Town of carlisle for the year ending

MINUTES OF SPECIAL TOWN MEETING

APRIL 11, 2011
The Special Town Meeting was convened on April 11, 2011, at the Corey Building. A quorum of 150 voters being reached and the meeting called to order by Acting Moderator Charlene M. Hinton at 7:08 PM. There were a total of 328 voters present. The meeting was adjourned at 8:55 PM.
­Article 1: On motion of John Williams and after much discussion, a counted vote of:

YES 104 NO 195

Failed to pass the following:
…the Town’s acceptance of the Community Preservation Act, Sections 3 to 7 of Chapter 44B of Massachusetts General Laws, as set forth in the warrant, be rescinded;
and that such rescission be placed on the ballot for acceptance by the voters of the Town at the next qualifying Town or State election;
and that the Town determine whether there are sufficient uncommitted monies available within the Town’s CPA fund to meet outstanding obligations and, if there are not, determine the extent to which the surcharge must continue to be assessed until sufficient funds become available to pay the remaining obligations;
all in accordance with Department of Revenue Property Tax Bureau Informational Guideline Release (IGR) No. 00-209, December 2000 as amended by IGR No. 01-207 and IGR No. 02-208.
­Article 2: On motion of Ken Harte and much discussion, a counted vote of:

YES 117 NO 159

Failed to pass the following:
that the vote taken under Article 1 of the Special Town Meeting held on April 10, 2001 be amended to increase from two percent (2%) to three percent (3%) the surcharge authorized thereunder, as provided in M.G.L. c. 44B, §§3 and 16(a) as set forth in the warrant and that such amendment to so increase the surcharge be placed on the ballot for acceptance by the voters of the Town at the next qualifying Town or State election.

1. 
   for property owned and occupied as a domicile by a person who would qualify for low income housing or low or moderate income senior housing in the city or town;
   

(2) for class three, commercial, and class four, industrial, properties as defined in section 2A of said chapter 59, in cities or towns with classified tax rates; or

(3) for $100,000 of the value of each taxable parcel of residential real property.
(f) Upon approval by the legislative body, the actions of the body shall be submitted for acceptance to the voters of a city or town at the next regular municipal or state election. The city or town clerk or the state secretary shall place it on the ballot in the form of the following question: “Shall this (city or town) accept sections 3 to 7, inclusive of chapter 44B of the General Laws, as approved by its legislative body, a summary of which appears below”

(Set forth here a fair, concise summary and purpose of the law to be acted upon, as determined by the city solicitor or town counsel, including in said summary the percentage of the surcharge to be imposed.)

If a majority of the voters voting on said question vote in the affirmative, then its provisions shall take effect in the city or town, but not otherwise.

(g) The final date for notifying or filing a petition with the city or town clerk or the state secretary to place such a question on the ballot shall be 35 days before the city or town election or 60 days before the state election.

(h) If the legislative body does not vote to accept sections 3 to 7, inclusive, at least 90 days before a regular city or town election or 120 days before a state election, then a question seeking said acceptance through approval of a particular surcharge rate with exemption or exemptions, may be so placed on the ballot when a petition signed by at least 5 per cent of the registered voters of the city or town requesting such action is filed with the registrars, who shall have seven days after receipt of such petition to certify its signatures. Upon certification of the signatures, the city or town clerk or the state secretary shall cause the question to be placed on the ballot at the next regular city or town election held more than 35 days after such certification or at the next regular state election held more than 60 days after such certification.

(i) With respect to real property owned by a cooperative corporation, as defined in section 4 of chapter 157B, that portion which is occupied by a member under a proprietary lease as the member’s domicile shall be considered real property owned by that member for the purposes of exemptions provided under this section. The member’s portion of the real estate shall be represented by the member’s share or shares of stock in the cooperative corporation, and the percentage of that portion to the whole shall be determined by the percentage of the member’s shares to the total outstanding stock of the corporation, including shares owned by the corporation. This portion of the real property shall be eligible for any exemption provided in this section if the member meets all requirements for the exemption. Any exemption so provided shall reduce the taxable valuation of the real property owned by the cooperative corporation, and the reduction in taxes realized by this exemption shall be credited by the cooperative corporation against the amount of the taxes otherwise payable by or chargeable to the member. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to affect the tax status of any manufactured home or mobile home under this chapter, but this subsection shall apply to the land on which the manufactured home or mobile home is located if all other requirements of this clause are met. This subsection shall take effect in a city or town upon its acceptance by the city or town.”

M.G.L. c.44B, §16 (a) states that:
“At any time after imposition of the surcharge, the legislative body may approve and the voters may accept an amendment to the amount and computation of the surcharge, or to the amount of exemption or exemptions, in the same manner and within the limitations set forth in this chapter.”