New Bedford Mayor Moves CPA to State Election Ballot
July 31, 2014: New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell signed the Community Preservation Act city ordinance, placing the question of CPA adoption on the November 4th election ballot. After much debate and discussion, the city will finally have a chance to determine if their community would benefit from the CPA program. The city oridinance, signed the last day of July, specifies a 1.5% CPA surcharge level with an exemption of the first $100,000 of both residential and commercial property value in addition to exemptions for low income persons and low or moderate income seniors.
The Mayor's decision comes after both the City Council Liaison Committee and the full Council voted in late June to recommend the program for New Bedford. The upcoming state eleciton will be New Bedford's first ballot attempt at CPA adoption.
With this recent action, a total of two cities and six towns are now slated to vote on whether to adopt CPA at their upcoming fall election ballots.
Further Resources
- Read South Coast Today's article "CPA campaign kicks off in New Bedford"
- Check out the New Bedford Standard Times' editorial "Our View: Community Preservation Act in New Bedford offers high return on investment."
- Read South Coast Today's article "New Bedford voters to decide fate of Community Preservation Act"