Norwell Weighs Multiple Tax Impacts as Town Faces Major Spending Proposals
Officials discuss potential operational override, debt exclusion for vocational school, water treatment upgrades, and new high school project, aiming to provide clear picture of combined tax effects
NORWELL - March 12 - Norwell Select Board is considering several major spending initiatives that could significantly impact residents' tax bills in the coming years, including an operational override, water treatment plant upgrades, and a potential new high school.
At the same time, a comprehensive classification and compensation study reveals the town is generally paying competitive market rates for most positions compared to surrounding South Shore communities.
During their March 12 meeting, board members discussed the potential tax impacts of these multiple initiatives and how to communicate them clearly to residents.
"I just want to make sure that residents have a clear picture, even if it's not exactly accurate, but at least a clear picture of the number of items and the potential impact on a number of different fronts," said Select Board Chair Jason Brown. "It's not just an override. It's an override, debt exclusion, water rates. There are a number of things happening."
Town Administrator Darleen Sullivan reports that public forums about the override are being scheduled, with plans for approximately four sessions in April, including both daytime and evening options to accommodate residents' schedules.
"We're setting up some public forum dates, just securing locations, so we'll put those out," Sullivan said. "We do anticipate trying to have at least maybe four of them in April, probably one a week or so, some daytime and evenings as well to kind of accommodate people."
The town is developing a tax impact calculator and a comprehensive FAQ document to help residents understand the financial implications of the override. Sullivan emphasized the importance of communicating the combined impact of all potential spending initiatives.
"There's a number of things. There's lots of decisions to be made and things to weigh out," Sullivan said.
The board also heard a presentation from Becca Meekins of the Collins Center for Public Management regarding a classification and compensation study of town positions. The study, which compared Norwell's pay rates with surrounding communities, found that the town is generally competitive in its compensation.
"What we've found overall is that we are actually paying for the majority of jobs at market rate compared to the South Shore communities," said Barbara Childs, Human Resources Manager. "There are a few positions that we aren't at market, but really overall we fared much, you know, in terms of competitiveness."
The study recommends some title changes to reflect current industry standards and suggests moving certain elected positions to appointed roles, noting this has been an ongoing trend in municipal government over the past 10-15 years.
"More and more elected positions are moving to appointed. And a lot of that is simply because the technical nature of the positions is becoming much more complex," Meekins explained.
Water Department officials presented plans for an $18 million water treatment plant at Washington Street that would combine output from the Grove Street facility. The project aims to address PFAS contamination issues and would likely require a rate increase of approximately 40% over time, even with potential lawsuit settlements.
"We do have the PFAS lawsuit. Those numbers are going to be, we keep on hearing, it's going to be in the next 60 to 90 days, every 60 to 90 days," said Jason Federico, Water Superintendent. "I don't think we're going to get $18 million from the lawsuit. We might, but we really don't know."
The board also discussed a $1.5 million feasibility study for a potential new high school. School Superintendent Matt Keegan explained that the study would evaluate both building a new school and repairing the existing one.
"Part of module one that we have to complete... that committee will direct the funds of the feasibility study. And through that process, we need to determine basically two avenues of process. One is what does a new school look like? And if we keep the one that's there, what are those costs going to be to be able to make that building livable for the next, you know, if we do the HVAC, the heat, everything that needs to be done, what is that cost?" Keegan said.
The potential cost of a new high school could range from $120 million to $200 million, with the town's share after state reimbursement potentially between $72 million and $120 million. This could add approximately $2,000 annually to the average household's tax bill.
The board also voted 4-1 to place two articles on the town meeting warrant regarding the Community Preservation Act (CPA) surcharge: one to eliminate it entirely and another to reduce it from 3% to 1.5%.
Key items discussed at the meeting include:
* An operational override of $3.7 million that would add approximately $887 annually to the tax bill of an average home valued at $1,020,100
* Implementation of a senior means-tested tax exemption program
The town meeting is scheduled for May 5, with the election to follow on May 17.
Imagine if Governor Healey hadn't spent upwards of $9 Billion of our tax dollars on illegal immigrant support, How much the state would pick up on these costs.