Milton Town Meeting Votes to Place CPA Adoption on the Ballot

Two towns in two nights have now approved of placing CPA adoption on the November ballot. After Whitman town meeting passed their CPA warrant article on Monday night, last night the town of Milton was able to do the same. Held remotely over Zoom, there was a lengthy debate over whether or not to try for CPA adoption again - Milton was unsuccessful in their last attempt at the ballot back in 2012. The Coalition's  Steering Committee Chair, Tom Callahan, is a Milton resident himself and was present to answer many questions throughout the debate. Ultimately, town meeting members voted 75% to 25% in favor of placing CPA on the November ballot.

Voters in Milton will now decide whether or not to adopt a 1% CPA surcharge for their community, with an exemption for the first $100,000 of both residential and commercial property value, as well as exemptions for low income and low & moderate income senior homeowners. With a 1% CPA surcharge and the aforementioned exemptions, the town is estimating that it will raise approximately $800,000 in local CPA revenues annually for 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.

There are now a total of seven communities that will be voting on CPA adoption later this year - four towns and three cities. Keep an eye on our CPA elections page for further updates.