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Dept. of Revenue review hones in on school
By Pru Sowers
Banner Staff
PROVINCETOWN – Included in the 30 recommendations given to town finance managers by the Mass. Department of Revenue recently were three particularly controversial proposals.
Two involved changing the tax rate to give residential property owners a break, while increasing taxes on local businesses. And the third recommendation seemed at first glance an unlikely area for the DOR to be stepping into: assessing the fiscal impact of combining the local school system with the Nauset Regional School District.
“I, on one hand, understand that [recommendation],” said Provincetown School Supt. Jessica Waugh. “But second, they don’t have any authority. And third, they’re stupid.”
Waugh wasn’t referring to the intelligence level of the DOR reviewers, who spent several weeks at Town Hall in January poring over the town’s budgetary procedures. She was talking about the hidden costs of closing Provincetown’s two schools and sending the students to Nauset. Those costs, which a school subcommittee is in the process of researching, include busing the students to Orleans.
“They [DOR reviewers] don’t realize that geography forces us to incur higher costs for transportation,” Waugh said.
While taking no stance on whether or not to regionalize the school district, the DOR review pointed out that Provincetown supports the smallest pre-kindergarten-12 school district in the state. And its per-pupil cost – $24,896 in fiscal year 2008 – is the second highest in the state. During these times of fiscal stress, the report read, it is sensible for town officials to investigate all possible cost savings opportunities. The report even acknowledged the local political battle that has erupted in the regionalization debate.
“Because opposing opinions are entrenched on the subject, it strikes us that a responsible action would be to secure a comprehensive and objective analysis of the potential fiscal impact if Provincetown were to join the Nauset Regional School District. Only then can a decision be made which serves the best interest of the town,” the report said.
Perhaps not so controversial but still far-reaching were two other DOR recommendations: that the town consider a split tax rate between residential and commercial properties, and to consider adopting a residential tax exemption, which would lower residents’ tax rate while increasing it for second-home owners.
Provincetown Assessor Paul Gavin said the local board of assessors is required by law to annually reconsider the town’s tax classification. For the past several years the board has looked at changing the tax rate calculations but has consistently voted against it. The primary argument against a split commercial-residential tax rate is that local businesses can’t afford it, having seen their revenue stream challenged by a decrease in the number of tourists coming to town, rising expenses and the short selling season.
“You’d be sending an anti-businesses message to the community,” Gavin said.
As for the residential exemption, one argument against it is that it’s not fair to charge higher taxes to the people who stay here the least and, as a result, use fewer municipal services.
“That program is very hard to administer. You have to prove if you are a resident or not,” he said.
Overall, though, Gavin said the DOR review, a free service aimed at helping Provincetown improve its financial management, was thorough and useful. He said his department was going to incorporate one of the two recommendations made by the DOR into its policies. Other recommendations to the finance department at large included implementing a new chart of accounts, the line-by-line itemization of every dollar in and out of the town’s budget, and doing more frequent spending reconciliations between departments.
“I’m glad we did it,” Gavin said, referring to the review. “They did a great deal of research on us.”
psowers@provincetownbanner.com
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May 1st, 2008