Zero for a Street Number
2006 & 2007 Tax Lists Have Many People Have '0' for Street Number

March 5th, 2008: Names will not be stated - they are easily enough found in the tax lists, but several are town employees, relatives of employees, and people involved with youth leagues. Here is a list of parcel numbers and actual street numbers - found either by the phone book or the Registry of Deeds.

How can four homes be listed as '0' Fairbanks St?  Why hasn't town hall published this year's tax list online like they have the past two years? An email was sent to most departments several months ago regarding this matter, including the town administrator and the tax office, but there was never any reply.    

To find out where the '0' numbered places are, just go to the tax assessor's lists on the homepage of this website site, go to "0" street number and look for those parcels with 0 and with a building/ home listed on the parcel.
More to come soon -    

Street                        Actual #            Map/ Parcel ID
Brooks Crossing          3                        155/ 36

Brooks Crossing        18                        155/ 46

Fairbanks                  15                        126/ 9

Fairbanks                 205                       111/ 9

Fairbanks                 221                        11/ 12   

Fairbanks                 227                        111/ 13 

Goodale                   3 Phelps                147/ 1

Holden Realty          N/A                        143/ 68   

Goodale                  332                         155/ 16

Lancaster                99                           131/ 79 lot 4

Lee                         57                           listed in phonebook at #53

Lee                        157                          155/ 8

North Main              3 Stillwater               108/ 36

Parker                                                   166/ 26

Pierce                     0  (year 2006)           162/ 55
                             135  (year 2007)        162/ 55

                             135  (year 2006)        162/ 51 
                             129  (year 2007)        162/ 51   

Sterling                   76                            131/ 69  

Yorktown                38                            168/ 102

Davidson Rd            34                             164/ 58    - 0.25 acres (as stated on deed) 
                              0                              164/ 58   - 8.65 acres (owner stated as town of WB) 

Shrewsbury "Affordable" Housing 
Shrewsbury town manager Daniel J. Morgado stated in the article below - 
Question: How is a town collecting taxes any different than a landlord collecting rent? 

If a landlord has two tennents and needs $2,000 a month total, and charges one rentor $500, he has to charge the other $1,500. How is that any different when a town allows 40B subsidized housing to be built - who picks up the tax difference to maintain per capita costs - ie what the average property tax bill must be per home. Remember, the override failed, but sewer rates keep increasing - the backdoor override.  
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            Click for 1965 Master Plan  

 
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Gunning for 5 Day Suspension - 8th Grader Commits Gun Threat 
February 6th, 2007: Here is the Worctesr T&G report of the headline above, regarding a kid who commited a gun threat. 

Pomp & Circumstance - Massachusetts High School Graduation Rates
February 5th, 2007:Click for an excerpt of the Worcester T&G article of MA High School Graduation Rates, along with their town's respective 40B percentage. See the entire interactive list here, as you can sort by any of the column headers on the web page. 

It is no surprise the highest graduation rates are from towns that have not attained 10% 40B, and those that have attained 10% have the lowest graduation rates - Springfield (where the town administartor was chairman of his political until 2002), Lawrence, Chelsea, and the rest of all the usual places.   
 

10% 40B, Illegal Aliens, and Gangs
If you search the phrase "40B gangs", here is what you'll find (notice that MS-13 is part of the description in the google search) The Planning Board and Board of Health, the people who have pushed for 40B increases, should explain how West Boylston's 40B housing projects will be any different? How can they explain the fact that statistically we will have gang violence and problems, illegal aliens, and who knows who as our new neighbors - we already know the developer is connected to Al-Jazeera, and yet the town does nothing. 
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CRIME & 40B      how West Boylston Compares - 40B & Crime.  Think about it . . . . 

August 1, 2006: Here is a T&G news article from late 2005 regarding early release of inmates.

Non-Citizens and Illegal Aliens Flock to Towns with 40B
The chart below is just an example of the 47 of 351 MA communities that have attained their 10% plateau of 40B housing. It should come as no surprise that these communities are also the same ones with the highest number of Non-citizens (and illegal aliens). It is also of no surprise that these communities are also the state leaders regarding crime, theft, drug trafficking, gangs (MS-13 and otherwise), etcetera. Should it be any surprise all these places have sewer systems? 

Included in this chart is Oakham and it's surrounding towns - all of which has very little, if any at all, 40B units.

For an interactive map of where the problems are in Massachusetts (crime, violent crime, arson, etc) please click where Massachusetts problems are.
 
Thanks to WB officials, WB taxpayers can look forward to becoming the next "10% town"  in Massachusetts. (even a planning board member used the word "project" when discussing 40B at the town meeting. I never heard of a development for taxpayers called a project, as everyone knows "welfare" and "project" are synonymous.) 

 Information from 2000. Imagine what it's like now in 2006 - It's only worse.
Watch the news - any station, any night, and see for yourself how and why the 10% towns make the news.  

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  Car theft in Massachusetts - Car theft highest in 10% 40B Communities

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Imagine What WB officials could do to us . . .
(Is the 158 unit housing project 40B? ) Worcester T&G, April 12th, 2006 

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More on Sewer Tax Project and Prop 2 1/2 
An Example: An excise bill on your automobile can vary because ownership of an automobile is a privilege, and it is not directly related to your property. 
Telephone bill taxes are much the same way, too, since telephones are  not directly related to your property. 
A connected sewer line is directly related to your property.

A mandatory collection of money within a government's domain is a tax. If a sewer line (directly connected to your property) is mandatory, then it is reasonably stated that the tax revenue collected by the town (West Boylston) cannot exceed 2.5% of the total revenue collected by the town, as stated by Massachusetts Law Proposition 2 1/2. 

As a side note, reevaluating property at a higher than market value, is a back-handed way to circumvent Prop 2 1/2. 
For instance, if a house is valued at $200,000 in 2004 and is reevalued in 2005 at $220,000, but would still only sell at $200,000,  it should be assumed as a 10% tax hike, thus circumventing Prop 2 1/2.

California has its own versions of Prop 2 1/2, ennacted at roughly the same time as our law in Massachusetts.
The first is California Proposition 13. Prop 13 basically states that a property owner shall pay taxes on a property based on the value at the time he bought it for as long as he owns the property. If the owner sells the property, the new owner shall pay taxes based on the property value at the time the new owner buys, for as long as he owns it.

The second is California Proposition 218. Prop 218 essentailly enforces Prop 13, with a few additions. Both Prop 13 and 218 are in the spirit and intent of Massachusetts' Prop 2 1/2, as there is mention about water rates and sewer lines in Prop 218. These laws were passed in 1978 and 1996 respectively. I believe there is legal precedence that can be used in Prop 218 in regard to West Boylston's sewer taxes.

And don't forget, WB residents voted against mandatory hookup 3 times, and won in court twice, before losing an appeal. However, to my understanding, that decision was based on the allowance of a town board to make decisions regarding sewer hookup, not the collection of tax revenue, which time and time again, town officials have admitted, by their own words, what this sewer project is all about.   


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  Pare & Harris at Jan 17th 40B Hearing:  'width' is a duplicate attribute name. Line 1, position 37.

June 23rd, 2007: Foreclosures Up Again
Increased Taxes (CPA Surcharges) & Sewer Taxes Won't Make Things Better
 
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40B - More Reasons to Probe West Boylston Land Deals & Developers
February 5th, 2007:When reading these articles, keep in mind of the real estate transfers below - 40B Developer Michal Teague buys Franklin St parcel from Joey Evangelista (whose wife went to prison for bankruptcy fraud) for $850,000 in Decmeber 2006, although 2007 tax assessment is $146,600. Mr. Teague operates two contracting businesses from his church located next to Wal Mart.
 
Michael Staiti has just bought 100 Hartwell St for $440,000. 2006 WB Tax Assessment - $6,783,300. Michael Staiti is proposing a 40B site at 19 Crescent St with his partner, Mr. Andrew Beardsley.  

The following stories about 40B are as follows:  1.5% Land Clause in several communities  - Why wasn't this land clause brought up during last month's 40B meeting with selectmen, the planning board, the ZBA, and the housing authority?
  Inspector General/ Excessive Profits are reported on in this story, and Towns Call For State Oversight in this story.  
 
It should be stated again that Mr. Leon Gaumond, town administrator, was Springfield chairman of his political party (1996-2002) during the time of the public housing scandal in Springfield - ie Ray Asselin. (see Think About It page for details)

Just think about these real estate deals -   

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This Form Will Help 40B Recipients
Dec 7th, 2006:
To help the people moving to West Boylston with thanks from developers like Joe Evangelista & Micheal Teague and their Low Income site on Franklin St, and to help Ibal Ali & Mirajuddin Ahmed (connected to Al Jazeera), and to help Paul Lenkarski with his 40B site on Lancaster St, and whoever builds the 200+ unit 40B site by the Oakdale Nursing Home, this form should help, though it is already attached to their "Public Assistance" application.  Click Here for the Massachusetts 2 page attachmant - together we can! 
 
Crime Statistics in MA. 10% 40B Communities  Top List.
This page has many links to FACTS & STATISTICS regarding Subsidized Housing (40B) and Crime Statistics in MA towns. At quick glance, it is no surprise that the communities that have reached their 10% plateau have the highest crime numbers (rape, burglary, car theft, etc.). They also have the greatest number of illegal aliens. National FOX news recently ran a segment about illegal aliens in MA subsidized housing.

Click here for 2004 Crime Statistics for MA - Once again, the facts prove this website accurate and correct.  A full breakdown of ranking will be available soon. 

Here is an interactive and color coded by community map of related staistics. You can pick the category you want (crime, birth rate, etc), and you can zoom in & out, for greater detail. Again, the same 10% communities are at the top of the list. 

Why do West Boylston officials (planning board, selectmen, etc) want this in WB? What do they gain by allowing West Boylston to become the next town riddled with these problems - problems that non-10% towns don't have.

304 of 351 MA Communities Do NOT Have  40B Housing
This page is dedicated to 40B Housing and examples why the cost of 40B is such an expensive burden on a town. The WB Sewer Tax Project was just the first step in bringing 40B to town - if you don't have sewers, you can't can't reduce (or essentially eliminate) lot size, and you can't change Zoning Laws to accomodate reduced lot sizes, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera . . .

Many MA communities have come up with ways to prevent this burden from entering their town. Blackstone claims there's a historical tree that can't be taken down on Elm St. Another town (near WB) claims there's an endangered turtle that lives on the site. Some may even use historical sites you can't build near. Town officials should be able to do something - we have the Reservoir to protect, according to a website 4 registered historical/ landmark sites, the town symbol - the 'Beaman' Oak Tree.

This page has a list and link to the official state PDF that has all 351 communities listed. Think about the communities listed below that have reached their 10% plateau - and how they make the news most every night on channels 4, 5, 7, and Fox 25 - Fires, Shootings, Stabbings, Gang violence and other violent crimes, illegal aliens, fraud, and drug trafficing. Do town officials really want this - and do they really want to take a chance on being "the one" who voted in these problems? Is this a chance WB can afford to take?

25% of 40B Units Allows Developer to ByPass Zoning Laws
Click Here for the article of  what developers can do.www.02133.org/issue.cfm?=ID103

This allows for the following circumstance if the WB Master Plan is allowed and Selectmen let developers get what they want:
A tiny plot of land across from you or next to you could have newly developed 40B housing. If a 4 unit housing apartment is built and 1 unit is 40B (25%), then the developer can bypass zoning laws. Unbeleivable, I know, but read the article above. 

Is there an end to 40B Housing?  
40B Housing states that a minimun 10% of housing must be for people that earn 80% of median income. When does that end? Once a contractor is allowed by selectmen to put up low income housing, that, by definition has lowered the median income. What is to prevent the contractor (always looking for business) to then come back and say you need 10% of the "new" median income, which will in effect, drop the median income (and home values) even further. What's to prevent it from happening a third or fourth time? There is always 80% of something, and that something will be nickeled and dimed to worthlessness if the selectman allow contractors and developers to move ahead with their Master Plan.

An Example: For whatever reason, the town needs $10,000 of collected taxes. 100 people pay $100 for a total of $10,000. However, when applying 40B housing, 10 of those people would pay 80% of what everyone else pays in taxes. So, it is then 90 people pay $100 and 10 people pay $80, for a total of $9800. Where does the town makeup the $200 shortfall. They make up the tax loss by mandating sewers to collect tax money.
 
Example Using CPA Surcharge: (see News & Updates Page for news item regarding the CPA). Say a "thing a ma jig" costs $100, and goes on sale for $80. That is a 20% reduction of full cost. To increase the cost, you must raise the price 25% to get back to $100. In other words, 20% down is 25% up. Same as 50% of $100 is $50, and a 100% increase to get back to $100. With 40B Housing, as the example above, there is a 2% reduction because of subsidized housing. A 2% reduction equals a 3% raise - which just happens to be the percentage of the CPA surcharge. In other words, the CPA 3% surcharge is an additional tax on taxpayers (already paying 25% more taxes than 40B recipients) to cover the shortfall of revenue for the town. We pay more taxes while they pay less for the same services. Is this fair? Vote against any CPA Surcharge and the Master Plan, or reduce the budget by 2%.  Of course, we will still be paying sewer taxes so we can have 40B in the first place.

An example: Say there is 1 person per acre in town. The planning board wants to rezone and reduce lot sizes, say, as example, allowing duplexes (instead of single family) and reduced lots to 2/3 acre. That means 2 people for the new zoning and lot size, which now equals to 3 people per acre - a 300% increase. The town can then use sewer systems, instead of septic systems, to circumvent lot sizes. The 2006 Master Plan must be stopped and voted against. 

40B & Education - If WB officials  do not know the cost, We will pay the price: 
This example will use round numbers and a rounded down average 2005 WB property tax bill for this example (for the sake of easy math)  
Average  MA cost per pupil is $8,000 per year and average 2005 WB tax bill was $3,600. 

(1) student X $8,000 per year X 13 years (K - grade 12) = $104,000. 

Traditional  percentage of property tax bill for education is 40%.  40% of WB 2005 tax bill is $1,440.

$104,000 divided by $1,440 (single unit/ home tax bill %) per year = 72.2 years.

That means it takes, by the average numbers above, one home 72 years to educate 1 student.

If 40B recipients move in, as they will undoubtedly have children,  and they pay reduced property taxes (80% of non-40B, in some cases 50%), how much will taxes have to increase to educate 1 student. The same situation applies to police/ fire/ DPW/ and all the other services?
How much is "affordable" housing going to cost West Boylston taxpayers?  

40B Housing for Retired WB Residents - an idea that works

March 25th, 2006:Massachusetts document regarding 40B Housing  http://mhp.net/termsheets/40BQA.pdf 

As of January 1, 2006, only 47 of 351 Massachusetts communities, according to the PDF document above, has fully complied with the 1969 law of welfare housing (40B housing). 

40B housing, as the town states, requires new construction for people who earn less than 80% of median income. This law includes families and seniors.

Typically, retired people living on Social Security earn less than 80% of median income. I am confident a number close to 10% of West Boylston residents are retired, collecting Social Security, and thus, earn less than 80% of median income.
 
To comply with the 'newly constructed' aspect of the law (which 304 communities have ignored), have the state pay for new "inlaw" style apartments added onto each retired persons home in WB. 
The benefits are tremendous - 1. we help improve the lives of our own residents, 2. they recieve a home that is more valuable, and 3. the town has complied with the law

Of course, West Boylston could ignore the law like 304 other communities.

39 Central Massachusetts Towns - Only Worcester has met 40B Requirement
Of the 39 communities listed on the PDF document below, only Worcester has complied with the 40B Housing Law. In fact, as of March 1, 2006, West Boylston has more subsidized housing (as a percentage) than 14 other central MA towns. Some towns have ZERO.  
So what is the real reason why our selectmen, planning board, and candidates want 40B (welfare housing) so badly? 

Click here for PDF > www.cmrpc.org/Downloads/MaDHCD_Chapter40B_Units.pdf  

Massachusetts Dept. of Housing 40B State Wide List
Click Here > www.mass.gov/dhcd/ToolKit/shi.pdf

Here are some interseting facts about 40B Housing (Subsidized/ Welfare Housing)
The PDF above is from the Mass. Dept. of Housing and was revised on March 1, 2006.

351 Communities in Massachusetts
Total number of communities at 10%:    47

Total number of communities at 0%:      33

Total number of towns less than WB:     85

Total number of towns equal to WB:        5

Total number of towns 4% or below:     131

Total number of towns 5% or below:     159 

According to the March 1, 2006 report, West Boylston is at 3.3%, with a total number of 81 40B/ low income units. On March 23, 2006, during Candidates Night, it was mentioned that 206/ 207 more units would be built (under the WB Master Plan).
Adding 206 more 40B units - from 81 to 287 is an increase of 254%.

If West Boylston residents approve of the 2006 Master Plan, we will have a 254% increase in 40B/ welfare housing, thus making us only the 48th community of 351 to have reached 10%. The 2006 Master plan also calls for reduction of lot sizes, rezoning, and the practical demolition of Central St to be replaced with shops and housing. 

Think about it - do you want to be in the same category as the other communities that have reached the 10% "requirement"? Some of these communities are: 
 
Boston, Braintree, Brockton, Cambridge, Chelsea, Chicopee, Fall River, Fitchburg, Framingham, Gardner, Holyoke, Hudson, Lawrence, Lowell, Lynn, Malden, Marlborough, New Bedford, Northhampton, Revere, Springfield, and Worcester. 

There are other towns, like Amherst and Salem (college towns), and towns on Martha's Vineyard (80% of full value there is still propbably close to a million - far from low income), and a few others scattered around the commonwealth.


Increase in School Population - decrease in income: Who will pay for this?  
This chart is from CHAPA . org. It is interesting to see how there has been a sharp increase in students as compared to overall population growth. It is especially interesting to see West Boylston's Income Rank dropped from 136 to 180. What will a 254% increase in low income cost taxpayers? How much will the town's Master Plan cost taxpayers? Can we afford to take that chance? Vote against the 2006 MP. 


Property Tax Cap for the Retired
Here's an idea - In the spirit of Massachusetts law Prop 2 1/2 and more closely 1978 California law Prop 13, here's my suggestion:
A person shall pay taxes on the assessed value of their property at the time of their retirement for as long as they own the property. It shall be re-assessed for a new property owner if the property is sold.

In my opinion, this seems fair and reasonable, and allows retired people on fixed incomes to keep residing in a town that they have contributed to for, in some cases, decades.

In Summary:
The WB 2006 Master Plan will change the town forever - and not for the better.
First the town mandates a sewer system (of which they can set rates, thinking they can get cute and circumvent Prop 2 1/2). Then they talk about reducing lot sizes - if we have sewers, then why not have smaller lot sizes? Now they want a 254% increase in 40B housing to fill those smaller lot sizes. They also want to "redevelop" Central St to accommodate this wave of new population. 
How much will this cost you, especially since the average tax bill has risen over $700 in just a few years. Can you afford this?   
 
Mixter Building Suddenly Dangerous
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