Communities see varying success with overrides this spring

In 2015, 17 communities have put Proposition 2½ questions on the ballot or will have questions appear on the ballot in the next few months.
 
These ballot questions include 14 overrides, 18 debt exclusions and four capital expenditure exclusions.
 
Of the 15 ballot questions that have been voted on so far, 12 have passed and three have not, according to an MMA survey of local news reports.
 
To date this spring, Belmont, Edgartown and Nantucket have passed overrides, while the towns of North Attleborough and West Tisbury were unsuccessful.
 
Override questions on local ballots in 13 different communities this spring would fund regional school budgets, local school departments and road improvements.
 
At least 11 communities have put debt exclusion questions on the ballot for various municipal departments and purposes: road repairs, the purchase of a building for a senior center, repairs to municipal buildings, installation of traffic lights, library renovations, a new fire station, and technology at local schools.
 
Voters in the town of Belmont passed an override for $4.5 million on April 7. The override will fund Belmont schools as well as road and sidewalk repairs. Due to rising student enrollment, the schools will need to hire more staff in the next few years, according to local officials. The failure of the override may have resulted in the loss of many staff and teaching positions, eliminating classes and programs.
 
North Attleborough voted in early April on a $4 million override that would have funded municipal and school departments. The override failed, and now there is much discussion about how cuts should be made – whether each department will receive the same percentage cut, or if the town will take a more targeted approach that could cut some departments more than others.
 
North Attleborough town officials say that cuts could be devastating to some departments. Many departments have already received reductions in funding in recent years. The school department might be hit the hardest by the failed override. Teachers may need to be laid off and cuts could be made to athletics and foreign language programs. Budget cuts could lead to the closing of a school with 900 students who would have to be integrated into the other schools.
 
Several towns pursue Proposition 2½ ballot questions to fund local road improvements, using local revenue to supplement Chapter 90 funds.
 
The town of Brewster is putting a $10 million debt exclusion on the ballot on May 19 to fund its local road program. The town first considered a smaller override in order to gradually improve the quality of Brewster’s roads.
 
Newbury also put an override on the ballot to fund local roads. Edgartown has passed an override and debt exclusion question for the paving of a local road.
 
In 2014, 40 communities put a total of 55 overrides on the ballot, and 24 communities (60 percent) were successful in passing at least one override. In total, 33 overrides passed in 2014, according to MMA data.
 
Communities saw more success in passing overrides in 2014 than in previous years. The percentage of communities that had success with at least one override from 2009 to 2013 ranged from 44 percent to 53 percent.
 
The total number of override wins in 2014 was also higher than in the past five years.
 
A total of 167 Proposition 2½ ballot questions were voted on in 2014, including 55 overrides, 105 debt exclusions, and seven capital exclusions. Of these questions, 118 passed and 49 failed.