By now, you likely have seen them on lawns throughout town: the anti-override group Better Way Marblehead’s signs, which read “$7,500+ Per Home Every 3 Years, Forever!”
Some residents may have wondered, “Is that true?”
Here’s our assessment.
WHAT THE SIGN GETS RIGHT: The overrides the town will be voting on June 9 are, in fact, “forever.” They are general overrides that remain part of the tax rate rather than exclusions that drop off the tax levy when the bonds issued to finance a particular project are paid off. Over time, homeowners may acclimate to the new higher levy limit, which would return to increasing by no more than 2.5% annually unless voters again override Proposition 2 1/2. But this year’s override would still be part of how the town assesses property taxes.
WHAT’S MISSING: Perhaps no lawn sign can be expected to capture every nuance of a particular issue. But even with that caveat, the signs lack some important context.
First, prior to Town Meeting, Town Administrator Thatcher Kezer, School Superintendent John Robidoux and the chairs of the Select Board, School Committee and Finance Committee signed a memorandum of understanding pledging to phase in the implementation of any approved override to ease the burden on taxpayers.
To the extent that the cost to any homeowner will be $7,500 over three years (more on that in a second), that should not be the case in the first three years. Under the terms of the MOU, even if voters approved the most expensive override (Tier 3, $15 million), the owner of an average home in town valued at $1.29 million would pay a total of $4,032 over the first three years, including the annual 2.5% increases allowed under Proposition 2 1/2: $556 in FY 27, $1,487 in FY 28 and $1,989 in FY 29.
If the town only approves the Tier 1 ($9 million) or Tier 2 ($12 million) overrides, the cost drops accordingly.
Also not immediately clear from the signs is the value of the home Better Way Marblehead is using for its calculations. In its communications, the group has favored using the aforementioned average home value ($1.29 million), which is skewed by the multi-million-dollar homes in town. The median home value, which represents the midpoint of all the home values in town, is just under $1 million. The median arguably provides a more useful comparison for a higher percentage of homeowners. Since the average home value is approximately 29% higher than the median, the cost of the overrides for the owner of that $1.29 million home is 29% higher, too.
Better Way Marblehead also includes in its calculations the cost of trash pickup. This is arguably fair because, one way or the other, the way residents pay for trash collection will be changing. Voters will either approve Question 4 (which Better Way Marblehead recommends) or receive a quarterly bill from the town for trash collection if Question 4 fails. For the owner of a $1.29 million home, passage of Question 4 would add an additional $297 to their tax bill in the first year (and increase by 2.5% thereafter).
While it is legitimate for Better Way to include this cost in its calculations, its signs — which lobby for a “no” vote on Questions 1, 2 and 3 — do not make clear that they are including Question 4 in the math.
Finally, there is the simple fact that most people tend not to think about any of their bills — including their quarterly property tax bills — across a three-year timeframe. Most people think about costs year to year — if not month to month, or quarter to quarter.
VERDICT: The most expensive override on the ballot (Question 3) — combined with the trash-collection override found in Question 4 or quarterly trash bills — may cost some homeowners “$7,500+” over a three-year span. But because of the memorandum of understanding, the first such three-year span for the owner of a $1.29 million home should not begin until 2029 (FY 30). For the owners of homes valued at less than $1.29 million, the cost will be less. Rather than relying on lawn signs, residents who want a truer picture of how much the different overrides would increase their tax bills in the first three years can use the tax calculator found at marbleheadma.gov/override.
