By Lynne Smith
On December 2, many of us will go to the Donaldson Auditorium in our new school to vote on the options for a community center. The newsletter sent by the Selects last week estimated the tax impact of three building options.
Here I will focus on Option 1, the 100% option that will cost $24.01 million. For households with a median tax bill of $17,488, this option will increase annual taxes by about $773.* The new school, which cost approximately $93 million, resulted in an annual tax increase of $2,100.**
These are big numbers, especially when you do the math: the bonded debt for the school over 30 years adds up to about $63,000 for each household.
When you do the math for Option 1 for the community center, the bonded debt over 30 years is about $23,190 for each household.
Everyone who attends the meeting can decide on the value of a new community center building for their household. I have not yet decided how I will vote but I am thinking seriously about the decisions our generation of Lincoln residents is making. Brand-new buildings will saddle us with large tax bills for years to come. And our irreplaceable historic buildings require our stewardship for their continued use.
As a recent New York Times article said about Town Meetings, “The most important part of these meetings is always the ensemble of townspeople who stand at the small podium to ask, sometimes beg, that our needs be met, wrongs be prevented or righted.” That’s a lot to ask of a municipal meeting — but let us have the courage to do so.
I look forward to meeting again in the auditorium and seeing my friends, neighbors, committee members and town staff as we gather to participate in democratic governance on December 2!
* If the entire cost were paid through bonding at an interest rate of 4–4.5%.
** See note on page 6 in the FinCom’s “Town Capital Capacity” presentation in September 2023.
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