Why Vote NO on Question 2?
#1. Did you know? Our residents pay more taxes than most surrounding towns, by a lot, and several of these towns have already financed new school buildings!
Average Single Family Tax Bill
#2. The Override is a 10% permanent tax increase that compounds future increases and will cost the average taxpayer an extra $4,600 over 5 years. The estimated avg household tax bill could increase by $6k to ~$19k by 2030 if all future tax and capital project increases are passed.
INCREASE IN TOTAL TAXES WITH OVERRIDE
Estimated increase in avg tax bill with the addition of two overrides, and new high school, votech and water treatment facility.
Multi-year “all in” tax projection without consideration of property value changes
#3. We support funding our police, fire and schools; however, the town has not provided clear and transparent updates on the school budget! School and SPED enrollment have not increased over the past 10 years, yet staffing has increased by 26 positions!
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This year’s school budget included 3 new positions, despite enrollment being unchanged.
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Of the 23 positions eliminated in the “cut budget”, 10 do not impact class size or course selection, and only 11 remain after considering retirement and resignations!!
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Of the 15 athletic positions cut, 6 were unfilled and did not have teams.
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Norwell Public Schools have low class sizes compared to surrounding schools. Average class size at the high school ranges from 15-18 with some classes as low as 9.
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Proposed cuts would still result in very reasonable average class size and continue to keep Norwell class size ratios one of the lowest on the South Shore.
#4. The town can reduce spending with minimal impact to services! Staffing levels have increased by 9% over a 10-year period1, which have added to our pension liability and health care costs. Staffing can and should be reduced through attrition. Capital debt financing is costing taxpayers $2.7m annually – we can and should reduce these costs over time. We have one of the most expensive health plans available. We can and should save approximately 900k by changing insurance carriers. 1 .pdf pg 133 of 2024 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report
#5. 4 out of 5 Select Board members are voting No. After spending a year looking at our finances, they know that the best way to position the town for success is to restructure our spending! Cohasset, Marshfield and Scituate all made spending cuts to avoid an override. Hanover voted no override last year. Duxbury’s proposed override was the first in 36 years, and they voted no! Towns are sending clear messages to their government – the answer is reform, not more taxes!!
#6. When an override passes, the immediate financial pressure is relieved—but so is the urgency to address long-term structural issues. The town loses its incentive to reassess spending, pursue internal efficiencies, or reform budget practices. Worse, we weaken our negotiating leverage with insurance providers and unions, who now know we’ll cover rising costs through taxpayer overrides rather than real cost containment.
#7. Norwell faces a watershed moment – consent to one of many large tax increases to fund our current deficit, our proposed deficit of $1.3 million for next year, a new high school, a new vo-tech and a new water treatment plant OR require the town cut spending so that Norwell and its schools can be affordable for EVERYONE!!!