County Drafts Plan to Boost Revenues on Real Estate Fees

By JOSHUA SABATINI

A funding plan, drafted by county manager Carol Borer, proposes a
new method for Dukes County to receive significant revenue while
providing tax relief to Island towns.

The plan hinges upon passing legislation that would allow the county
to impose a one per cent fee on the gross sale price of all real estate
transfers in Dukes County, made up of the six Island towns and Gosnold.

The plan is modeled after the land bank which, under the
Martha's Vineyard Land Bank Act, collects a two per cent land
transfer tax on most real estate transactions.

Mrs. Borer said the proposed one per cent tax would exist separate
from the land bank; the proposal would come under separate legislation,
not as an amendment to the land bank legislation.

Mrs. Borer, who has worked on the plan since last summer, said she
examined a number of different options such as increasing the deeds
excise tax.

She began working on the plan after discussing with a number of
commissioners the county's need for additional revenue.

But, she said, the state receives some of the revenue from county
taxes and may be tempted to ask for a larger percentage in the event of
any new tax increases.

The real estate tax, she said, ensures the money collected on the
Island will remain on the Island.

The seven towns are assessed each year by the county. For the last
fiscal year, the seven towns paid the county about $680,000. For fiscal
year 2003, the combined assessment rose to near $700,000.

Collecting a one per cent tax on real estate transactions, the
county would have brought in for the last fiscal year about $3.5
million.

In the Sept. 10 document entitled County Funding Plan (CFP)
Proposal, Mrs. Borer recommends the county take over funding for the
Martha's Vineyard Commission (MVC).

For last fiscal year, the MVC's total assessment to the Island
towns was about $500,000.

In the Sept. 10 draft, Mrs. Borer said bringing the MVC into the
plan would provide further tax relief to the towns and provide the MVC
with "a reliable revenue source they desperately require."

Mrs. Borer emphasized she has yet to discuss the proposal with the
MVC, but she realizes the commission has been "struggling for
money."

She pointed out that West Tisbury had a line item for the MVC
assessment at their last town meeting.

Mrs. Borer, as stated in her draft plan, believes the funding plan
would also help the county provide additional regional services to the
towns.

"Although the county has taken strides in the last several
years to provide more regional services to the towns - expanding
or introducing services such as the county engineer, rodent control
program, health access coordinator, veterans agent and grant writing
- we could be doing more," the proposal said.

Other tax relief areas outlined in the plan include assistance in
the towns' appropriations for emergency medical technicians and
councils on aging.

For the last fiscal year, the towns spent a total of about $600,000
on EMTs. This sum grew to $650,000 for fiscal year 2003.

The towns appropriated $700,000 for councils on aging in the last
fiscal year, a figure that grew by about $7,000 for this fiscal year. In
her draft proposal, Mrs. Borer said she expects "a significant
number of people requiring senior services within the next several
years."

Mrs. Borer suggests that there is a real probability that the
legislature will approve the plan for two main reasons:

* The legislature is under siege by all segments of the
commonwealth to provide funding for housing, health care, education and
local services. The county funding plan would not only relieve the
legislature of great pressure from Dukes County and may create a model
approach for other communities in the state.

* There is already somewhat of a precedent in Barnstable
County. It is always much easier to reference a precedent rather than be
in the role of breaking new ground.

Mrs. Borer stressed that the most important force in creating this
legislation is community support. The county manager said the plan is in
its incipient form. She plans to meet with the chairman of each
town's finance committee to discuss the draft, as well as with
others.

She said she will bring the funding proposal before voters at the
annual town meetings. If it passes, she expects to establish a
representative committee to push the legislation on Beacon Hill.

The proposal, said Mrs. Borer, does not necessarily mean the
county's assessment to the towns would vanish, but it would be
reduced.

"Perhaps we should look at reducing the assessment by a
certain percentage over the next few years," said Mrs. Borer.
"What if 10 years from now, the real estate transactions decrease
dramatically?"

While the proposal would give the county more involvement in town
business, Mrs. Borer said the plan is not intended to increase the
county's power over Island towns.

"We want to help the towns, to give back to the towns,"
said Mrs. Borer. "We do not want to interfere, and we are not
looking to regionalize anything."