Please contact Congressman McGovern’s Office in Support of New Public Safety Building

The House Appropriations Committee recently announced that members of Congress will have the opportunity to submit Community Project Funding requests (formerly known as “earmarks”) for the upcoming Fiscal Year 2022. Town Administrator Sherry Patch and Selectboard Chair Karen Cruise submitted a request for $10,950,000 for construction of our new Public Safety Building. They cited numerous building code, fire code, life safety, ADA, and functional deficiencies in the existing building as the reason for the project. When asked why this project is a priority for the community, they explained that Princeton is facing three looming problems. “We have our completely inadequate public safety facility, we have over 80 culverts and bridges that need replacement, and we have PFAS contamination in over 100 private wells. The PFAS was first detected in Oct 2018 and the abatement costs are near $600k so far. We are just beginning to determine the scope of the problem and size of the remediation effort. Our FY22 budget will bring our PFAS-related borrowing up to $2.5 million so far. These unknown but rapidly growing costs are making taxpayers hesitant to approve any other large spending at this point.”

The Selectboard urges you to reach out to Congressman McGovern’s office as soon as possible to express your support for this project. Shares your concerns, if you have them, over the potential impact of the public safety building project on your property taxes. Remind him that although we are considered a wealthy town, we have a significant senior population on fixed incomes as well as a large number of low-income residents who will suffer greatly with higher property taxes. Debt service for the public safety building and PFAS will be significant in our $11 million Town budget.

Here is more information you may find helpful (all data from 2018 American Community Survey):

  • Significant poverty reduces Town’s ability to tax (compared to neighboring towns, Princeton has a higher percentage of households in poverty and higher income inequality).

 

Percentage of households in poverty

GINI measure of income inequality

Princeton

6.5%

43

Holden

4.7%

39

Hubbardston

2.4%

36

Sterling

6.0%

41

Westminster

1.6%

34

Rutland

2.3%

34

Paxton

4.6%

39

 

  • The high percentage of land in conservation to protect Boston, Worcester, and Leominster watersheds and State recreation reduces property tax revenue.
  • We have a larger proportion of senior citizens and the median age of our residents is higher than our neighboring towns.

 

 

% Residents 60 or older

Median Age of Resident

Princeton

27.6%

48.4

Holden

22.5%

41.7

Hubbardston

20.4%

45.7

Sterling

23.3%

44.7

Westminster

25.2%

44.7

Rutland

21.7%

40.2

Paxton

24.0%

41.2

 

  • The State’s school funding formula overpaid rich towns, poor cities, Cape towns, and non-regionalized town. Princeton suffered for several years at the estimated cost of $3 million. This money could have gone to our infrastructure.
  • Princeton provides major recreational benefits for people from throughout New England who come to enjoy Wachusett Mountain State Reservation for its downhill skiing in the winter and year-round hiking and special events and activities throughout the year. As a result, our public services (police, fire, rescue) must be ready and able to respond throughout the year. We must have an adequate public safety building and we presently do not.

 

You can contact the Congressman by email through https://mcgovern.house.gov/contact/ or in writing at:

Eladia Romero
Regional Manager
Congressman Jim McGovern | MA-02
24 Church Street #27  
Leominster, MA 01453