Arlington Select Board Approves Override Question On Town Election Ballot

ARLINGTON, MA — The Select Board voted unanimously to approve the placement of a Proposition 2 1/2 tax override request on the town ballot for Fiscal Year 2027 for voters to decide next month during its most recent meeting.

Town Manager Jim Feeney brought forth the proposition, which is worth $14.8 million. According to Feeney, the annual tax bill for an average single-family home would see an increase of approximately $1,030 if the override were to pass.

“We attempted to be as absolutely precise as possible, and not ask for more than we absolutely needed to ask for,” Feeney said during the meeting. “I did plug that override figure into a property tax impact calculator offered by the department of revenue.”

Board Member Eric Helmuth expressed his full support for the override, however he said he and his peers never want to have to resort to implementing one.

“I feel an obligation to the residents of the town to be honest. The revenue stream for funding the services we rely on and that we cherish is not sustainable and that’s not our fault, Helmuth said. “$85 per month is not nothing for a lot of people, I am painfully aware of that.”

An override allows for a community to surpass the 2.5 percent annual increase for taxes on residents, and is done so to help supplement necessary infrastructure that the town's budget does not allow for.

“Shall the Town of Arlington be allowed to assess an additional $14.8 million estate and personal property taxes for the purposes of funding the operating budgets of the Town and the Public Schools for the first year beginning July 1, 2026,” the question on the March 28 ballot will read.

Board Member Jane Morgan said that while the override will be costly for residents, it will be more costly to the town as a whole if it is not implemented, especially in the public school district.

“We’re looking at deep cuts to things that we need and things that we love,” Morgan said. “This is the time to go to our neighbors and our friends and ask them if this is something they are going to support.”

The School Committee also expressed its endorsement of the override question during its meeting that took place earlier that day as well.

According to Feeney, the passage of the override will enable the school district’s budget ot increase by four percent annually through FY2029.

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