This year Somerville voters have the opportunity to invest in our community by doubling the Community Preservation Act funding with a Yes vote on Question 6. The local ballot question asks voters whether they should increase the current 1.5-percent CPA property tax surcharge to the maximum of 3 percent, in order to double the current CPA funding supporting affordable housing, open space like parks and playgrounds, recreation, and historic preservation. These are all areas that I hear from constituents about wanting to fund, so increasing that financial support with a relatively tiny property tax increase to individual property owners is a no-brainer.

Somerville voters overwhelmingly approved the adoption of the Community Preservation Act in November 2012, with Yes winning by over a 76-24 margin. In the 10 funding cycles since, the CPA has gone on to commit over $35 million CPA to the kinds of projects those voters wanted to see funded. From matching state funds (though the state needs to increase its funding of CPAs due their popularity increasing the number of communities participating) to unlocking public, nonprofit, and private funding, the CPA has unlocked a variety of outside money and put it to work in our city. Nowhere is this more true than with housing, where it's estimated that for every dollar in CPA funds spent on housing construction, we've gotten $18 from other sources to help fund the creation of over 120 affordable housing units.

Prior to joining the council, I've personally gone before the Community Preservation Committee to present a funding proposal for the tot lot at the Arthur D. Healey. The $400,000 awarded for the project got the larger Healey Schoolyard Renovation project going, and the result is stunning. It's a first-rate schoolyard during the school day, then it transforms into a highly-utilized community park and athletic field outside of school hours. So I've seen first-half the positive impact the CPA can make for a school, neighborhood, and community. 

And the cost is minimal. My household will pay a CPA surcharge of $107.78 on a property tax bill of around $8,000 in FY25. So doubling that CPA surcharge would see us pay just over an additional $100 per year. And exemptions to the CPA surcharge are available for low- and moderate-income households.

Asking property owners who can afford it to pay just a tiny amount extra will unlock a lot more funding for really worthy causes here locally. That's why elected officials in Somerville are coming together to endorse Yes on 6 and urge the community to increase our investments in our city.

So this election, vote YES for the CPA for more affordable housing, for more and better parks, libraries, and playgrounds, and for more historic preservation.

VOTE YES ON QUESTION 6.