Photo credit: Yes for a Better Worcester Coalition
On November 8th, residents in the City of Worcester voted “Yes” on Ballot Question 5 to adopt the Community Preservation Act (CPA). The Foundation celebrates this victory with members of the Yes for a Better Worcester coalition, which organized a successful campaign to educate voters on its benefits. The Foundation was among the coalition’s earliest supporters, providing a grant of $26,000 to seed the effort. Other towns that passed the CPA within the Foundation’s service area include Boylston and Westborough. There are now 194 CPA communities statewide.
As described in this Telegram & Gazette article, the CPA will add a 1.5% property tax surcharge beginning in July 2023 with exemptions for low-income households and low-to-moderate income senior households. Importantly, passage of the act makes Worcester eligible for matching funds from the state’s CPA Trust Fund that can be used to finance historic preservation projects, acquire open space and make park improvements, and expand community housing. These funds, estimated to yield approximately $3 to 4 million annually, will be held in a dedicated trust fund and overseen by an appointed committee.
Yes for a Better Worcester’s partner organizations include: Coalition for a Healthy Greater Worcester, Esler Family Foundation, Greater Worcester Land Trust, Habitat for Humanity MetroWest/Greater Worcester, Hanover Theater and Conservatory, League of Women Voters of the Worcester Area, Mass Audubon/Broad Meadow Brook, Neighbor to Neighbor, New England Botanic Garden, Preservation Worcester, Regional Environmental Council, The Health Foundation of Central MA, Veterans, Inc., Walk Bike Worcester, Worcester Common Ground, Worcester Cultural Coalition, and Worcester Interfaith.
