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Date: 12/3/2021
WILBRAHAM – The Wilbraham Board of Selectmen was scheduled to take a vote of the town’s tax classification, but Principal Assessor Christopher Keefe explained the Board of Assessors had yet to receive “solid evaluations” on the town’s property values.
Using the estimated values at the Nov. 29 meeting, Keefe told the board that property values have increased from $1.78 million to about $2.06 million, the vast majority of which is residential property.
“Wilbraham is and remains a mostly residential community,” Keefe said.
If the town were to maintain a single tax rate, as it historically has, Keefe estimated it would be $20.35 per $1,000 of value. If the board chose to shift the tax rate to the commercial, industrial and personal (CIP) property owners by the full 150 percent allowed under M.G.L. Chapter 40 Sec. 56, the residential rate would be roughly $19.05 per $1,000, while the rate for CIP would be $30.53 per $1,000.
There are other “infrequently exercised” options for shifting the tax burden, Keefe said. A residential exemption shifts some of the burden from owner-occupied homes to second homes. This is sometimes done in municipalities that have a stock of summer homes. A small commercial exemption moves some of the burden to larger businesses with under $1 million in gross income and 5 or fewer full-time employees.
Exemptions for open space and farmland are also options, though rarely used. The town has already adopted a personal property threshold, which exempts from tax personal property under $10,000.
The vote on adopting a tax classification will be taken on Dec. 6, once the final numbers on property values are available.
Senior Center
Paula Dubord and George Fontaine of the Senior Center Building Committee came to the Board of Selectmen with questions about their next steps. Fontaine asked the board how involved it would like to be in the selection of an owner’s project manager.
Board of Selectmen Chair Bob Boilard told him that he would like a recommendation and that he trusts the committee’s knowledge of the subject. Fontaine assured Vice Chair Carolyn Brennan references would be checked during the interview process.
The other issue was whether the board objected to the committee interviewing Architect John Catlan for the Senior Center project without advertising for the position. Catlan had done the preliminary design. Fontaine told the board skipping advertising would shave three to six months from the project timeline. Town Administrator Nick Breault had confirmed with town counsel that the course of action was legal under the state’s designer selection law. If the committee votes for Catlan, it will come back to the board for approval.
Website
Resident John Broderick kicked off a discussion about upgrades to the town’s website, https://www.wilbraham-ma.gov. He suggested forming a committee to examine the website, and compare it those of other municipalities. Breault noted in 2018, the Economic Development Committee worked on designing the website with Civic Plus, the platform that hosts the site.
“We’re limited in what we can do with that template,” said resident Matt Villamaino, referring to the website design. Boilard disagreed and said the problem was not with the template but with keeping it up to date. Breault agreed, saying it was a “dynamic” platform that needs to be continuously updated. “This will require a dedicated approach.”
Brennan said websites for larger cities have personnel devoted to maintaining and updating them and Breault concurred, saying that while more people are not always the solution, it may well be in this case.
Board of Selectmen Clerk Terry Goodrich said there is a lot of information on the site, but residents tell her it is hard to navigate. People are looking for “simple, very matter-of-fact information. Villamaino commented that the search bar does not return accurate or useful information.
Goodrich recommended people take note of municipal websites they like and let the board know about them. Brennan praised Cambridge’s website. If the town chooses to change platforms it will need to wait a couple of years until the contract with Civic Plus ends, Breault said.
“Shunning” the Unvaccinated
While approving the various temporary food permits and one-day licenses on the consent agenda, Boilard addressed event organizers. He told them that is they “have preconceived notions” about “shunning” event attendees who are not vaccinated, they should include those intentions on their applications to the board.
He did not specify any one incident.