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Lancaster residents and Select Board spar over citizen petition for municipal tax cap
Summary
At a Feb. 18 Select Board meeting in Lancaster, residents and selectmen debated a citizen-petitioned warrant article to cap the municipal portion of the property tax; proponents said a ceiling would guide the budget committee, while board members and residents warned it could hamper responses to unplanned costs. The hearing closed without a vote.
At a Feb. 18 Select Board meeting in Lancaster, the board held a public hearing on a citizen-petitioned warrant article that would impose a cap on the municipal portion of the local property tax rate.
Proponent Rob Christie told the board the cap is intended to give the budget committee a ceiling to work toward when preparing the town budget, while still allowing voters at town meeting to set a different figure. Several residents and the Select Board raised objections during the hearing.
Selectman Leon Rideout said crafting the 2025 budget had been difficult and urged voters to hold the budget committee and governing body accountable rather than adopt an automatic cap. Selectman Kathy-Jean Lavoie argued a cap would not stop rising costs and said some municipal costs—such as heating, vehicle fuel, sand, gravel and salt—are not well represented by the Consumer Price Index. Lavoie told the board that a recent $100,000 increase in employee health insurance and a $42,000 rise in municipal solid waste and construction-and-demolition hauling demonstrate the kinds of unanticipated costs a rigid cap could leave the town unable to cover.
Resident Erik Becker urged trust in department heads, recounting a sinkhole response that required unplanned spending and cross-department coordination. "Living in Lancaster, we enjoy incredible services across the board," he said, and argued that an artificial cap would hinder the town's ability to respond to emergencies.
Other public commenters raised similar concerns about foreclosing necessary spending; some proponents said a cap would increase taxpayer control and participation in budgeting. The board closed the public hearing without taking a vote; the article will appear on the warrant for consideration by voters at town meeting.
The Select Board signed the warrant during the same meeting and Town Clerk Charity Baker said the signed document will be posted to the town website ahead of town meeting.
