As we approach Town Meeting on Wednesday, November 13 at 7pm at the Lynnfield Middle School, we want to provide information on what will be voted on at Town Meeting when it comes to the Library Renovation project. There is one warrant article pertaining to the Library Renovation project.
What is being voted on?
- At Town Meeting, attendees will vote to determine whether a Town-wide debt exclusion ballot vote should occur in January. Again, this vote is not to approve the project, but whether or not to let the project move on to the Town-wide ballot vote on funding it.
- The Town Meeting vote needs to pass by a 2/3 majority to move to the Ballot Vote.
- If the vote passes at Town Meeting, there would be a Ballot Vote in early January to authorize a debt exclusion to pay for the project. Only if the project gets a majority vote during the ballot vote will construction actually move forward.
What is a debt exclusion?
- A debt exclusion is an authorization to raise taxes by a specific amount for a set duration to pay for the borrowing needed for a capital project like the Library Renovation.
- The Library Renovation is projected to cost $18.3M, which would be an average of $208/household/year (based on an average assessed home value of $984,000). Those with a lower assessed value will pay less per year.
- The debt exclusion ends after the project is paid back in 30 years and would not start in full until January 2027.