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Local Aid and Finance Amesbury voters handily defeat underride
By a 2-1 margin, Amesbury voters on Nov. 6 defeated a $1 million underride, a seldom-used provision of Proposition 2½ that would have reduced the municipality’s property tax levy limit.
The measure, strongly opposed by Mayor Thatcher Kezer III and an active community group, was defeated by a vote of 2,155-1,055.
The underride was proposed by two city councillors, and on Sept. 25 the Municipal Council approved its placement on the Nov. 6 municipal election ballot. It would have taken effect in fiscal 2009.
When an underride is passed, the levy limit for the year is calculated by subtracting the amount of the underride, according to the Division of Local Services. The underride results in a permanent decrease in the levy limit of a community because it reduces the base upon which levy limits are calculated for future years.
Just 15 communities have placed an underride on the ballot since Proposition 2½ took effect in fiscal 1982. Amesbury has placed an underride on the ballot before; a $1.5 million proposal lost by 19 votes in 2001.
• More information about overrides and Proposition 2½
Local Aid and Finance Amesbury voters handily defeat underride
Amesbury voters handily defeat underride
By a 2-1 margin, Amesbury voters on Nov. 6 defeated a $1 million underride, a seldom-used provision of Proposition 2½ that would have reduced the municipality’s property tax levy limit.
The measure, strongly opposed by Mayor Thatcher Kezer III and an active community group, was defeated by a vote of 2,155-1,055.
The underride was proposed by two city councillors, and on Sept. 25 the Municipal Council approved its placement on the Nov. 6 municipal election ballot. It would have taken effect in fiscal 2009.
When an underride is passed, the levy limit for the year is calculated by subtracting the amount of the underride, according to the Division of Local Services. The underride results in a permanent decrease in the levy limit of a community because it reduces the base upon which levy limits are calculated for future years.
Just 15 communities have placed an underride on the ballot since Proposition 2½ took effect in fiscal 1982. Amesbury has placed an underride on the ballot before; a $1.5 million proposal lost by 19 votes in 2001.
• More information about overrides and Proposition 2½
Written by MMA Publications/Web Director John Ouellette
