by Frank Schroth
Milton voters have turned back the ballot question seeking to have the town join the Community Preservation Act. It was 8255 against to 6454 in support. Warren won Milton over Senator Scott Brown and won the state. She is currently giving her acceptance speech. She is the first woman senator in the history of the Commonwealth.
President Obama won Milton (9499) over Mr. Romney (6122).
You can find complete Milton election returns here.
87% turnout town wide according to the Town Clerk. Strong turnout all around.
There were honorable people on both sides of this contentious CPA issue.
Had the proponents specified that the CPA tax would be used for one or at the most two conservation projects initially the average voter would have been able to focus on the potential benefits of the Community Preservation Act.
Unfortunately, as presented the proponents painted with too broad a brush the value of the CPA rather than be specific.
If you are asking the average tax payer to dip into his or her pocket one more time you have to be specific.
A good lesson learned for the future
Steve, I have been called many things in life, but this is the first time I have been called a Saint….as in Saint Paul’s Cathedral . I will take it as the complement you intended but all the honors should go to Christopher Wren.
But as a ” saint” I believe in calling things as they are and not how I might want them to be. The CPA is a tax. If it had passed in yesterday’s election and at some later date I received a bill for my share and I decided not to pay it would not a tax penalty and a lien be assessed against me and the house until it was paid and discharged? It would. Perhaps, I missed something in all my readings on the CPA that it was a voluntary citizen contribution and I could opt out if I wished…sort of like a ‘ second collection ‘ at church while we are on an ecclesiastical bent. Don’t think I would be excommunicated for not contributing to that second collection – or the first for that matter – but there would be dire consequences if I chose not to participate in the Community Preservation Act 1.5% sur-tax [ that is what it is] on the real estate bill.
Now, to the issue of the CPA itself. No one would expect the supporters to guarantee that if the CPA were passed a specific fire station or open space would be selected without the prior approval of the Town Meeting after the selection was determined by the appointed committee that would be set up by its passage. That being said, no one in the pro-CPA group coordinated its message. Some would say, we will do this or that, a fire station, affordable housing, open space, etc. – literally they were all over the field.
You have some of the sharpest political acumen I know of. So, I am positive if you were the campaign director for the CPA it would have been handled differently. They – the infinitely famous and wise they – said that the key to Ronald Reagan’s success was that he would hit on no more than three issues and would repeat them ad infinitum – or ad nauseam depending on your political bent . The CPA proponents did not follow that rule with obviously negative consequences for them. I am not sure that people will not be willing to pass the CPA in the future but when you are asking them to invest even a comparably small amount of their money they want to know precisely where that money will be spent. Again, I think you would have run the campaign differently with perhaps a more positive result from where you sit.
As I have posted the proponents of the CPA are all honorable people; there are no good guy, bad guy division here as their may have been on other town issues. It is very simple. The proponents of the CPA were unable to state their case in clear and basic terms. The voters only saw the “tax” and none of the benefits if any. There may be a future for the CPA in Milton but it will fail again if it is presented to the voters in the same way.
Steve, you get a plenary indulgence for reading this 😉
Please do not think I was calling you a saint. Merely pointing out where to go to see the epitaph. But you do share the name of someone who experienced an epiphany. So I look forward to seeing you on the road to Damascus!
Seriously Paul, this town will figure out the economics that other town’s have discovered. a 25% off sale is better than no sale at all.
By ignoring the fact that these structures will be repaired, that open space will be maintained, that affordable housing will be built and that historic buildings will be preserved does not make those costs go away. These are facts, cold hard facts.
My grandfather said there are no free lunches. But if we can get the same lunch at 75% rather than 100%, it is a better deal. @6 cents on the dollar coming back to Milton is better than seeing our contribution of state taxes going to every surrounding town except Boston.
Now, how many years to I get off my time in Purgatory.
About Purgatory, I am more at the stage of Clarence, Angel Second Class, my miracle powers are limited but I will pass it up the line for due consideration when Saint Peter returns from his ballot protection and overseeing responsiblities. Think he did an outstanding job this time. He worked overtime I am told in Ohio 😉
But seriously, when the scales fall off my eyes you will be one of the first to know. The CPA has some good points. There is a record to prove it but not to repeat myself the campaign needed to be more specific for voters to perhaps buy the argument.
My mind is not closed. Saints aren’t allowed to have closed minds.
Hope others are not bored by our humor. I was just giving you the pew poll results.
One needs to go no further than looking at the average tax increases in Milton over the last 3 years to understand that the CPA was likely voted down as a matter of principle.