The $93 million school building project has many residents worried about whether they’ll be able to afford the inevitable higher property taxes in Lincoln, so the town is forming a Property Tax Study Committee to see what financial tools the town has available to shape tax policy and promote economic diversity.
The committee will be appointed by the Board of Selectmen in February and get to work right away, presenting an update at the March 2019 Annual Town Meeting. They will make recommendations to the board by the end of September and will report at the 2019 State of the Town Meeting and/or at a concurrent Special Town Meeting to vote on any proposals.
Members will study tax relief programs such as the extended Circuit Breaker Program currently under consideration at the state level, and the residential exemption that cities and towns can use in setting their local property tax rates. They’ll also seek community input to gauge the appetite for such programs in the context of other town priorities, and work with town agencies and residents to decide how private fundraising efforts could be best utilized to soften the economic impact of successive building projects (the school, and a community center to follow after that project is complete).
Residents interested in serving as one of the four at-large members should send a letter of interest to the Selectmen’s Office (elderp@lincolntown.org) by Thursday, Jan. 31 or call 781-259-2601. The committee’s complete charge can be found here. A description of tax relief programs already in place in Lincoln can be found here.
