Dedham Residents Launch CPA Campaign Website

Mar. 6, 2017: After a town meeting vote last November, Dedham residents will now be voting on CPA adoption during their upcoming spring election on April 8th. Dedham will be the first community to vote on CPA after the record-setting 11 adoptions from the fall elections just a few months ago, and advocates in the town are working hard to see the same success in their community. The local CPA campaign has launched a new website and Facebook page promoting CPA adoption in Dedham.

On social media, the Preserve Dedham Facebook page has been interacting with CPA fans and Dedham residents for the last few months. The page regularly posts links to news coverage of the adoption campaign, as well as discussing possible uses of local CPA funding. And since Dedham has several neighboring communities that have successfully adopted CPA, the page also posts examples of how these nearby CPA programs have been able to fund local historic preservation, community housing, and open space projects.

To complement this public outreach, these advocates have also recently set up a campaign website at cpa4dedham.org. The pages here allow residents to learn more specific information about how CPA can affect the town and what specific projects could be possible in Dedham. A useful FAQ page provides an overview of the CPA program statewide and how it could work if adopted in Dedham. In addition, the Media tab on the site catalogs both a running list of local media coverage and a photo gallery of several possible projects that could be eligible for CPA funding.

On April 8th, Dedham voters will decide whether or not to adopt a 1% CPA surcharge for their community, with exemptions for the first $100,000 of residential property value, the first $100,000 of commercial property value, and low income and low and moderate income senior homeowners. With a 1% CPA surcharge and the aforementioned exemptions, Dedham would raise approximately $640,000 in local CPA revenues annually for recreation, historic preservation, affordable housing and open space 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.

If Dedham does adopt CPA, the funds could address a number of local needs including rehabilitation of the Dedham Public Library, preservation of Dedham Trails, and affordable housing projects.