Montague Showed Residents the Full Bill Before Asking Them to Vote

Everyone deserves to know what a project will cost before they are asked to pay for it. In Montague, the town put that in writing.

This spring, the town asked residents to approve a new $23.7 million main library in Turners Falls. The state's library construction program covers 48% of the cost, leaving the town's share at $12.4 million, to be paid through a temporary property tax increase.

Before the vote, the town's financial team posted a plain-language projection. It showed the tax impact: $49 per $100,000 of home value, or $159 a year for the average single-family home. It showed how the new debt would fit against the town's existing loans and its AA bond rating. It also modeled the proposed $236.6 million Franklin County Technical School, so residents could see that saying yes to both would cost the average home about $400 a year by 2030.

The document named the tradeoffs, too. Taking on both projects would limit the town's ability to fund a future elementary school or absorb an emergency for about a decade.

Then it went to the voters, twice. Town Meeting voted 81 to 3 to send it to the ballot. On June 24, residents approved it 1,593 to 1,248.

Montague residents decided with the full picture in front of them. On October 6, they will vote again on the tech school, with the same numbers already in hand.