Milton Property Tax table: Impact of contingent and non-contingent property tax increases

Last week  Town Meeting passed the appropriations of the contingent budget recommended by the Warrant Committee and endorsed by The Board of Selectmen for various town departments. The budget requires the voters to pass an override to Prop 2 1/2. This election is scheduled for June 8th.

The following table lists the impact that the non-contingent and contingent budgets will have on property taxes and the average difference in the monthly increase.

For example, a house with an assessed value of $475,600 would have an annual increase of $290 with a contingent budget and $637 with a non-contingent budget. The average monthly increase in the contingent over the non-contingent budget for this property would be ~$29.

Tom Hurley, chairman of the warrant committee reviewed this table.

You can learn what your home is currently assessed from the Town Web Site here. You can search for property by address, owner, etc.

from Boston.com – The Names Blog

On any given day, there’s a good chance that Milton actor Tom Kemp is on television. Having played parts on “Law & Order,” “NCIS,” and “Without A Trace,” — and in movies such as “Gone Baby Gone,” “W.,” and “Mystic River” — he’s almost always on TV, thanks to repeats and movie channels. Few know his name, but Kemp’s face always looks familiar. “I’m often playing priests and cops,” Kemp told us earlier today. “Character actors — they’re the meat and potatoes.” (read full story here).

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has posted information on their website regarding the FY09 Chapter 70 reductions announced by Governor Patrick on May 7, 2009.  These Chapter 70 reductions will be offset, dollar for dollar, with Federal Stimulus Funds. You can view the memo here.

A weekly recap of key events and items of interest to the Milton community:

Blazing bikes

One of the town’s premier annual sports events kicked off the week: The Blue Hills Classic. This event is sponsored by the Blue Hills Cycling Club and is considered to be one of the finest Boston area events by local enthusiasts. You can view the original post with photos here.

Town Meeting

Town Meeting voted on a 50 articles most having to do with appropriations for town departments. The highlights were:

• On day one Selectman endorsed the coningent budget recommendations made by the Warrant Committee.
• On day two Town Meeting had voted the lion’s share of appr0priations per Warrant Committee recommendation and Selectmen put  $3,420,189 as the amount for the override to be voted on June 8th.
• On day three town meeting approved the wind turbine, the initiative to create a consolidated facitilies department and to remain in the Norfolk County Mosquito program.

Here are the original posts on Town Meeting: Day 1, Day 2, Day3.

Mantville gets his fish

It was fitting that two sports events should book end the week, both unique Milton events. The week finished with the Annual Ed Baker fishing tournament held at Turner’s Pond. Brian Mantville of the Milton Fire Department took first place. You can see the original post and a picture of the smiling winner here.

An overcast sky that was spitting every now and then did not diminish the spirits and enthusiasm of a large number of anglers young and old who turned out for the 16th Annual Ed Baker Fishing Tournament. The tournament took place at one of our natural jewels, Turner’s Pond.

Brian Mantville, a member of the Milton Fire Department, took First Place in the adult competition. It was a great tournament and perfect example of a unique Milton event that reflects the character and spirit of the community. Congratulations to Brian and all the winners, and a hearty thank you to Ed Baker!

(We welcome contributions. If you have photos of the tournament you would like us to post, please email them to frank@mytownmatters.com).

Brian Mantville
Adult 1st Place
Milton Fire Department

Milton residents were in the news this week.

This morning there was a piece in the Boston Globe by Bella English discussing the challenges of families with students about to graduate from college. The job market is not so hot and when a graduate does land a job it can create an awkward situation with groups of friends still struggling to land work.

Profiled in the piece are the Ring and Stapleton families both of whom reside here in Milton. Ms. Stapleton , whose daughter Kate is graduating from Loyola College in Maryland, is quoted as saying, “I think we all feel we’re in this together.”

Read the full story here.

The Massachuessetts Department of Transportation cannot seem to keep itself out of the news. This past week Alan LeBovidge resigned from the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority. The resignation comes on the heels of the recent flap over back ups at the tolls over the Easter holiday.

LeBovidge will be replaced by Milton resident Jeffrey Mullan who joined the administration two years ago as under-secretary of transportation. Mullan currently sits on the Milton Board of Appeals.

You can find the Globe story on the LeBovidge resignation here.

Here is a video of the School Committee’s presentation given on the second day of Town Meeting. It is a valuable not only for the presentation itself but a good orientation for those who have always wondered how town business is conducted but have not had an opportunity to attend.

The 16th annual Ed Baker Fishing Tournament is taking place NOWat Turner’s. Get over there! Details here.

Tonight there will a great women’s professional soccer game at Brooks Field.

All proceeds go to the “Friends for Mike Madden” fund.

Hope to see you there! Find details here.

This evening’s Town Meeting largely dealt with approving a number of revolving funds for various departments.

There were however, several notable items.

The citizens petition to withdraw from the Norfolk County Mosquito was defeated after a fair amount of debate. Marjorie Jeffries, one of the citizens who signed the petition spoke at length. Her point being that the level of risk of contracting Equine Encephalitis or West Nile Virus. People spoke on both sides of the issue, but the majority spoke in support of staying within the program. Their principal arguments being that one reason the risk was low was that the mosquito prevention was effective and that the diseases were life threatening and consequently warranted the preventive measures.

More information can be found at the Norfolk Commission’s web site here.

Town Meeting Member Todd Greenwood re-opened the article regarding providing the funding required to keep the East Milton Branch Library open. This was an issue very close to the residents of East Milton. After deliberations a voice vote was taken but ten members stood up to request a stand up vote. The result was 132 vs 79 to retain the decision to maintain original appropriation.

After considerable discussion the Town Meeting approved the article 42 to pursue installation of wind turbines.

Town Meeting also went with Warrant Committee’s recommendation to refer the Blue Hill Ave Institutional/Business Overlay District back to the Planning Board for further review.

During a lull in the proceedings, Ms Innes, chairman of the Planning Board spoke about the recent survey they conducted. There were 693 responses.  They expect to release the full results next week and make those available on the town web site and hold a public meeting to discuss.

Lastly, the article to consolidate town and school properties was approved.