Polls for the Proposition 2 ½ Override Special Election will open at 7 a.m. on October 18 at the Walter Hawkes Field House at Reading Memorial High School. Polls close at 8 p.m.
The special election will allow residents to decide on a $7.5 million override. The override is the only issue on the ballot for Tuesday’s special election. A sample ballot can be viewed here.
For an average residential home with an assessed value of $500,000 the annual property tax increase would be $829. The funds requested via the override are intended to cover a $6 million structural budget gap (SBG) and $1.5 million funding for new programs. Town officials have indicated that 64 percent of the funding would be used for the schools system ($3.8 million SBG, $1 million new funding) and 36 percent to the Town ($2.2 million SBG, $0.5 million new funding).
Numerous members of the Reading community have provided The Reading Post with letters to the editor both in support of and opposing the override. These letters can be viewed within the Letters to the Editor section of our website.
The Town has made additional information about the override available on its website, including infographics on the override and senior tax relief, as well as a searchable street index showing potential override calculations based on 2016 assessed property values.
