easily accessible to the public online.

Information will be coming from the Department of Revenue in the near future on procedures for this new online database. The Coalition will include a copy of this information in a future issue of CPA Update.

(Article #2) CPA News

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Legislative update

Stuart to write.

(Article #3)

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Do the State’s procurement laws apply to CPA projects?

One of the most frequent common types of questions asked we receive on our technical assistance hotline is whether regarding the applicability of the sState’s procurement and prevailing wage laws apply to CPA projects, particularly grants to private groups. The answer may not always be straightforward, since many situations projects have involve unique circumstances, but this article provides some general information to help guide you on this issuefind the right answers.

The general intent of the procurement laws is to promote fair and open competition by providing methods to obtain good quality services and supplies for the best price.

When might procurement and prevailing wage laws apply to CPA projects? Does it matter if a private organization is orchestrating the project?

Read on for more information and how to get answers when you need help...

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Do the State’s procurement laws apply to CPA projects?

One of the most common questions we receive on our technical assistance hotline is whether the state’s procurement and prevailing wage laws apply to CPA projects, particularly grants to private groups. The answer may not always be straightforward, since many projects involve unique circumstances, but this article provides some general information to help guide you on this issue.

When might procurement and prevailing wage laws apply to CPA projects? Does it matter if a private organization is orchestrating the project?

One of the most frequent types of questions asked on our technical assistance hotline is regarding the applicability of the State’s procurement and prevailing wage laws to CPA projects, particularly grants to private groups. The answer may not always be straightforward since many situations have unique circumstances, but this article provides some general information to help you find the right answers.

The general intent of the procurement laws is to promote fair and open competition by providing methods to obtain good quality services and supplies for the best price.

The procurement laws are multiple state statutes that deal with various aspects of municipal procurement including building construction, public works construction, design services, and supplies, services, and real property. In addition, prevailing wage laws apply for construction projects undertaken by public entities in the state as well as to some limited services provided to them.

For the purposes of describing the applicability of procurement laws to CPA projects, there are three main categories that CPA projects could fall into: capital improvement projects, the purchase of ing real property, and contracting for professional services. Each of these three project categories must adhere to different procurement laws as we explained in more detail below.

Capital Improvement Projects

(MGL c.149 and c.30 s.39M)

Capital improvement projects are “bricks and mortar” projects such as creationng of a new playground, restoration ing of a building, construction of ng housing, wetlands restoration, etc.

The matrix below very generally describes how the procurement laws may apply to the various types of capital improvement projects, depending on who owns the property and who administers the project.

Property Owner / Project Administrator / Applicability of Procurement & Prevailing Wage Laws
Municipality/State/Other public entity / Municipal/State/Other Public Entity / YES
Municipality/State/Other public entity / Community Group (e.g., PTO, friends group, neighborhood association, etc.) / YES*
Private entity (non-profit organization, private citizen, etc.) / Private entity / NO
Municipally owned and leased by private entity / Private leasing entity / POSSIBLY**

*Note: Even if a service is discounted or donated, prevailing wage may still apply.

**Note: For complex situations, an opinion from municipal counsel or the Attorney General’s Office may be needed.

Acquisition of Real Property

(MGL c.30B)

Acquisition of Purchasing real property includes buying land, buildings, artifacts or a real estate interest (such as a deed restriction). The purchasing laws (c.30B) that apply to acquisition of real property using public funds deal with how to establish fair market value. This area of the law makes a special exception specifically for real property acquired with Community Preservation Act funds.

The Community Preservation Act (MGL c.44B s.5(f)) states that “Section 16 of chapter 30B shall not apply to the acquisition by a city or town of real property or an interest therein . . . no such real property, or interest therein, shall be acquired . . . for a price exceeding the value of the property as determined by such city or town through procedures customarily accepted by the appraising profession as valid.”

The bottom line is: Acquisitions of real property interests under CPA are exempt from MGL c.30B, but you must get an appraisal prior to acquiring any real property interest. And the municipality cannot appropriate more than the appraised value to acquire the real property interest.

Contracting Professional Services

(MGL c.7 s.38A½ and c.30B)

Contracting professional services includes hiring a housing consultant, planner, appraiser, landscape architect, etc.

MGL c.7 s.38A½ applies when procuring design services for public building projects and establishes a designer selection process for construction projects over $100K. Prevailing wage does not apply to these types of design services.

MGL c.30B applies to other professional services and establishes three monetary thresholds that trigger different selection and procurement procedures, with the most latitude established for contract amounts under $5K. If a contract is between $5K and 25K, then three quotes must be solicited. And, for contracts at and over $25K, sealed bids or proposals are required.

More Information

The procurement and prevailing wage laws are complicated – they apply in various ways depending on circumstances of the situation and sometimes exemptions may apply. That is why it’s important to ask the advice of your procurement officer, town counsel, and/or the appropriate state agency, as described below.

General Procurement

The Massachusetts Inspector General’s Office has created a very helpful chart to use as a quick reference guide on public procurement laws.

In addition, the Inspector General’s Office website has a variety of helpful information available, and the phone numbers below can be used to obtain more information.

Goods, Services, and Real Property (MGL C.30B)

Inspector General’s Office MGL C.30B hotline 617-722-8838

Construction and Design Services

Attorney General’s Office, Div. of Fair Labor 617-727-2200

Prevailing Wage

Division of Occupational Safety 617-626-6953
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Free technical assistance available for historic preservation projects

Need funds to restore an old building or burial ground in your community, but don’t know where to look? Concerned about a dwindling congregation not able to properly care for their historic church? Does your CPC need help understanding whether a proposed CPA project is in keeping with the Secretary of the Interior’s Guidelines? What materials are appropriate to use when replacing windows in a historic municipal building?

In May, Preservation Massachusetts, launched the new Massachusetts Circuit Rider Program, which and the program is already proving to be a valuable resource for CPA and other Massachusetts communities. Preservation Massachusetts is a statewide non-profit historic preservation advocacy organization and a founding member of the Community Preservation Coalition. In collaboration with another Coalition member, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the program funds three historic preservation professionals “in the field” to bring free preservation expertise to your communityaid community-based preservation activity statewide.

Read on for information about how to use this free service…

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Free technical assistance available for historic preservation projects

Does your CPC need help understanding whether a proposed CPA project is in keeping with the Secretary of the Interior’s Guidelines? What materials are appropriate to use when replacing windows in a historic municipal building?

In May, Preservation Massachusetts, launched the new Massachusetts Circuit Rider Program, which is already proving to be a valuable resource for CPA communities. Preservation Massachusetts is a statewide non-profit historic preservation advocacy organization and a founding member of the Community Preservation Coalition. In collaboration with another Coalition member, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the program funds three historic preservation professionals “in the field” to bring free preservation expertise to your community.

Need funds to restore an old building or burial ground in your community, but don’t know where to look? Concerned about a dwindling congregation not able to properly care for their historic church?

In May, Preservation Massachusetts, launched the new Massachusetts Circuit Rider Program, and the program is already proving to be a valuable resource for CPA and other Massachusetts communities. Preservation Massachusetts is a statewide non-profit preservation advocacy organization and a founding member of the Community Preservation Coalition. In collaboration with another Coalition member, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the program funds three preservation professionals “in the field” to bring free preservation expertise to aid community-based preservation activity statewide.

The circuit riders are historic preservation experts equipped with knowledge of the programs, services, and resources of both Preservation Massachusetts and the National Trust for Historic Preservation, in addition to other public and private programs and resources.

As Jim Igoe, Executive Director of Preservation Massachusetts, explains, “We feel strongly about the need to meet with people personally, see the property and its challenges, coalesce a group of people who are concerned about a property, and find out what kind of things we can do to support the project.” In a nutshell, that is the intention of the Circuit Rider Program.

Mr. Igoe further explains, “The program has already worked very well in Vermont, Connecticut, and New Hampshire. We didn’t reinvent the wheel here but the program has been tweaked in a way that will work for Massachusetts.”