Reading Recap to Host Override and CPA Forum Wednesday at 8pm
Reading Recap will host "Yes or No? The Reading Recap Override & CPA Forum" on Wednesday, Oct. 21, at 8 p.m., giving voters the chance to hear supporters and opponents of Reading's two local ballot questions make their cases side by side before the Nov. 3 election.
Reading Recap invited every officially registered ballot committee to take part. The Yes for Reading Override committee and the Yes for CPA Committee both declined, directing residents to the town's website instead. The forum will be streamed on Reading Recap's YouTube channel and Facebook page as well as on live television via RCTV Xfinity 9 and Fios 31.
How to watch:
YouTube: https://youtube.com/live/cww3CuZFI_k
RCTV: Xfinity 9 and Fios 31
What's on the Ballot
Question 10 asks voters to approve a $6.5 million Proposition 2½ operational override, the town's first override request since 2018. Town officials have put Reading's structural deficit at $9.8 million and propose closing it with the override, about $3 million in free cash and a small number of town position cuts. If the override fails, officials have said the town would use free cash and cut the equivalent of about 67 positions across town and school departments, along with other service reductions. Reading Recap's coverage of the town's information sessions is available here and here.
Question 11 asks voters whether Reading should adopt the Community Preservation Act, which would add a 1 percent surcharge to local property tax bills. Under state law, CPA money can be spent only on open space and outdoor recreation, historic preservation and community housing, and communities that adopt the act become eligible for annual matching distributions from the state's Community Preservation Trust Fund.
How the Forum Will Work
Following the format of Reading Recap's successful previous candidate forums, participating voices will receive equal time for opening and closing statements and responses to questions, with limited opportunities for rebuttals.