Position on Community Preservation Fund

Uses of Fund for Real Estate Development
Unfavorable: The Community Preservation Fund is intended to preserve, not create, the character of Sudbury.

Use of Fund for Recreation Facilities Maintenance
Favorable. In cases where recreation facilities exist prior to enactment of the Fund.

Use of Fund for New Recreation Facilities such as Tennis Courts, Swimming Pools, and the Like.
Unfavorable. The Community Preservation Fund is intended to preserve, not create, the character of Sudbury.

Use of Fund to Offset Senior Property Tax
Favorable. Use of the fund to preserve a healthy elderly community residence rate is appropriate, and precisely in keeping with the intention of the Fund. Recommend primary annual allocation of the Fund to all Senior Households. Senior Households which meet the criteria as follows: No school age children, head of household 65 years of age or older sets year of eligibility, proportion of offset not based on property tax. Maximum offset to be no more than 50% of tax levy for any household.

Comment: There can be no higher or more important use of the Fund than to preserve our community, who are precisely the people who have lived in Sudbury and paid taxes, and now add little to the tax burden. This is a great opportunity to do as we said: To preserve the community far into the future. It would require us to take a bold, intelligent and innovative step that may set the standard for wise municipal government in the future.

Use of Fund for Roadway Improvements and Planning
Unfavorable. Other mechanisms exist for these functions.

Use of Fund for the improvement of public buildings.
Unfavorable. Historic buildings need to be maintained. Substantial improvements and alterations to historic structures are not in keeping with th function Community Preservation.

Here's what I posted to The Town Crier on February 9, 2008

Community Preservation is Common Sense

We need a Sudbury for Everyone.

That includes youngsters, young families, schools, municipal services and senior citizens.

At our sacred Town Meeting, we as a town voted for Community Preservation, and now that money is proposed to be spent on condo developments. This will not stand.

A Sudbury for Everyone is not a pipe dream, nor is it an impossible one. Community Preservation funds should be used to mitigate the excessive unrepresented taxation upon our seniors.

The school committee and administrators deserve praise for strongly representing the schools - but schools are only part of the community, not all of it, and they shall deteriorate as surely as the community that supports it, unless common sense is restored.

Robert J Crowley

http://sudburyenergy.blogspot.com