Our Taxpayers Bill of Rights (TaBOR):
Our Taxpayers Bill of Rights (TaBOR):
Taxing Fairness: Avoid any tax incentives that encourage shifting the tax burden on affordable housing to other property owners by avoiding tax breaks for developers.
Tax Flexibility: Local school districts must develop a local school funding formula based on the number of students multiplied by the average statewide cost per K12 student.
Tax Cap: Towns must support the current maximum state tax cap of 4%.
Spending Transparency: Town and school systems must provide transparency by maintaining an online checkbook with expenditures detailed.
Affordability Cap: Collective Bargaining Agreements, for towns and schools, must stay within the taxing authority's projected revenue growth, such as property tax increases or state aid.
Tax Sustainability: Taxpayers have the right to limits on tax increases on the median valued home be limited to the growth in average local income
Principle of Budget Transparency: Municipal budgets must clearly and fully disclose all revenue sources and amounts, including a separate line for new construction tax revenues as well as restricted revenue funds
Latest Budget Growth Cap: Total town and school committee budget spending increases must be capped at the inflation rate plus the percentage increase in population.
Latest Right to Review Long-Term Costs: Collective Bargaining Agreements must include a taxpayer-accessible cost projection (e.g., 5-year impact on the budget) for wages, health benefits, and pensions, prepared by an independent party
Latest Flexibility for Economic Hardship: Collective Bargaining Agreements must include clauses allowing temporary wage freezes or benefit adjustments during fiscal emergencies (e.g., a major employer closes, or a natural disaster hits), subject to mutual agreement.
Latest Performance-Based Incentives Over Automatic Raises: Collective Bargaining Agreements must tie pay increases to measurable academic performance rather than automatic step increases based on seniority.
Latest Reasonable Benefit Standards: Collective Bargaining Agreements must include benefits (e.g., health insurance, vacation days) that align with local private-sector norms rather than urban public-sector standards, with periodic reviews to adjust for cost of living.
Latest Right to Renegotiation Triggers: Collective Bargaining Agreements must include triggers for renegotiation if local tax revenues drop by more than 5%