Tuesday's override vote in Beverly proved once again that the majority of voters want to see some sacrifice on the part of those spending their money before they'll sanction more taxes.
"It sends the message that they've had enough," Elliott Margolis of the anti-override group Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility declared as the results arrived at City Hall. Hard to argue, given the fact the override went down to defeat by an almost 2-1 margin.
This was not the result of a low turnout. An impressive 43 percent of voters made it to the polls for this special election. And both Margolis' group and the Yes! for Beverly people waged impressive campaigns that had the entire city talking about the state of the schools and the municipal budget.
But raising an additional $2.5 million for the schools via a permanent increase in the property tax, proved a very tough sell. Voters made it clear they're willing to suffer the loss of a neighborhood school and see class sizes swell before they will put more of their money into what many view as a bloated educational bureaucracy.
The message should resonate beyond well beyond Beverly.
We've seen overrides pass this spring in more affluent communities like Hamilton, Wenham and Ipswich. But even those entailed vigorous efforts on the part of school supporters who were appealing to a much narrower demographic base.
In a diverse community like Beverly, with a good number of voters struggling to pay for gas and groceries, a tax increase of any amount was clearly not acceptable. It's not that override opponents don't value good schools, they've lost faith in the ability of government to spend their money wisely.
Mayor William Scanlon took some of the wind out of override supporters' sails when he came up with a plan to save Cove School using existing funds. But the pre-election bickering between the mayor and schools Superintendent James Hayes hardly inspired confidence in leadership's ability to tackle the tough issues that face the school system and other departments.
We'd like to see the City Council and School Committee move forward with the proposal to consolidate all financial functions in one agency at City Hall. At least then everyone would be dealing with a single set of numbers.
And Beverly, like every other community in the commonwealth, could use some help from Beacon Hill in getting a handle on the salaries and benefit costs that continue to drive school budgets beyond the point of affordability. One simple step would be to pass legislation allowing municipalities to lower their health insurance costs by joining the state Group Insurance Commission — without having to engage in collective bargaining.
Michael Widmer of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation referred to the Beverly results in a rather gloomy assessment of the revenue picture delivered to the North Shore Chamber of Commerce Wednesday morning. Voters are disenchanted with government, he warned, and if they're still feeling that way in November it could result in their jettisoning the income tax.
And the reduction in state aid that would require, Widmer noted, would be catastrophic for every school system in the state.
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