One of the problems that I have been thinking about is the way in which increases in property taxes to fund projects such as a community center may be unfair and may well have an adverse effect on those you are trying most to service. It is simply not a correct assumption to assume that income or ability to pay is correlated with the assessed value of a house, or that all projects need to be funded by increasing the property tax rate.
Since a third of the population is over 60, it stands to reason that many of the older population have been in their homes a long time. I include myself in this. I know I am not alone in my income going down and my finding it harder and harder to support my home as well as paying ever increasing taxes. For some of us, the taxes are verging on making staying here unsustainable. Someone in a small house or an apartment in town will have the same ability to use a community center and its services as an older person in an expensive house. The latter person will pay many times more for the project than the person in the lower price home if the tax rate increases to fund the project. Are there other models to consider for funding projects besides increasing property taxes on a percentage basis? Jane > On Nov 28, 2022, at 1:04 PM, Rich Rosenbaum <[email protected]> wrote: > > > There has been a bit of discussion regarding LIncoln's property taxes > compared to other towns. One reason taxes may be higher than similar towns is > our low housing density. > > Lincoln has consciously and deliberately limited density with land > acquisition, zoning regulations, agricultural easements and more. > > The result is that there are fewer houses to distribute fixed costs. If you > have two similar towns with the same number of miles of road, the less > housing-dense town will pay more per family to maintain those roads. The same > goes for many other services provided by the town. > > All of this wonderful open space that we all enjoy is not free. > > Here are some statistics from this site > <http://zipatlas.com/us/ma/city-comparison/population-density.htm> (not sure > of the date but I assume it does not change quickly): > > Town Population / sq. mile > Bedford 926.37 > Wayland 819.52 > Sudbury 683.63 > Weston 664.03 > Concord 656.11 > Lincoln 359.11 > > Our limited commercial base is also a factor. > > > > > -- > The LincolnTalk mailing list. > To post, send mail to [email protected]. > Search the archives at http://lincoln.2330058.n4.nabble.com/. > Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/. > Change your subscription settings at > https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. >
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