CPA Is On The Ballot In Abington For April 2016
June 10, 2015: Abington became the second community to advance CPA to the ballot this year when, at the town’s Monday June 8th town meeting, residents overwhelmingly voted to put CPA on the April 2016 ballot. Abington joins Woburn, the first community to put CPA on the ballot; Woburn will be voting on November 3rd 2015.
On April 30th 2016, voters will decide whether or not to adopt a 1.5% CPA surcharge for their community, with exemptions for the first $100,000 of residential property value, and low to moderate income homeowners. With a 1.5% CPA surcharge and the aforementioned exemptions, Abington would bring in approximately $300,000 in local CPA revenues annually for community recreation, historic preservation, open space, and affordable housing projects. Adopting CPA will also make the town eligible to receive annual distributions of funds from the statewide Community Preservation Trust Fund, monies that are available only to communities that have adopted the Act. The cost to the average Abington homeowner would be less than $50 annually.
If Abington does adopt the CPA, these funds could address a number of open space and historic preservation needs, including the bridge at Island Grove, a town landmark, and other historic municipal structures and sites. CPA could also be used to improve the city’s parks and other outdoor recreational facilities, build more playgrounds and complete a variety of other eligible projects.