Pepperell Selectmen Extend Veterans Tax Work-Off Deadline Amid Zero Applications

PEPPERELL — February 4, 2013 — Pepperell selectmen heard a warning from state Senator Eileen Donahue that the governor's fiscal year 2014 budget could force the town to absorb years of deferred school funding obligations in a single year. Donahue outlined Governor Patrick's $34.8 billion budget proposal, which includes $1.9 billion in new revenue drawn from a 1-percentage-point income tax increase, a sales tax cut from 6.25 percent to 4.5 percent, and a suite of smaller levies, and warned that full implementation of the Chapter 70 target share formula in one fiscal year would place an "unbelievable burden" on the roughly 110 communities, apparently including Pepperell, that had not reached their required contribution levels during the formula's five-year phase-in. Board members noted the school district now consumes more than 100 percent of Pepperell's annual levy increase even after multiple overrides and debt exclusions, while student enrollment has fallen by approximately 150 pupils in one year. The board also voted unanimously to extend the deadline for the town's veterans tax work-off program to February 28, after zero applications were received since the program opened, and to reappoint four members to the Economic Development Advisory Committee through June 30, 2014.