ITEM FILE PHOTO
What would have the late Barbara Anderson have said about Tuesday’s vote in favor of a town debt exclusion?
The staunch anti-tax advocate who lived in Marblehead helped construct the property tax limitation law known as Proposition 2 ½.
Anderson’s status as a tax watchdog would not necessarily have excluded her from voting to exclude borrowing costs associated with a Gerry School feasibility study and a new fire truck from 2 ½.
Her favorite target for criticism was state taxation proposals cloaked beneath a proposed law with a complicated name or an initiative that, at first glance, looked like a great idea to help people. She spared or softened her criticism for local taxation proposals providing they were discussed in public and held up for scrutiny.
The Gerry-Fire Pumper exclusion appeared to amply meet those standards. Town officials talked about it at length and concisely estimated the tax burden approving the exclusion will place on residents.
Tuesday’s vote mirrored public support for the debt exclusions with both measures passing by a wide margins. The exclusion generated relatively little voter interest with 20 percent of voters casting ballots.
Proponents could point to that turnout and suggest the exclusion was such an obvious no-brainer that most residents stayed home with the expectation that the measure would pass. A cynic might offer a different argument and conclude the low turnout reflected apathy about municipal finances.
Granted, that is a difficult argument to make in a town where a significant number of high earning capacity residents with hundreds of thousands, even millions of dollars sunk into local homes. Marblehead residents are probably better versed in municipal finance than many other communities. It’s fair to conclude they studied the proposal with critical eyes before going to the polls.
Those same residents should be calling for a thorough, long-range analysis of town finances to determine Marblehead’s ability to meet its operating and capital expenditure needs into the future. At the core of this analysis lies the question: How does the town avoid having to rely on a debt exclusion in the future?
The value of a restored school and modern fire equipment cannot be disputed. But it will serve Marblehead’s town officials and residents well to remember Anderson’s cautionary words about placing long-term tax burdens on residents.
