Ware Select Board Quadruples Housing PILOT Payment, Answers Open Meeting Complaint

Select Board · Meeting of May 20, 2026

Ware Select Board approves new PILOT deal that more than quadruples payments from senior housing complex. Meeting Tuesday, May 5, the board unanimously approved a new payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement with the nonprofit owner of a 29-unit affordable housing complex on Church Street, raising the annual payment from roughly $7,000 to $29,000 in the first year — $1,000 per unit — escalating at 2.5 percent annually to $36,217 by fiscal year 2036; a consultant to the Board of Assessors noted that "a lot of communities exempt these types of properties outright." The board also voted 4-0 to authorize Town Counsel to submit a response to an Open Meeting Law complaint filed April 26 by resident Cynthia Allen, which alleged 18 of the town's 21 committees lack properly posted minutes or agendas; Town Counsel argued the complaint misstates the law, is largely untimely, and names parties — the Town Manager and Town Clerk — not subject to Open Meeting Law. The Town Manager reported the Treasurer's Office had secured $5,000,000 in short-term borrowing notes at approximately 4 percent interest, with formal acceptance expected at the May 19 or June 2 meeting ahead of the June 8 Annual Town Meeting.

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Source: the Select Board meeting of May 20, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.