Senate to Approve 21/2 Exemption Bill

Cambridge may be able to exempt itself from Proposition 2 1/2 if Gov. Edward J. King signs the city's home rule petition, which was approved by the State Senate yesterday and the House of Representatives last week.

The petition would allow the city to spend more money on education, public safety, and other municipal services by charging property taxes above the maximum of 2 1/2 per cent currently allowed by law, Cambridge officials said yesterday.

The bill must still be enacted by the state senate today, but the unopposed vote to engross yesterday means the petition "is past its real legislative hurdle," George A. Bachrach, state senator for Cambridge and a co-sponsor of the petition said yesterday, adding that today's vote is only a formality.

(A bill is engrossed when it is written in the correct legal form and formally presented to the senate or house of representatives for enactment. The senate usually only votes to engross bills that will be enacted, Bachrach said.)

Ten Days

The Governor has ten days to act on the bill, but spokesmen for his office yesterday refused to comment on his position. The Department of Revenue and the Governor's cabinet office of Communities and Development will have to recommend the bill before King will sign it, Kevin R. Barrett said.

Barrett stressed that "although the Governor may be philosophically in favor of a bill," he would still veto it if one of his cabinet offices so recommended.

"If the Department of Revenue found [the petition] could lead to 350 other towns doing the same thing," the governor would definitely veto the bill, Barrett said. "The Governor is definitely opposed to any city subverting state law," Barrett added.

City Councilor Walter Sullivan said yesterday that the bill is a home rule petition and does not apply to any other cities or towns. "I hope [King] will respect the wishes of Cambridge," Bachrach said.

Cambridge officials yesterday expressed uncertainty over whether King would sign the petition. "I would encourage the bill but based on all his public statements, my guess is that the Governor will veto it," Robert Healy, Cambridge's acting city manager said.

If King vetoes the bill, the city must get a two-thirds override vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. City councilor Saundra Graham said she wasn't sure if Cambridge could get the necessary votes.

No bill to amend or lessen the effects of 21/2 has gotten an override vote after the Governor's veto, Graham added.

Several city councilors said they were planning to speak to the Governor about the petition and Graham also urged "the people of Cambridge to speak to him and convince him to sign the bill."

"Over 40 per cent of the people in Cambridge voted against [2 1/2]," City Councilor Daniel J. Clinton, said yesterday, but he added that because of the extreme nature of the budget cutbacks he hadn't heard of anyone on the City Council being against [the petition]."

Sullivan said that Cambridge needed home rule, adding, "we've got to keep our heads high and our hands up to keep from falling overboard."

Proposition 21/2 was passed last year in a state-wide referendum and forced all Massachusetts cities and towns to reduce property tax rates to 21/2 per cent of the assessed value while prohibiting reassessment. It has caused large budget reductions in most communities' education, fire and police forces and other city services.