Selectman Lee Seeks 'Underride' To Protect Taxpayers

Framingham Selectmen Laurie Lee wants to protect taxpayers from a huge tax hike in the future, and put a Proposition 2 1/2 ‘underride” on the ballot.

For the past couple of years, Framingham Selectmen have chosen not to raise taxes by the maximum 2.5 percent but instead to only raise taxes by 1.25 percent.

The savings is $10.9 million.

“I really believe we need to protect the taxpayers and do an underride for that amount,” said Lee, after listening to a presentation on the proposed tax rate for the next fiscal year.

Selectmen said the idea was merited and will hold an in-depth discussion at its Tuesday, Nov. 17 meeting.

Under state law, communities can only raise taxes a maximum of 2.5 percent. If a community chooses not to tax at the maximum, the amount can be put in reserve for later.

An underride ”results in a permanent decrease in the levy limit of a community because it reduces the base upon which levy limits are calculated for future years,” according to the Massachusetts Municipal Association (MMA).

A majority of Selectmen would need to vote for an underride for it to appear on a ballot. By law, a specific dollar amount would need to be attached to that vote. Lee did not specify an amount for the underride.

Framingham’s charter also allows for a citizen’s petition to get an override on a ballot.

Selectmen Chair Charlie Sisitsky said an “underride” was a “very, very important decision.”

He said the meeting was needed to look at all the “ramifications.”

Selectman Mike Bower, who has already announced he will not seek re-election, said “we didn’t just give taxpayers relief in the last two years to have it all taken away.”

He said the $10.9 million is “like a sword hanging over the heads of taxpayers,” and it is a “loose end” he wants to eliminate before he leaves the Board.

Overrides are rare in the Commonwealth.

According to the MMA, “ Since 1994, a total of nine underride questions have been placed on ballots in eight communities. Eight of these questions have been approved by voters, the largest being a $2 million reduction in Plymouth for fiscal 1996. The other underrides that passed were in Ayer, Holland, Orleans, Shelburne, Upton and Williamsburg (twice), all for amounts below $325,000. A proposed reduction of $388,353 was rejected by voters in Norton in 1994.”