From the Manager's Desk
The other side of Labor Day means more than cooler nights and less traffic - it signals the start of our capital planning season.
The Town's Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) provides a blueprint for planning all the community's capital expenditures by aligning the Town’s priority capital needs with available funding sources. It allows for project scheduling and financial strategy over a 5-year time horizon. The CIP coordinates community planning, financial capacity, and infrastructure investment.
Most capital funding requests are brought to Special Town Meeting in the Fall for consideration. Our current CIP is available on the Town's website. Additionally, a summary of the CIP is included in the Annual Town Meeting Warrant, identifying all proposed capital expenditures for the next 5 years estimated to cost $100,000 or more to inform residents of potential large upcoming projects.
Consistent with the Town Charter, the CIP is updated on an annual basis and presented to the Select Board and Finance Committee each February. A capital project is defined as an expenditure greater than $10,000 with a useful life greater than one year. A majority of the Town's annual capital expenditures are funded from available Free Cash, which is annually certified by the state after the Town closes its books each fiscal year.
Other sources of funds, including grants, are also leveraged to help minimize the tax impacts of capital investments. The Golf and Water Departments, which have enterprise funds, pay for their own respective capital items. Debt is only considered for large capital projects and issuance of debt must be approved both by Town Meeting and at the ballot.
The Town has worked diligently to ensure that the CIP, the Select Board Strategic Plan and the Local Comprehensive Plan are aligned, inform each other, and address consensus community needs and future growth.
When capital funding requests are presented at Town Meeting, voters have an opportunity to discuss and vote on each proposed project. A specific appropriation amount and project details are included in the Warrant. The Select Board and Finance Committee will deliberate on recommended capital expenditures for the Fall 2025 Town Meeting over the next month.
Peter Lombardi
Town Manager
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Table of Contents
From the Manager's Desk
Capital Planning
Committee Corner
Board of Assessors
Department Profile
Assessors
Meet Our Team
Jim Gallagher,
Deputy Assessor
Project Updates
Nauset Regional School Agreement
Sea Camps Spotlight
Community Forum
Getting to Know Your Select Board
Mary Chaffee,
Chair
Events
Books & Big Ideas: Living on the Coast
9/11 Memorial Ceremony
Household Hazardous Waste Collection Days
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Committee Corner
Board of Assessors
3rd Thursday of the Month | 4:30pm
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The Board is responsible for reviewing and voting on key recommendations related to property assessments, tax abatements, and exemptions as outlined by the Department of Revenue and Massachusetts General Laws.
We are currently accepting applications for Real Estate Tax Exemptions from qualifying primary resident seniors, veterans and surviving spouses, and blind taxpayers. Renewal applications have been mailed to those who received an exemption last year. In addition, this is the second year that the Community Preservation Surcharge Exemption is available for moderate-income seniors (60+) and low-income (non-senior) households.
Exempt status for real estate is determined as of July 1, the beginning of the fiscal year. All eligibility requirements must be met as of this date.
The HERO Act (an Act Honoring, Empowering, and Recognizing our Service members and Veterans) was signed into law in August 2024, providing eligible disabled veterans exemption from automobile excise tax. Excise exemptions are also available to qualifying charitable organizations, military personnel stationed in Massachusetts, and blind persons.
What is a tax exemption?
A tax exemption is a provision that allows certain income, revenue, or taxpayers to be excluded from taxation based upon defined criteria.
Brewster offers various real estate tax exemptions that can help reduce property tax bills for eligible homeowners. Tax exemptions are controlled by the State of Massachusetts. Local municipalities, such as the Town of Brewster, are unable to modify existing exemptions or create new ones without Town Meeting and/or state approval.
What is an abatement?
An abatement is a reduction of a tax or penalty that has been assessed. Brewster offers two types of abatements:
- Motor vehicle excise tax abatement
- Boat excise tax abatement
If the taxpayer has experienced a sale, trade, theft, loss or transfer of ownership of a vehicle or boat, they may be eligible for an abatement.
Please review "Real Estate Exemptions" and "Excise Abatements & Exemptions" on the Board of Assessors webpage which will provide instructions, guidance and applications.
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Meet the Chair
Susan Barker
Years served: 3 1/2
Q: What is one thing you wish the public knew about the association?
Our commitment to equity and fairness.
Q: What is one of your favorite things about Brewster?
Our easy access to beaches and trails.
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Meet Member
Marjorie McGinnis
Years served: 3
Q: What motivated you to serve on this board?
I’m honored to serve on a board that makes decisions fairly and thoughtfully while being provided timely and thorough information and data. I can’t think of a better way to give back to the community.
Q: What is one of your favorite things about Brewster?
The Brewster community is hands down my favorite part of Brewster! As a resident and business owner, I find the community loyal, supportive, welcoming and inclusive. There is also a sense of enjoying and protecting Brewster’s natural beauty including the bay (and flats), Nickerson State Park, the herring run and the other parks and conservation spaces.
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Department Profile
Assessor's Office
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The Assessor's office is responsible for ensuring that all property within Brewster is valued fairly and equitably, in accordance with Massachusetts General Laws. The office works to ensure property records and assessments are fair, accurate, and up to date. Tax exemptions and abatements for all real and personal property are administered through the Assessor's office, as well as motor vehicle and boat excise.
Annual inspections of all properties with building permits issued or completed in the prior calendar year are conducted in May of each year. The inspections are performed by appraisers employed by PK Valuation Group on behalf of the Board of Assessors. The appraisers measure and list properties to check for accuracy with the Town's records and they also take pictures of properties.
Fiscal Year 2026 Real Estate Tax Exemption applications are available through the Assessor's office for qualifying primary resident seniors, veterans, and blind taxpayers. More information is available online or by calling (508) 896-3701 x1137.
Please note that all elderly exemption applicants should make an appointment with the Outreach Workers at the Council on Aging to review and submit their application materials. Contact (508) 896-2737 or email outreach@brewster-ma.gov to schedule an appointment.
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Meet Our Team
Jim Gallagher
Years served: 15 total, 8 as Deputy Assessor
Q: What is one of your favorite things about your position?
All properties are unique and they all tell their own story.
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Annual Tax Classification Hearing
Every year, the Select Board holds a public Tax Classification Hearing to determine how the town's property tax levy will be distributed across the five major property classes. This year, the hearing will be held on Monday September 8 at 6:15pm.
The classification hearing is held to determine whether or not to shift a portion of the property tax burden from one class of property to another. There are five classes of property: Residential, Open Space, Commercial, Industrial, and Personal Property.
At the classification hearing, after the Deputy Assessor presents the Board of Assessors' recommendations on the four options that could reallocate some of the tax obligation among the five classes of property, the Select Board votes to finalize the tax rate for the upcoming fiscal year.
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Project Update
Nauset Regional School Agreement
In May 2023, the Brewster Select Board formally requested that the Nauset Regional School Agreement be reviewed and amended for the first time in over 20 years. In Fall 2023, the Nauset Regional School Committee formed a subcommittee of their members tasked with working with district counsel to revise the agreement. To date, this subcommittee has primarily focused on aligning the Nauset agreement with best practices and guidelines developed in 2022 by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).
Brewster, with the support of Town leaders in Eastham, Orleans, and Wellfleet, has requested revisions to several key provisions of the regional agreement, including the methodology for calculating the towns’ annual assessments, transportation cost apportionment, School Committee composition, regular scheduled review and amendments to the regional agreement, and incorporation of debt associated with capital expenditures (e.g. high school improvements) in calculating the financial contributions of Provincetown and Truro to the district. The towns have also requested changes that would clarify and improve the transparency of the district’s budget process by explicitly requiring capital budgeting and financial forecasting.
After completing their initial review and developing preliminary recommendations, the subcommittee has invited feedback from the member towns on the draft revised agreement, which will be presented later this month. The goal is for School and Town officials to come to consensus on a revised agreement in calendar year 2026. Ultimately, the Nauset Regional School Committee, state education officials, and each town’s Town Meetings will have to approve the new agreement.
| | | | Sea Camps Spotlight
The Town is hosting a community forum on Monday September 29 at 6pm at Town Hall to provide residents with an update on the significant progress made by the Sea Camps Advisory Committee and Town Administration over the past nine months in planning for the future of the Sea Camps.
This forum will highlight the key findings from the community outreach sessions and survey from last spring. Town officials will also convey details of the revised phasing and financing plan that has been developed. While this new plan remains consistent with the Comprehensive Plans for both properties adopted by Town Meeting in May 2024, it reflects extensive value engineering in response to resident input seeking to limit the costs and tax impacts of implementation.
We are excited to share the latest news and information with the community, to continue to hear your feedback, and to answer your questions about the Sea Camps. We hope to see you on the 29th!
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Getting to Know Your Select Board
The Select Board guides the future of Brewster and solves problems through careful decision-making. We are the primary policymakers, planners, and goal-setters for the Town. Our responsibilities include financial oversight of the town budget, appointing people to serve on boards and offices, supervising the Town Manager, granting licenses and permits, and determining the articles to be considered at Town Meetings. We listen to the community and establish policies - in this way, we propose solutions to specific problems.
The Select Board identifies the most important problems for our town government to address through our Strategic Plan, and we collaborate with other town boards to make certain decisions. The Select Board’s legal authority comes from state law, Town bylaws, and the Town charter. The Board consists of five members elected by voters to 3-year terms. Our daily administrative duties are delegated to the Town Manager and his team.
"Local government directly impacts the quality of people's lives. It's an honor to serve on Brewster's Select Board and be part of the work that makes Brewster a great place to live and visit." - Mary Chaffee
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Meet the Chair
Mary Chaffee
Years served: 7
Q: What is one thing you wish the public knew about the Select Board?
How hard-working, thoughtful, and well-prepared the Select Board members are - we take our roles seriously.
Q: What is one of your favorite things about Brewster?
We have the best town government around thanks to great staff and enthusiastic community volunteers....and spectacular beaches!
Office Hours
The Select Board host office hours the 1st Wednesday of each month at rotating locations. A different Select Board member takes part each month with either our Town Manager or Assistant Town Manager. Please join us!
For future dates and times, please sign up to receive news and announcements from the Select Board, or any other town department, board/committee, or town project.
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2025 Books & Big Ideas
Living on the Coast
Series of events in September & October
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Sun. 9/14 - 9am @ Cape Cod Museum of Natural History
Guided Family Field Walk, featuring Clem & Crab and A Cape Cod Notebook
- Sat. 9/27 - 8:30am & 10am @ Sea Camps Bay Property
MA Audubon Nature Walks: 8:30am Birds & More of the Bay Property, 10am Search the Seashore
- Sun. 9/28 - 10am @ Sea Camps Bay Property
Good Neighbor Day Beach Clean-up with Coast Sweep
Virtual chat with Erin Byers Murray, Author of Shucked
- Mon. 10/6 - 4:30pm @ Mants Landing
Natural Resources Department Oyster Tour
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Thurs. 10/23 - 5:30pm @ Ladies' Library
The High House book discussion
For more details and to sign up for these events visit www.brewsterladieslibrary.org
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9/11 Memorial Ceremony
Thursday, September 11, 2025 | 6pm
The Brewster Fire Department will be hosting their annual 9/11 remembrance ceremony at Fire Headquarters (1671 Main Street).
The service honors first responders, civilian victims, and their family members who were impacted by the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001 in New York City, Washington D.C, and Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
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Household Hazardous Waste Day
September 13 & October 11 | 9am - 12pm
Harwich Transfer Station | 209 Queen Anne Road, Harwich, MA
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