Preserve Our Heritage•Preserve Our Future

Preserve Our CPA•Vote “NO”on Article1On Monday, April 11th, protect your investment in Carlisle by voting AGAINST

rescinding the Community Preservation Act (CPA). Let’s continue our partnership

with the state to keep Carlisle the town we all want to live in. Let’s continue to plan,

save, and invest in our community’s future.

Why Support CPA?• CPA helps Carlisle help itself.

State matching funds leverage our investment in ourselves.Pending legis lation would guarantee the state match at75% and allow CPA funds to be used to improve existingparks and recreational facilities.

• CPA is for the people, by the people.

Carlisle voters directly decide which projects are funded.CPA projects benefit the entire community: safer pathwaysfor children walking to school, a restored library for allages to enjoy, more affordable housing options for seniors.

• In a tight economy, Carlisle can’t afford to forego

state matching funds lost without CPA.

Without CPA funding, it ’s unlikely we’d have a source offunds to help preserve Carlisle’s special character. Relying on frequent overrides would undermine our abilityto plan and could create increased budgetary strains.

What is the CPA?The Community Preservation Act (CPA), enacted in 2000, provides state matchingfunds for participating towns. The stategrant program is funded by Registry ofDeeds and Land Court fees. Under theact, a majority of citizens must vote (atboth town meeting and at the ballot box)to establish a “Community PreservationFund” and levy a surcharge up to 3% onreal estate taxes.

A participating community must establisha Community Preservation Committee(CPC) to make annual recommendationsregarding which projects deserve funding.Town committees do extensive planningand receive community feedback beforeapplying for funds; the CPC vets all projectsthoroughly. All expenditures of CPA fundsmust be approved by Town Meeting.

For each fiscal year, the community mustspend or reserve at least 10% of the annual revenues in the fund for each of theact’s community preservation purposes:Open Space, Historic Resources and Affordable Housing. The remai ning 70%can be spent on recreation or any of thethree purposes. A community may borrowto fund the act’s community preservationpurposes and use future CPA funds to service the debt (borrowing for CPA projects requires the same 2/3 town ballot approval as any bonding).

In 2001, Carlisle wisely voted to adopt the Community Preservation Act (CPA) and levy a 2% surcharge on real estatetaxes with an exemption on $100,000 ofassessed value for all properties. Also, anexemption from the surcharge is availablefor low income property owners and low-to-moderate income seniors (60+).

$1,000,000

2002/03 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10 10/11

$2,000,000

$3,000,000

$4,000,000

$5,000,000

STATE MATCH(cumulative)

LOCAL SURCHARGE

(cumulative)

Cumulative CPA Funds Raised:$4.63 million to date

CPA-supported Projects

Open Space and Recreation: $1,841,150

• 41 Acres of Benfield Land & Master Site Plan

• Network of Town Center Footpaths

• Removal of the Greenough Cottage

• Trails & Signage for Town-owned Open Space

• Bruce Freeman Bike Trail

Affordable Housing: $1,330,000

• 26 Units of Affordable Senior Housing

• 4 Acres of Benfield Land

• Housing Coordinator

• Council on Aging Town Needs Assessment Survey

• Accessory Apartment Bylaw

Historic Preservation: $1,626,420

• Gleason Library Restoration and Renovations

• Liberty Statue Restoration

• Veterans Memorial Design and Construction

• Bog House Restoration

• Heald Barn Restoration

• Protection & Display of Artifacts

• Stabilization of the Highland Building

Meeting Future Town Needs

Open Space and Recreation

• Extending the network of footpaths to provide needed

safety to pedestrians, encourage passive recreation,

and enhance the community

• Several parcels designated as top priority for preser -

vation remain unprotected; CPA allows the town to

respond when parcels become available.

Affordable Housing

• More affordable housing is needed for our seniors and

lower income residents. To date, 99 Carlisle seniors

are on the interest list for the 26 units of planned

affordable senior housing on the Benfield Land.

Historic Preservation

• Restoring the Greenough Barn and Dam, both in need

of repair.

Boards, Committees, and Organizations thatSupport CPA• Carlisle Housing Authority

• Conservation Commission

• Planning Board

• Trails Committee

• Gleason Library Trustees

• Carlisle Historical Commission

• Carlisle Historical Society

• Land Stewardship Committee

• Carlisle Conservation Foundation

Vote “NO”on Article 1

Monday, April 11.

Don’t let Carlisle be the

first town to rescind CPA!

PATHWAYSTRAILS

BENFIELD HOUSING

VETERANSMEMORIAL

GLEASON LIBRARY

BOG HOUSE

LAD

Y LI

BER

TY

Photo by E

llen Huber, C

arlisle Mosquito