Town Meeting Begins Wed 11/18 at 7:30 p.m., Wayland High School Field House
In addition to Article 2 for the High School project, there are two other issues being addressed at Town Meeting that will greatly impact town finances:
- Amend zoning bylaw for Town Center - Articles 3 & 4
- Institute a 0.75% Local Meals Excise Tax - Article 5
In a town like Wayland with a very small commercial base, there are limited options to generate incremental revenue outside of increasing residential property taxes. The Town Center and Meals Excise Tax are two opportunities available at this time.
We urge you to support Article 2 for the High School, Articles 3 and 4 related to Town Center and Article 5 to institute the Local Meals Tax.
There are many other important Articles. Please review the warrant and stay for the entire meeting to exercise your right and responsibility to Wayland.
Article 2 - Wayland High School Expansion and Modernization
2/3 Majority Required to Pass
Please note that the wording in this article is mandated by the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA). The MSBA requires all towns to approve the entire budgeted amount for the project. The grant is only available for the proposed project with a budget up to $70.8 million with the state grant for eligible costs of up to $25 million less funds already approved in past years. The net maximum incremental borrowing the town will incur should this pass would be $45.1 million. Should bids come in below budget, the savings would be shared proportionately by the state and the town.
For detailed information on this article and the ballot question at the polls on November 17, please review your warrant, visit www.Yes4WHS.com or the HSBC website.
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Article 3 - Amend Zoning Bylaws Re: Affordable Housing in MUOD (Town Center)
The severity of the economic downturn combined with the delays in the permitting process that have far exceeded timeframes for similar projects in other towns have put the town center project at risk. As a result, the town center as currently structured is not financially viable and it is unlikely that the developers will be able to move forward unless certain modifications are made to its agreement with the town to reflect current economic conditions. Therefore, the developer has asked for some adjustments to its agreement with the town in order to make the project viable.This Article is the result of extensive negotiations between the town and the developers.
A YES vote on Article 3 will allow the residential housing to be reduced from 25% affordable to 12% affordable units. This is out of 100 total units. The 12 affordable units will be rental and will be incorporated into the retail phase of the project. In exchange for this modification, the developer will also set aside 1.5% of the gross sale price of each residential unit sold into a Municipal Affordable Trust Fund for the creation of future affordable housing, with a minimum payment of $537,000 to the town when the residential phase is built. There are other modifications to the timing of payments such as the municipal gift, bicycle trail gift and municipal parking gift which are included in the amended development agreement. Please read the Warrant for full details.
Economic Impact: The Finance Committee currently estimates that once the project is fully built, there will be $672,000 incremental tax revenue. This still remains the single largest opportunity to increase tax revenue outside of increasing residential property tax.
Article 4 - Establish Municipal Affordable Housing Trust Fund
Passing this article allows the town to establish a trust fund to accommodate the contributions from the developer of Town Center. It is a standard process for this type of fund and contribution.
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Article 5 - Accept Local Option Meals Excise Tax
As a result of significant cuts in local aid, the State Legislature recently modified state law to allow towns to charge a local meals tax. Many towns are adopting this measure. Passing this article will allow a 0.75% tax to be added to the existing restaurant meals tax. For a $40 dinner at a local restaurant an additional tax of $0.30 would be collected and go to the town. The Dept of Revenue would notify vendors of their obligation to collect and pay the tax to the state at the same time as the state sales tax is collected. The state would then remit the payment back to the town quarterly.
Economic Impact: Two different state agencies have estimated that the tax will generate revenue of $70,000 to $260,000. This is one of the very few opportunities for incremental revenue other than increasing property taxes. A significant amount of this tax will be paid by non-Wayland residents.
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Save Our Services (SOS) is a grass roots coalition with a mission to preserve Wayland's services and quality of life in a fiscally responsible manner. www.soswayland.org
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