Chatham Concerned Taxpayers this past spring urged town officials to postpone capital projects until the economy turned around. Instead, they accelerated the massive $340 million sewer project and pressed ahead with the $17 million PD/Annex (a 38,000 square foot twin-building plan for a handful of town employees) so that the debt service for the two projects will begin hitting property taxes with a big bang soon. First year hit for the PD/Annex bonds will be about $160 and $250 for the first of many sewer bonds issues for the $600K household.

One thing is sure. Chatham property taxpayers are going to pay. Chatham is already an expensive place to live, forcing a steady migration of families out of town. Just since the year 2000 or so, the Chatham school population has plunged from about 700 to 500, some 30%.

Chatham is #1 on Cape Cod for per capita spending on capital projects. It will surge ahead even farther when the debt service for the first sewer bond and the PD/Annex bond hit in 2012 or 2013.

Debt service on the property tax in fiscal 2010 is only $2.7 million. If the first payments for these two bond issues come due in 2012, debt service on the property tax could leap as high as $9.2 million, depending on how the town does its accounting.

For the $600,000 householder, who paid about $253 in property taxes for debt service in fiscal 2010, that could mean an additional $611. In addition,of course, will be the annual increases for Proposition 2 1/2 and new growth, which add together add about 3.7% to the property tax each year.

The overall leap in property taxes from fiscal 2010 to 2012, say, could be 34% for all homeowners.

In fiscal 2012 it could be $9.2 million!! ($5.1m of existing debt + $2.5m for sewer bond + $1.6m for PD/Annex.) A 460% increase over fiscal 2009. (If the sewer bond of $50 million (assuming $10 million in stimulus aid) is at zero interest, the increase will "only" be 420%.)