New Hollis group wants less money spent on land
HOLLIS — People here take pride in the town’s rural landscape, pristine woods, and hiking trails, safeguarded over the past decade or more through planning, conservation and key purchases. But hard times are bringing out the penny pincher in some residents who recently signed a petition for a warrant article that will appear on the ballot at Town Meeting asking voters to stop funding the Conservation Commission with revenue from the Land Use Change Tax and put all of the money into the General Fund. Since 1999, the town has directed half of all Land Use Change Tax funds to the Conservation Commission — money the group has used to purchase, preserve, and manage roughly ten properties. But John Anderson, founder of the newly-created Informed Citizens United and author of the petition signed by 31 taxpayers, says the practice has to stop. “When that money goes directly to the Conservation Commission, it doesn’t help the taxpayer one iota,” Anderson said. The funds are paid to the town after a property owner removes land from Current Use, a tax distinction that dramatically lowers property tax. Under Current Use, which applies only to parcels of ten acres or more of undeveloped land that qualify, a property owner pays between $20 and $425 per acre in taxes. The Land Use Change Tax is based on fair market value at the time of the change and represents 10 percent of that value. A housing lot sold for $200,000, for example, would net $20,000 in LUCT revenue, presently divided, 50-50, between the Conservation Commission and the general fund. The amount of money generated by the tax varies from year to year, depending on the economy.
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