The Zoning & Planning Committee voted to approve the following (see Report and watch the video on NewTV): The Zoning & Planning Committee held the following: Jennifer Caira, Deputy Director of Planning; Zachary LeMel, Chief of Long Range Planning; and consultant Tim Love, Principal at Utile Architecture & Planning led…
Posts published in March 2023
All items were held by Public Safety and Transportation Committee (see Report and watch the video on NewTV): The Chair reported that five hundred emails have been received and recorded (referencing this study, and reported here in Fig City News) stating that a public hearing will be held when a…
On Sunday, March 12, the New Philharmonia Orchestra, led by Principal Conductor Jorge Soto, will perform at Brown Middle School, featuring Ukrainian-born soprano Olga Lisovska. In another of the Orchestra’s World Reflections series, the concert is making the French/American/Ukrainian connection. Mme. Lisovska will sing Juliet’s Waltz, from Romeo and Juliet…
The School Committee meeting on March 1 began with Superintendent Kathy Smith’s regular update, during which she talked about the decision not to declare a snow day on February 28, and reported on ongoing NPS lobbying efforts in the community regarding the vote on the proposed override on March 14.…
The Finance Committee recently discussed how the City deals with delinquent property taxes and what State/City laws dictate when the City can put a lien on a property (see 2/27/2023 Finance Report and NewTV video). Prompted in part by the 91 Newtonville Avenue situation (which has a tax delinquency more than…
The proposals for an operating override and two debt exclusions — to be decided by voters in the March 14 Special Election — are designed to address a broad range of services and capital improvements. Operating Override The operating override, if approved, represents a permanent increase in the tax levy…
The proposals for an operating override and two debt exclusions, to be decided by voters in the March 14 special election, would each add to property-tax bills. The illustration in this article is based on the City’s example of the median home value in Newton, $1.2 million. The tax bill…
Several nonprofit organizations have publicly stated their views on three tax increases proposed by Mayor Ruthanne Fuller that will be decided by the three ballot questions in the March 14 election. One proposal is for an operating override to increase the amount the City can collect in property taxes next…
What is a structural deficit? A structural deficit occurs when recurring expenses increase faster than recurring revenues. Although State law requires every city and town, except Boston, to prepare balanced budgets, there is no requirement that those budgets are “sustainable” or structurally balanced (i.e., where recurring revenues are equal to…