To the editor:
We need to carefully analyze the finances of the proposed reduction in programs proposed by the committee on appropriations and the Barrington schools.
The quality of our …
This item is available in full to subscribers.
Please log in to continue |
Register to post eventsIf you'd like to post an event to our calendar, you can create a free account by clicking here. Note that free accounts do not have access to our subscriber-only content. |
Are you a day pass subscriber who needs to log in? Click here to continue.
To the editor:
We need to carefully analyze the finances of the proposed reduction in programs proposed by the committee on appropriations and the Barrington schools.
The quality of our schools supports our home prices. How much? Based on the figures provided by the committee on appropriations, the tax base is approximately 3 billion dollars. For each 1 percent loss in home value due to the change in school reputation, the residents of the town lose 30 million dollars in value. That is real money, equity that we have saved.
Of course, this is only one side of the story.
Paying taxes costs real money too. This is not just in the taxes we pay, but also in decreased home values, as buyers weigh the cost of future taxes.
But also note that any property tax increase is deductible from our income tax.
All of this plays out differently for every taxpayer and homeowner.
I made a simple spreadsheet to help me understand the financial implications of the vote. It is available at preservebarringtoneducation.weebly.com. One can input one's own estimate of the loss in home value due to decreased school programs, the rate of inflation, how long one plans to own one's home, etc. I calculated the loss in home value with increased taxation using a present value calculation over 30 years. Feel free to download this and modify it to fit your own ideas.
What I have found is that for most people, if the value of our homes drops 1-2 percent, we will lose more than if we pay the increased property tax. What appears to be a savings, is likely to be a loss.
After this vote, there is more long term planning that we have to do. The school committee, the committee on appropriations, and the Barrington schools need to work together.
Thomas A. Krahn, M.D.
Barrington