Condo Media - July 2017 - 30

GARBAGE FEES
a victory for the condominium associations would tell other municipalities they can't do that. One way or the
other, Goodman says, "the decision
could affect every condominium in
the state."
The underlying question-how
municipalities provide services to
condominium communities-is actually a national issue, and the Community Associations Institute (CAI) has
addressed it. The trade group's longstanding policy position states, "The
provision of public services to homeowners in community associations
should be equal to services provided
to all other homeowners. Otherwise,
(a) public service providers should
compensate community association
homeowners for the cost of services
not provided or, (b) Congress and
the state legislatures should permit
homeowners to deduct that portion
of their community association as-

Know the law!

sessments properly attributable to the
association's performance of public
functions, or to receive a credit equal
to that amount."
"For condominium owners to pay
the same property taxes as their
neighbors but not receive the same
services definitely isn't fair," Dawn
Bauman, CAI's senior vice president
for governmental affairs, says. And the
issue, she notes, "has been percolating
for a long time. It's definitely on our
mind. But it's not at the top of our list
[of concerns]," she acknowledges.
CAI is focusing on tax reform to
address the inequity, supporting
federal legislation that would allow
condominium owners to deduct their
association fees from their federal
taxes. "We're watching for opportunities to support the same tax policy at
the state level, too," Bauman says.
New Jersey enacted a law requiring municipalities either to provide

Protect your condo!

municipal services to condominium
communities or reimburse them for
the cost. (See sidebar on page 29). But
it appears to be the only state to have
taken that step.
Massachusetts condominiums came
close to winning legislative approval of
a similar measure nearly 30 years ago.
"We did very well until the last
minute," Brooks says-until legislators were reminded of a provision
in Proposition 2-1/2 (capping local
property taxes) requiring the state
to reimburse cities and towns for the
cost of any services the state required
municipalities to provide. At that
point, someone proposed a "friendly
amendment" specifying that municipalities could provide services to
condominiums "at their option." The
odds of local governments doing that
being negligible, Brooks says, "We
decided we were better off without
any law," and the measure died.

Protect your Association!

MA Plumbing Approval #: P3-0416-427

STOP
WATER HEATER
LEAKS

Demand the WHID
(Water Heater Isolation Device)
When your water heater leaks, the WHID will:
 SHUT off the water.
 HOLD the residual water in the water heater.

Understanding the MA Plumbing Code (law) when there are occupants below: 248 CMR 10.12(1)(h)
"Policy: When installing a replacement water heater or hot water storage tank and it is not practical to install
a safe waste pan and related safe waste drain piping, an acceptable alternate method to satisfy the
requirements of 248 CMR 10.12(1)(h) may be to install a product approved automatic water heater shut off
device and a safe waste pan without the related drain piping."
( mass.gov/ocabr/licensee/dpl-boards/pl/board-policies/product-policies/water-heater-storage.html )

Stopwaterheaterleaks.com
30

CONDOMEDIA

800-807-9827

info@towle-whitney.com
Condo Media - July 2017

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Condo Media - July 2017
