Agawam, Cambridge, Easthampton, Newton and Peabody passed the Act while Beverly, Gloucester, Malden, Methuen, Saugus, Waltham and Woburn did not. Elizabeth Adams, program director for municipal finance at the Trust for Public Land, a Boston-based land conservation non-profit organization, notes that the legislation had a well-funded opposition and the communities near Boston were especially impacted by its campaign. She adds that the low turnout also worked against the Act because more elderly property owners are voting and they are less inclined to add on a property tax. Moreover, the opposition's campaign--which was led by Fidelity Investments and included the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties--targeted elderly voters.

The proposal was enacted by state legislation in December 2000, allowing towns to pass it if they choose. Thirty towns already passed the law last spring in municipal elections. The surcharge could be anywhere from 1% to 3%.

In Newton, the surcharge will be 1%. In Cambridge, the Act will result in no tax increase because the city already decided that if the act passed, property taxes would be lowered. "The towns get state matching funds so in Cambridge they said we might as well get those matching funds," Adams points out. "So voters couldn't lose there but that's rare." As part of the act, the state will provide matching funds for all communities up to $26 million.