There is no free lunch

On Nov. 8 in Danvers, Question 5 will ask for your vote on the Community Preservation Act. Advocates for this new tax have been promoting the matching funds that the state has promised if we agree to impose yet another tax on ourselves. This is nothing more than a bait-and-switch operation and must be defeated.

When this program was signed into law in 2000, the promise was that the state would match any funds raised locally with a 100 percent match from funds raised by an increase in the deed transfer fee. Basically, they promised to give the town money that we have already paid if we promise to pay even more. At that time, there were 34 communities in the program and the state was able to keep its promise. It was able to keep this promise until 2007, when 113 communities all received a 100 percent match. But just like any good pyramid scheme, they always run out of other peoples’ money and in 2008, as the number of communities continued to rise, the reimbursement rate began to fall.

First, the reimbursement rate fell to 67.62 percent, then it dropped to 34.81 percent, then 27.2 percent, bottoming out in 2011 at 26.64 percent when the number of participating communities had risen to 148.

There are currently 161 communities in the program, with 16 more considering adoption on Nov. 8. But there is something very special about this group of 16. It includes such huge cities as Boston, Billerica and Springfield. The 16 cities and towns currently considering adoption would almost double the drain on the program, which would cut the reimbursement rate in half — 26 percent would become 13 percent. So much for the promise of 100 percent.

Danvers has never passed a Proposition 21/2 override and that’s exactly what this is. Don’t fall for this scheme.

There is no free lunch.

Danvers does not need a new CPA tax/ fee/assessment.

Please vote no on Question 5 on Nov. 8.

Vincent J. Mackey

Town Meeting member, Precinct 6

Danvers