PROPOSITION 2½

BACKGROUND

Proposition 2½ is a Massachusetts law which limits property tax increases by Massachusetts cities and towns. It was passed by ballot initiative in 1980 and went into effect in 1982. The name of the initiative refers to the 2.5 percent annual limit on the increase in taxes that a municipality is permitted. It was modeled after California's Proposition 13 and other similar measures enacted around the country in the early '80s.

Proposition 2½ limits the levy a city or town can raise to 2.5 percent of the cash value of all taxable real and personal property in the community.

Proposition 2½ was promoted as a statewide ballot question by Citizens for Limited Taxation (CLT) in 1980 and won by a margin of 59-41. Numerous legislative attempts to repeal or amend the basic impact on cities and towns have had little success.

In 1982 when the tax limit took effect, 171 of the state's 351 cities and towns had tax rates greater than the limit and were forced to cut their levies, in the case of some cities by as much as 15 percent a year until they reached the cap. Property tax reductions in the first years of the limit reached nearly a half billion dollars.

Since then, state aid has become a critical component of municipal budgets. But in recent years, as state aid has decreased and the costs of fuel, health care and labor have risen, cities and towns in Massachusetts have relied increasingly on the property tax for revenue. In 2007, 109 of the state's 371 communities held votes for temporary Proposition 2½ overrides with half succeeding.

Proposition 2 1/2 override supporters are self-organizing in communities across the state. The Boston Globe describes the efforts of "override moms":

Natick Moms [Boston Globe]"You could call them the Override Moms - politically powerful suburban women who lobby for property tax increases to pay for teachers, new schools, and better classroom gear for their school-aged children. Think soccer moms, with an activist bent.

In one community after another, these mothers have banded together in common cause. They are nimble and they are quick, often performing with the agility and strategy of an expert strike force."

GET INVOLVED

A Community of Communities

May 31, 2008. Statewide Proposition 2 1/2 Convening trainers - including Colleen Corona and staff from ONE Massachusetts - brought together local Prop 2 1/2 advocates from across the state on Municipal Budgets, State Budgets, and Communicating About the Value of Government (our Public Structures).

Activists from Newburyport, Malden, Monson, Woburn, Ashland, Ashburnham, Rehoboth Brookline, Boxborough, Harvard and Shrewsbury learned about the challenges facing our state budget, the looming ballot question that proposes the elimination of the state's income tax and ONE Massachusetts framing techniques.

The most amazing part for many, though, was seeing those participants really connecting with activists from other communities - Colleen included - around an issue which has traditionally developed as a long series of very isolated and lonely battles... a list that seems to be getting longer every year.

There was a dynamic exchange of information from communities of all shapes and sizes, with experience in equally diverse campaigns: What are the advantages of stealth versus media? How much volunteer time and funding needs to go into a truly effective database, and what do you do with that information once you have it? What are residents in different towns looking for in their communities, and what are they willing to pay for it?

Most, if not all, of the answers to these questions were provided - and actively debated - by the participants, and we all learned a lot more about our state from the people fighting to keep it healthy, safe, and vibrant!

Join the Proposition 2 ½ Learning Community!

If you are interested in connecting with a growing network of Override Moms and Dads active in One Massachusetts please email us at info@onemassachusetts.org Please include the words Prop. 2 ½ in the subject line.

Meanwhile you can find some usefull information at Mass Teachers Association and the Mass Municipal Association.

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