Proposition 2½ is a Massachusetts law passed in 1980 that limits how much a city or town can increase property taxes each year. Under this law, communities can only raise the total amount of property tax revenue by 2.5% annually, plus a small amount from new construction.

The problem is that the cost of providing services like schools, fire, police, and public works has been growing much faster than 2.5%. Over time, this creates a widening gap between what the town can legally collect and what it actually costs to run essential services.

An override is a vote by the community to increase property taxes above the 2.5% cap set by state law. Unlike temporary funding, an override becomes part of the town’s base budget every year going forward. This allows Ashland not only to balance the budget this year, but also to keep pace with rising costs.

Overrides are not unusual. Many surrounding communities have already passed them to protect schools, public safety, and town services. In fact, nearly towns across MA have passed a total of about 1,900 overrides, and 50% of those towns have passed 5 or more overrides. This includes our neighbors in Natick and Holliston.

For Ashland, an override is the tool we need to get out of crisis mode and ensure stability.

Ashland is facing a structural budget shortfall because APS expenses are rising faster than revenues:

• Health insurance, utilities, fuel, and special education costs have gone up dramatically.
• Inflation has made everything more expensive, from textbooks to fire trucks to road salt.
• Revenue under Prop 2½ grows by only a fixed amount each year.

Inflation exceeded 2.5% in 25 of the 35 years since Proposition 2 ½ was passed, averaging over 3% each year, and increasing more than 30% in greater Boston between 2015 and 2025. Even a seemingly small (<1%) difference between the 2.5% limit and inflation can mean Ashland’s costs exceed its tax revenue by hundreds of thousands of dollars in a given year. Adding this up year-over-year for the past 30+ years totals in many millions of dollar deficit.

For years, Ashland has used reserves, one-time funds, and cost-cutting to get by, but those stopgaps are now exhausted. Without new revenue, we cannot maintain the schools our community depends on.

No override will devastate Ashland public schools.

• Schools will lay off teachers and cut course offerings and programs – we will fail to provide adequate education to Ashland’s children.
• The gap between funding sources and unavoidable fixed costs like health insurance, transportation, and out-of-district obligations, will continue to grow which will require an even larger override in the future to correct.

These cuts are not “extras”–they strike at the core of what makes Ashland Public Schools an asset to the community.

No, Ashland passed a debt exclusion to build the new Mindess and Public Safety buildings. A debt exclusion is different from a tax override. An override allows for a permanent tax increase to support a town’s ongoing operational expenses, such as public safety, schools, and municipal services. A debt exclusion is a temporary tax increase to pay for a specific capital project, such as building a new school or fire station.

Debt exclusions do not impact a town’s total tax levy. Once the debt is fully repaid, the tax increase ends. This debt exclusion enabled the town to raise revenue needed to fund the project above and beyond the more than $50 million in grants for it provided by the Commonwealth. The debt for these recent projects will be paid off over 30 years.

No, Ashland does not get a windfall from rising property values. By law, and setting aside new growth, each year Ashland’s total property tax levy can only increase by 2.5%.

The “total property tax levy” is the total amount the town can collect. Even if property values go up by an average of 5% in a year, the “total property tax levy” can still only go up by 2.5%.

In fact, if the total value of all property in town increases, the tax rate has to decrease so that the total amount of property tax collected increases by only 2.5%. 

The proposed budget for FY 2027 plans for the elimination of 13.2 positions from Ashland Public Schools, and according to state data Ashland is already last in per pupil spending when compared with neighboring communities.

A revolving fund is a specialized municipal account where revenue generated by a specific program or service is “reserved for direct expenditure” to support that same program, rather than being consolidated into the town’s general tax-supported budget. Unlike the general fund, which relies on stable property tax revenue, revolving funds are replenished by variable and non-guaranteed sources such as tuition, user fees, or state reimbursements

Prop 2½ caps the tax levy at 2.5% of the total full and fair cash value of all taxable real and personal property in town.

Maximum amount a community can levy in a given year. Prop 2½ generally caps the annual increase at 2.5% (plus new growth).

An increase in the levy limit by an amount based on the increased value of new development and other growth in the tax base in a given year that is not the result of revaluation.