House, Senate take different approaches to CPA

The fiscal 2013 state budget bills passed by the House and Senate would both change the parameters of the Community Preservation Act program, giving communities more flexibility for raising and using CPA funds locally.

The two chambers took differing routes on additional state funding for the program, however, a difference that will have to be worked out by the House-Senate budget conference committee before a final legislative budget is sent to the governor for his signature.

The House budget, adopted on April 25, would direct the first $25 million from any state budget surplus at the end of each fiscal year, beginning with fiscal 2013, to the CPA Trust Fund, a proposal that could potentially double state matching funds.

The Senate budget, adopted on May 25, would provide a one-time allocation of $5 million from the state’s general fund for the CPA Trust Fund, but it would be available a year sooner than the House plan, during fiscal 2013.

The Community Preservation Act, signed into law in 2000, allows municipalities to assess a surcharge of up to 3 percent on property tax bills to fund open space preservation, affordable housing, or historic rehabilitation projects. The state initially provided a 100 percent match for funds raised locally, but the matching rate has been dropping in recent years and was just 22 percent in fiscal 2012.

Revenue for the state’s CPA Trust Fund comes from fees collected on deeds, which last year totaled nearly $26 million.

The House and Senate proposals would expand the allowable uses of CPA funding to include the rehabilitation of existing parks, playgrounds and athletic fields, rather than only the creation of new ones.

Under the House and Senate plans, cities and towns would have the option of allowing an exemption from the CPA property tax surcharge on the first $100,000 of property value for small business owners, similar to the option currently available for seniors and low-income residents.

The proposals would give communities flexibility to contribute non-property-tax revenue to CPA projects.