CPA Adoption Update: Westminster Places CPA on Spring 2022 Ballot

While many communities are eyeing the state election in November for their CPA Adoption efforts, advocates in town of Westminster have just succeeded in placing CPA adoption on their spring ballot. Westminster is now the third community that will be voting on CPA adoption this April, joining the towns of Lakeville and Pepperell. But unlike these two communities that voted at their fall town meetings to place CPA on the ballot, the campaign in Westminster spent the last several months collecting signatures for a ballot question petition. And as of this week, the group submitted over 500 signatures to their town officials - almost 200 more than what was required to reach the threshold of 5% of the town's registered voters! Time will tell whether this extra boost of enthusiasm provides some important momentum at the ballot, but residents will now be voting on CPA at their spring election scheduled for Tuesday, April 26th.

Voters in Westminster will now decide whether or not to adopt a 3% CPA surcharge for their community with exemptions for the first $100,000 of residential property, the first $100,000 of commercial property, and for low income and low & moderate income senior homeowners. With a 3% CPA surcharge and the aforementioned exemptions, the town is expected to raise approximately $400,000 in local CPA revenues annually for outdoor recreation, historic preservation, affordable housing, and open space projects. Adopting CPA would 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.

2022 is definitely shaping up to be another exciting year for CPA adoption efforts. With three communities on the spring ballot, and several more making plans for the state election in November, will we see the number of CPA communities reach the 200 mark? Keep an eye on our Upcoming CPA Elections page as we continue to monitor these campaigns throughout the year.