The Carillon

NORWOOD LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016 BULLETIN

September 2016

5 – MonLabor Day

8 – Thurs State Primary

10 – SatNorwood Day, 9-3- No rain date!

12 – MonBoard Meeting at the home ofAnne Fratalia,7:00 pm, 84 Cameron Road, 781-769-3209

15– Thurs Fundraiser at Chateau (Flyer is on last page of your Bulletin so you can make copies))

27 – Tues National Voter Registration Day

October 2016

2 – SunRosh Hashanah

10 – MonColumbus Day

11 – TuesYom Kippur

11 – Tues Board Meeting at the home of Carol Boisen, 121 Walpole St., 7:00 pm, 781-762-1725

19 – WedPublic Meeting - Community Preservation Forum,

Community Room, Police and Fire Station, Nahatan St. 7:00 pm

24 – MonCandidates Forum – Memorial Hall, Town Hall, 7:00 pm

31 – MonHalloween

Please note that all Board Meetings will now start at 7:00 pm!!

For Election Information, go to VOTE411.org

PLEASE CHECK YOUR EMAILS OR PHONE MESSAGES FOR CHANGES OR CANCELLATIONS!

President Carol MacLeay, 617-510-1139,

Vice President:Courtney Rau Rogers, 781-762-0296,

Membership: Toni Eosco, 781-769-7865,

Bulletin Editor:Mary Anne Kenney 781-769-2032,

Website:

Post Office Box:P.O. Box 275, Norwood, MA 02062

206D Bahama Dr.

617-510-1139

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE – Carol MacLeay

Welcome back to a very exciting League year! We have a lot of events planned for the Fall, and I hope you will all participate. There is so much going on that we need everyone’s help.

Norwood Day is September 10th. We will be registering voters and distributing flyers for our fundraiser at the Chateau and for our Ballot Forum. We need folks to man the table. If you have not yet signed up, contact Carol M and tell her when you can help. 617-510-1139.

Our Fundraiser at the Chateau is on September 15th. Please help raise the money to defray the cost of our State and National dues, and to give us the resources to plan the programs and studies that we want to do. The flyer is attached to the Bulletin. Make copies and give to your friends, family and acquaintances. If you can’t make copies, I will be happy to make them for you. Try to get a group together to go out to dinner that night at the Chateau. Or get take out. Or go for lunch. Or if you are going to be out of town, ask your family and friends to go to the Chateau that night. Just remember to bring your flyer with you.

National Voter Registration Day is September 27nd. We will be doing several voter registrations that day and will need a lot of volunteers. If you would like to help, please call Sarah Cullen, 617-640-9430.

Planning ahead to October, we have two forums scheduled.

  • On October 19th, we will be hosting a CPA Ballot Question Forum and combining this forum with our Fall Kickoff. We will have someone to explain how the surcharge will be determined and who can be exempt, a member of Canton’s CPA committee, and a representative from both the pro and con CPA groups in Norwood. I hope you will all attend.
  • Our Candidates’ Forum will be on October 24th. As always, we will invite all the candidates who are running, whether opposed or unopposed.

The last day to register to vote in the November election is October 19th. Before that deadline, we will be conducting voter registration events at all the schools, and we hope some technical schools and a Community College. Sarah will be looking for volunteers to man all these events.

The state study for this year is Charter Schools. Our local study will be Alternative Energy Sources. Because the Fall is so busy with voter service, both of those studies will begin after the election in November. We have a committee for the Energy study, but have not formed a committee for the Charter

School study. If you have interest in this, please let me know. If we don’t have our own committee, we may join another league in their study.

See you at the Board Meeting on September 12th.

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LEARN THE ABC’S OF THE CPA

Sponsored by the Norwood League of Women Voters

~ ~ community preservation act~ ~

wednesday, October 19,2016

7:00 p.m. norwood police station community room

137 nahatanst. norwood

Voting on adoption of the Community Preservation Act is Ballot Question #5 (a local initiative) on election day. become informed with our topic speakers:

Town Assessor

CPA pro Speaker

CPA con speaker

Representative from canton, a town that has adopted CPA

Light Refreshments will be served.

Please Note: See Bulletin pages 5 and 6 for information about Ballot Question #5

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NORWOOD LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS

Candidates’ Forum

Memorial Hall

Norwood Town Hall

Monday, October 24, 2016

7:30 p.m.

All local and regional candidates have been invited

Please come and hear from the candidates!

Contact Voter Service Chair, Sarah Cullen at: (617) 640-9430 or

Carol MacLeay at (617) 510-1139 with any questions.

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A Note About Membership ~~~ by Toni Eosco, Membership Chair

In past years, we have often had a specific event that we called the ‘Membership Kickoff’. This concept has not really been very successful recently - - - perhaps labeling a meeting as a membership event feels too intimidating for some people. However, I have found that there are better ways to encourage membership.

The first way is simply to pass on a referral to me. I will call the person and schedule a mutual time to meet with them for coffee (or tea), either at my house or in a public place. There is no pressure; it’s social and friendly; and the person gets a one-on-one info session from me about the league. Another way to encourage membership has been to invite serious prospective members to our annual dinner (complimentary) where they get a great overview of league activities of the past year from our Annual Report. Lastly, our President, Carol MacLeay, has done a great job of ensuring that we use a sign-in sheet at any of our public meetings or forums. She copies it and sends it to me. Afterwards, I can network via the provided emails, addresses, or phone numbers. Using a variety of membership strategies seems to be more successful than the one-shot event called, ‘Membership Kickoff’. That being said, the upcoming forum on the Community Preservation Act (CPA) in October will be a prime public event through which to garner prospective league members. So please bring your friends, and interested parties, to the CPA meeting. I will network with as many people as possible afterwards. Membership growth is essential to the future of our league. Every event or forum we sponsor is actually a membership opportunity. Thanks for all your assistance in the past…and in the future! I am looking forward to this next league year!

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League of Women Voters Ballot Question Guide

Question #5 (Local Initiative):

Adoption of the Community Preservation Act

NOTE: The Norwood League of Women Voters has compiled this information for the purpose of educating the community about this ballot question. This document should be viewed as a supplement to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ “Red Book”, distributed by the Secretary of State’s office prior to the November election and is for informational purposes only.

“Shall Norwood accept sections 3 to 7, inclusive of chapter 44B of the General Laws, as approved by its legislative body, the Community Preservation Act, a summary of which appears below?”

Summary:

Established underM.G.L. c. 44B, the Community Preservation Act (CPA) allows Massachusetts cities and towns to raise funds through a surcharge on local real estate taxes. These funds can be used to:

  • acquire, create and preserve open space;
  • acquire, preserve, rehabilitate or restore historic resources;
  • acquire, create, preserve and support community housing; and
  • acquire and preserve land for recreational use.

In Norwood, the funding source will be a surcharge of 1% on the annual property tax assessed on real property and annual distributions made by the state from a trust fund created by the Act.

The following will be exempt from the surcharge:

  • property owned and occupied as a residence by any person who qualifies for low income housing or low or moderate income senior housing in Norwood;
  • class three (commercial) and class four (industrial) properties;
  • $100,000 of the value of each taxable residential property;
  • for $100,000 of the value of each class three (commercial) property, and class four (industrial) property.
  • A taxpayer receiving a regular property tax abatement or exemption will also receive a pro rata reduction in surcharge.

A Community Preservation Committee will be established to study community preservation resources, possibilities and needs and to make annual recommendations to Town Meeting on spending the funds. The Committee will be comprised of one (1) representative EACH from:

  • the Historical Commission
  • Conservation Commission
  • Board of Selectmen
  • Planning Board
  • and Norwood Housing Authority,
  • up to four “at-large” members appointed by the Board of Selectmen.

Persons or groups looking for funding through the CPA would submit a project proposal to the Community Preservation Committee. The Committee would review the project to see if it met the CPA guidelines. Approved projects are then sent to Town Meeting for their approval for funding.At least 10% of the funds for each fiscal year must be spent or reserved for later spending, for each of the Act’s three community preservation purposes:

  • open space,
  • historic resources
  • affordable housing. -6-

The remaining funds can be assigned to one of the three areas, or held as savings for a larger project later. Up to 5% can be used for administrative costs.The CPA must remain in effect for at least 5 years after voter approval in November. After the initial 5-year period, a town can repeal the CPA. However, the surcharge must be left in place until all obligations have been paid.

A “Yes” Vote Would:

A “yes” would allow Norwood to establish a Community Preservation Committee, as described in the above language, and begin collecting the 1% surcharge annually. This sets aside money to be used exclusively on projects for historic preservation, open spaces (including outdoor recreation facilities), or community housing. The CPA makes it possible for Norwood to pay for important projects that would otherwise not be funded through the annual operating budget. Some examples of the benefits to Norwood are as follows:

  • Most of the historic buildings in Norwood are in private hands and thus, not eligible to receive public funds through normal town budgeting.
  • The Conservation Commission is responsible for protecting and preserving Norwood’s wetlands and other open space conservation land. The Conservation Commission is also the agency that oversees Norwood’s parks. The CPA would allow funding of park projects, such as removal of invasive aquatic plants in Ellis Pond and development of a network of walking trails. The CPA could also help Norwood purchase additional wetlands that need protection.
  • CPA funds can be used to maintain affordable housing, including five developments owned and managed by the Norwood Housing Authority (NHA), many of which serve Norwood’s veterans and seniors. CPA funds could cover the maintenance and safety improvements needed by these developments. Additionally, some CPA funding could be used to help extend deed-restrictions on houses that can only be sold to low- or moderate-income people or families.

Please go to for detailed information regarding all areas of this ballot measure.

A “No” Vote Would:

A “No” Vote would keep Norwood’s tax bills as they are today. Norwood would only assess the standard annual levy, and no surcharge would be assessed. Projects as described above would continue to go to Town Meeting for funding approval, either through Capital Outlay, or a Special Town Meeting warrant article related to borrowing for the costs of the project.

  • Norwood residents have limited information currently about this surcharge, or how this committee will be created.
  • The form for the exemption is cumbersome to fill out and requires extensive financial information to be approved.
  • There is no guarantee that the State’s matching funds will be distributed to Norwood.
  • The surcharge amount will increase year to year as the Town’s tax levy increases year to year.

For additional information on the reasons for not adopting the Community Preservation Act, please contact:

Steve Brody 781-769-6154

Kevin

References:

Town of Canton, MA: Community Preservation Committee

Town of Sharon, MA: Community Preservation Committee

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