BEVERLY, MA — Beverly is planning to allocate nearly $1.4 million in state and local Community Preservation Act funding for 2023 and is looking for resident input on how to best spend it.
Participating in the state Community Preservation Act allows cities and towns to impose a 1 percent surtax on property taxes in exchange for additional state matching funds that can be used toward open space, historical preservation, community housing and recreation projects.
Beverly joined the Community Preservation Act in 2012 with 75 projects funded through the CPA money over the past decade.
The forum will be held on Sept. 14 at 7 p.m. at Beverly City Hall.
These funds are awarded annually through a competitive application process that launches in September.
The public hearing will begin with a presentation about the Community Preservation Act, the amount of funding available, the types of projects that are eligible and an overview of projects that the CPA has funded in the past.
Members of the public are encouraged to share their thoughts regarding the needs of the community, priorities and possible projects.
Beverly projects supported since 2012 include GAR Hall improvements, city park upgrades, preservation of city historic documents, a community housing study, a historic preservation plan and the purchase of property to remain as open space.
(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)
