Western Massachusetts leaders used the official “413 Day” to make the case that rural areas deserve the same resources as the Boston region. They had an audience — and declared ally — in Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll.
Driscoll traveled around western Mass to experience a mix of rural amenities - from fly fishing on the Deerfield River to Pelham’s historic town hall, which local leaders say is the oldest working town hall in the country.
The Pelham stop was also where Driscoll swore in a new state commission assigned to rethink how cities and towns are compensated for state-owned land and buildings — known as payment in lieu of taxes, or PILOT. Rural areas tend to get lower payments because property is cheaper and population sparser, which many consider unfair.
“The Commonwealth needs to step up and do its fair share for our communities,” said state Rep. Aaron Saunders, a Democrat who represents Pelham and surrounding towns. He brought up the Quabbin Reservoir, which is located in Franklin County but mostly provides drinking water to eastern Massachusetts residents.
“Protecting that drinking water — it's not free. Our friends in eastern Massachusetts do not get to enjoy seemingly limitless, pure drinking water while folks out in our communities struggle to keep teachers in the classroom, officers on the street, and firefighters putting out fires.”
“Not only are we breathing for the whole Commonwealth, we're growing the food of the Commonwealth,” said State Sen. Jo Comerford, D- Northampton.
Comerford said western Massachusetts communities are expected to be “stewards” of land by keeping developers away.
“So we hold it back from the tax rolls and our communities pay the price with very high property taxes and budgets that are too tight,” she said. “We get very little in return – I would say a pittance – in return.”
Driscoll acknowledged the need to rectify that imbalance and more fairly distribute state payments for half a million acres of state-owned land across Massachusetts, such as state parks and forests, wildlife sanctuaries, beaches, and state military campgrounds.
“If you're going to have state-owned land, how do we make sure we're being equitable and recognizing the impact it has on communities,” Driscoll said before the swearing-in ceremony. “Doing it through the current formula just doesn't really doesn't really lend itself well,”
However Driscoll pointed out that a new commission and the support of the governor’s office is only part of the equation; the legislature will also have to approve more money for rural needs.
Saunders said the same East/West inequity plays out in education, since the state’s school funding formula often gives money based on population density, which doesn’t take into account many fixed costs. “A broken window costs the same to fix in western Massachusetts as eastern Massachusetts,” he pointed out.
Earlier in the day, Driscoll had marked a milestone in rural housing, as she promoted a state-funded housing program. Historically, local officials said, the criteria for many state housing grants favored urban regions, but the administration said it’s been working with smaller, rural communities to apply.
According to Driscoll’s office, this year marked the first time every county in Massachusetts has at least one Housing Choice Community, with six new designations in Western Massachusetts: Bernardston, Buckland, Deerfield, Easthampton, Gill and Great Barrington.
