It's official. Another South Shore town will have an override vote. What it means

Hannah Morse, The Patriot Ledger
·4 min read

BRAINTREE – The town will hold a special election in June to ask its voters to decide an $8 million permanent tax override to soften the blow of a budget deficit nearly twice its size.

An average home in Braintree valued at $668,178 would pay $454 more in property taxes annually if the override passes, Mayor Erin Joyce said. The town will soon have a tool so property owners can check their own situation.

Joyce presented her budget to the town council Tuesday evening that showed next year’s budget faced an $18 million structural deficit, or when spending has been greater than revenues over a period of time.

Based on projections without an override, town revenues next year are expected to increase by $25,000 compared to the current year, whereas spending will increase by about $18 million.

South Shore Tax Overrides: Hanover budget needs $6 million more. How it plans to make it work

This mismatch happened in part due to recurring expenses that were paid for with one-time funds, Joyce said in remarks.

To balance the budget, the town still needs to cut roughly $10 million. But by increasing town revenues through a tax override, Joyce said the $8 million would be divided next year as such:

  • $4 million for the schools to bolster a $79.5 million budget, which is $400,000 less than what the school committee supported last month. That proposed larger school budget called for 33 staff reductions. It is not clear yet how an override would affect layoffs.

  • $1.5 million for public safety to maintain police services, and gain back reduced programs like the traffic unit and school resource officers

  • $1 million for public works

  • $1.5 million for an override stabilization fund.

Language that outlines this spending breakdown would appear before voters on the Saturday, June 15, ballot.

More: Is your town going to have an override vote? What that means

"Simply put, we can't cut our way out of this problem and we can't spend our way out of this problem. It needs to be a balanced approach," Joyce said.

The town council has yet to discuss the mayor’s proposed $168.7 million spending plan. Budget discussions will begin Monday at 6 p.m. at Cahill Auditorium, starting with a revenue forecast overview and the budgets for the town clerk, library and human resources departments.

The rest of the budget review public hearing schedule is proposed as follows, but is subject to change:

  • May 8: Blue Hill Regional High School, mayor’s office, town council

  • May 13: Public works department, sewer, water, storm water

  • May 14: Golf, law, finance programs

  • May 15: Fire, police

  • May 20: Planning and community development, department of elder affairs, municipal licenses and inspections

  • May 21: Education

If departments need to be called back, May 22 and 23 will be set aside for those public hearings.

The town council will vote on the final budget May 29 at 7 p.m.

No early vote-by-mail for Braintree's June 15 special election

Town Clerk James Casey said there would be no early vote-by-mail option for the June 15 special election. This is due to several reasons, including cost and the short window to get ballots mailed out in time.

About 3,800 Braintree voters have requested early vote-by-mail ballots for all elections, and a few hundred were college students asking their ballots be sent to their school address.

Casey said he believed an “unacceptable number” of ballots would not be returned by the 8 p.m. deadline on election day. His office is still receiving ballots from the March 5 election, he said.

Holding a special election costs the town $40,000, and it would cost an additional $15,000 for an early vote option. The special election for the debt exclusion question in 2020 drew 27.6% of voters.

If a voter is unable to show up to their polling place in person, they can still vote with an absentee ballot. The voter can either request an absentee ballot be mailed to them if they fill out a request and the town clerk’s office receives it by mail, hand delivery, fax or email up to five days before the election. Voters can fill out an absentee ballot in person at town hall as late as noon the day before the election.

Hannah Morse covers growth and development for The Patriot Ledger. Contact her at hmorse@patriotledger.com.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Braintree election for $8 million tax override vote in June