50% of Senior Renters are Housing Burdened - Vote NO on Q1

This override at $23.25 mm, the largest override in the history of Massachusetts is too expensive. If passed, property taxes will go up by 18% over the next three years on top of the 93% increase since 2015, resulting in a total 130% increase in property taxes by 2029.

This override is not affordable and hits seniors and neighbors on middle- and fixed-incomes the hardest. Brookline’s taxes are the highest in Massachusetts as a percentage of median household income: 50% of senior renters are housing burdened, spending more than 30% of their income on housing. The same for 47% of younger renters and 26% of homeowners. Overall 39% of Brookline households are housing burdened.

This override offers no solutions to Brookline’s budget problem of spending more each year than it can raise in revenues and continues business as usual. It offers no guardrails, no commitment to change school and town operations. The town threatens catastrophe if this override does not pass.

But this is not true, thanks to you the good people of Brookline, we have choices of how to solve this budget problem. You, who have stepped up time and again to pass overrides and debt exclusions to fund our beautiful town.

The town’s revenues have grown by $51mm or 18% over the past three years, massively expanding the tax base. You have funded three beautiful new schools, your generous tax dollars have built robust reserves to the tune of ~$70 mm, more than 15% of revenues.

The town and school’s lack of transparency is egregious. The override study committee reports on page 38 they were not given the formal school budget until two days before their final report to the select board and could not evaluate, question or analyze the school budget, which accounts for $18 mm of this override.

We all want good schools and town services. Is it too much to ask how the money will be spent before we write the check?  Let’s look out for those among us who are truly burdened by this override. There is no crisis thanks to the generosity of Brookline taxpayers. Vote NO on Question 1 to Keep Brookline Affordable.