The reason Berkley needs an override is actually very simple:
Berkley does not bring in enough money to pay for the services it provides.
Each year, the town pays its bills using a combination of:
Property taxes
State aid
Local receipts (fees, permits, ambulance billing, transfer station fees, etc.)
Free Cash (money left over from prior years)
When all of those sources are added together, they still do not cover Berkley’s annual operating budget. That gap is called a structural deficit, meaning it happens year after year, not just once.
We can’t tell the state to give us more money.
We advocate for it, but state aid is largely outside of the town’s control.
We don’t know how much Free Cash we’ll have.
Free Cash depends on how the previous year went and cannot be relied on to fund ongoing expenses like staff, public safety, or schools.
Local receipts are already maximized.
Increasing fees would simply shift more costs directly onto residents anyway.
That leaves one remaining option for increasing reliable, long-term revenue:
An override allows Berkley to permanently raise more money by increasing the town’s overall tax levy. That money then becomes part of the base budget every year, helping the town keep up with rising costs like salaries, health insurance, fuel, utilities, and special education.
In theory, the town could choose not to pass an override and instead cut department budgets.
In reality, Berkley has already been doing that for years.
We are now at the point where:
There is very little left to cut
Further cuts mean loss of staff, reduced hours, or closure of services
Departments are already operating at or below minimum levels
At this stage, cuts are no longer about “efficiency”, they are about eliminating services entirely.
If an override is approved:
Voters approve it at the ballot.
Town Meeting votes to appropriate the funds.
Berkley’s total tax levy increases.
That increase is spread across all taxable property in town, based on assessed value.
This means:
The tax rate increases because the total amount raised increases
Individual tax bills depend on a home’s assessed value relative to all other properties in Berkley
The money raised stays in Berkley and funds local services