As usual, we start this issue of CPA Update with a review of our legislative efforts to boost the CPA Trust Fund. But there's lots more going on with Community Preservation!

Read on for the latest CPA news....

What's Happening with CPA on Beacon Hill?

With

the potential for a record low CPA Trust Fund distribution in November, the Coalition is pursuing a two-part legislative strategy.

First, we are asking the legislature to once again transfer funding from the FY15 state budget surplus to the CPA Trust Fund. As you may know, the House budget included $10 million in surplus funding for the CPA Trust Fund. Unfortunately, Senator Cynthia Stone Creem's similar CPA amendment was rejected during the Senate budget debate in May. The difference in the two budgets is currently being worked out behind closed doors by a legislative Conference Committee, and a decision is expected soon.

State surplus funding is not a long-term answer for CPA, however. As such, the Coalition is advocating for a permanent solution - an increase in the current funding source for the CPA Trust Fund. The bill, An Act to Sustain Community Preservation, was heard in early June by the Joint Committee on Revenue. The Coalition, along with many others, testified in front of the committee.

We would like to thank all of the CPA communities that submitted written testimony to the Committee. We were able to turn in an impressive collection of almost 150 letters, and we could not have done it without you!

Read on for more information about the hearing, including photos and text of the Coalition's testimony...

Abington Town Meeting Puts CPA on the Ballot
Abington became the second community to advance CPA to the ballot this year as Town Meeting voted overwhelmingly in favor of CPA. The positive vote at Town Meeting means that CPA will on the ballot in Abington in April of 2016. Abington joins Woburn, where the City Council recently voted to put CPA on the ballot for November 3rd 2015. Click here to read more on the CPA for Abington...

Is There a CPA Hero in Your Community?

Every two years the Coalition honors CPA advocates from around the state, and we're making plans now for the Fourth Annual Kuehn Community Preservation Awards.

We'll start accepting nominations in early July, so we'd encourage you to begin thinking of folks in your community who have made impressive efforts on behalf of Community Preservation. Stay tuned for more details next month!

See coverage of the last Kuehn Awards (Jan. 2014)...

2015 Massachusetts Historic Preservation Conference

Preservation Massachusetts presents the 2015 Massachusetts Historic Preservation Conference to be held on August 14th in Worcester. The preservation community will once again convene to share ideas, network, discuss challenges, and learn from each other to strengthen our collective preservation efforts across the state.

Coalition Associate Director, Kathy Roth, will be part of a panel to discuss financing historic preservation projects with CPA funds.

Click here for more information and to register for the conference...

FEATURED PROJECT: CPA Funds Classic Art Restoration Projects Across The Commonwealth

CPA allows communities to set aside funds to pay for projects that might not otherwise be covered in municipal budgets. While most communities do their best to be good stewards of historic resources, without CPA it's difficult to find the funds necessary to restore important works of art. Read on to learn more about how Gloucester and other CPA communities are using their CPA funds to rejuvenate and preserve municipal works of art.

The full story can be found here...

VISIT WWW.COMMUNITYPRESERVATION.ORG

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