The Tax Burden in Eastham
To the editor:
Re “In Eastham, Property Tax Is a Hot Topic” [June 12, page A12]:
The article’s assertion that Eastham’s property tax burden is “significantly lower than that of its neighbors” is deeply misleading and completely ignores a critical element of the appropriate analysis, i.e., residents’ ability to pay. The old saying about lies, damn lies, and statistics applies here because the numbers presented in the article fail to tell the real story.
The Mass. Dept. of Revenue publishes statistics that reflect the ability of a community’s residents to meet their property tax burden. These data recognize that, regardless of the dollar amount, what really matters is how much of an individual’s income is consumed by property taxes.
The numbers in the chart below, taken from the DOR website, show the tax rate for the listed towns as a percentage of per capita income for fiscal 2025:
Wellfleet 13.22%
Truro 12.92%
Eastham 12.89%
Brewster 12.11%
Orleans 11.28%
Yarmouth 10.75%
Harwich 10.56%
Barnstable 10.12%
Provincetown 9.46%
Dennis 6.77%
Chatham 6.08%
Of the 11 Cape communities listed in the chart in the story, only Wellfleet residents bear an actual tax burden meaningfully greater than in Eastham. Said differently, Eastham residents pay a higher percentage of their income for property taxes than the overwhelming majority of Cape residents.
To make matters worse, the Eastham Select Board has decided to increase taxes even more on part-time residents, ostensibly because (a) they can’t vote and (b) they must be wealthy because they own a second home. Putting aside the obvious irony of (a) as we approach July 4th, I fear that the town will soon discover that there is no free lunch and that replacing the part-timers who inevitably leave with full-time residents is a costly proposition.
Barry Rubenstein
Eastham and Southborough
Pay Now, Not Later
To the editor:
Next week, Eastham will vote on whether to fund a wastewater treatment plant and collection system to reduce the nitrogen in our water. The reasons why we must reduce our nitrogen load are clearly spelled out in the town warrant. I care about ensuring that our water is safe for future generations.
It is also important how we pay for it. Cleaning up our water through sewering will raise property taxes on the average homeowner by about $1,000 annually. Without a sewer system, individual homeowners will be required to install I/A systems that cost roughly $50,000 to install and thousands of dollars to maintain each year.
Eastham has until the end of the month to accept funding from the state to create a sewer system, and we cannot do this without a yes vote at the special town meeting on Monday. Let’s pay for this now with state funds so we do not end up paying a higher price out of our pockets later.
Cheryl Gayle
Eastham
Eastham’s Plan Is ‘as Good as It Gets’
To the editor:
I have voted “yes” to protect our fragile coastal ecosystem by reducing the nitrogen and phosphorus that is choking Eastham’s ponds. I voted in hopes that our beaches and shellfishing won’t have to close after every major rainstorm. It doesn’t matter where you live in town — we all benefit from cleaner water.
Kicking this can down the road will come at an immense cost to taxpayers. According to the warrant, “Eastham could face an Administrative Consent Order requiring nitrogen mitigation without guaranteed funding or local control.” In other words, a wastewater system in Eastham is inevitable.
Am I excited about this? No. We will incur major expenses, as we are far from our road and will have a significant uphill to reach a sewer connection. As onerous as that is, it is better than an I/A system. It is better than having to go through all this again in a few years but with no low-interest funding. It is better than having an outside agency impose a system that doesn’t take into consideration the concerns of residents who are impacted. It is better than watching our ponds and marshes slowly die.
Do we want a plan developed by Eastham, or do we want costly piecemeal approaches that won’t reach our nitrogen reduction goals? This plan is as good as it gets.
Christine Schmidt
Eastham
Wastewater and Housing
To the editor:
Funding a wastewater treatment center and collection system would, among other critical needs, allow Eastham to create urgently needed affordable housing.
In May, voters approved new zoning for North Eastham that would allow for the creation of housing (as well as expansion of small business opportunities), but the ability to make these changes depends on having an improved wastewater system in place.
The town cannot move forward on the T-Time property development until we know what the wastewater capacity will be. T-Time is one of the only areas in town slated for affordable housing and will be an indispensable tool for supporting our year-round community. Voting to fund the new sewer system will allow Eastham to finally move forward on using T-Time to its full potential.
New affordable housing will make both our year-round and part-time communities more resilient, vibrant, and self-sustaining.
Natalia Redyk
Eastham
Feeling Proud Again
To the editor:
The “No Kings” rally in Eastham on Saturday was amazing. Both sides of Route 6 at the entrance to the National Park were covered with people, often three or four deep. The atmosphere was upbeat but determined and completely peaceful. The turnout was noteworthy, as it was chilly and rainy, and the Outer Cape towns are small.
Photos of the rally in Philadelphia, where I worked for over 40 years, showed that it was huge, covering the 15th Street “Love” Plaza all the way up the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Again, completely peaceful. For the first time since Mr. Trump was re-elected, I felt proud to be an American.
Photos of the Trump birthday parade in Washington showed large areas with very few people. The parade featured a lot of obsolete and useless hardware such as Abrams tanks, which have been shown in Ukraine to be vulnerable to drone attack. It was a perfect metaphor for Trump himself: obsolete and useless.
Stephen Greenberg
Wellfleet
A Working Man Speaks
To the editor:
Saturday’s “No Kings” protest in Eastham was unbelievably inspiring. It was a day to make our voices heard against the cacophony and chaos that Donald Trump orchestrates.
There seems to be very low interest in this movement by newspapers. This baffles me, but I take it as an indication of how effective Trump’s anti-journalism, anti-university, anti-history, anti-immigrant, anti-public school, anti-social safety net, anti-working class, anti-civilization tactics are.
I heard a guy next to me in a pickup truck towing two lawn mowers on a trailer say, “How to piss off a working man.” I caught up to him and yelled, “I’m a working man myself!”
This crowd, this movement comprises people who have worked all their lives. Has Trump convinced working-class people that he is for them and that we protestors are the bad guys?
We people on the streets are trying to say something. There are a lot of us. If Trump ran for office today, he wouldn’t have a chance.
Paul Murray
Eastham
Letters to the Editor
The Provincetown Independent welcomes letters from readers on all subjects. They must be signed with the writer’s name, home address, and telephone number (for verification). Letters will be published only if they have been sent exclusively to the Independent. They should be no more than 300 words and may be edited for clarity, accuracy, conciseness, and good taste. Longer pieces (up to 600 words) may be submitted for consideration as op-ed commentary. Send letters to [email protected] or by mail to P.O. Box 1034, Provincetown, MA 02657. The deadline for letters is Monday at noon for each week’s edition.
