There are several primary content types in use on this site. This is brief explanation of their purpose, how to create them and how to find/use them.

Blog?

Short for Web log, a blog is a Web page that serves as a publicly accessible personal journal for an individual. Blog entries should be used for sharing your point of view about a particular subject. If you just want to point something out to your group, like an upcoming meeting that's already on the calendar, use a talk page associated with the appropriate group(s). To begin your blog, click on the Create content link under your login name, located on the left navigation panel under My Groups. Click on Blog entry?, create a title and write your entry. If you are like me and depend on spell check, you can write your entry in Word and copy and paste it into the blog entry field. Once your entry is complete, hit submit.

Book page

Same as a Wiki?. A collaborative document which is organized around a specific topic. Here on the TAC? site, we are creating our content and archival information using Book Pages.

Talk page

A forum for threaded discussion of a short lived topic. Can be about a Book Page.

Event

Group

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Free Content Tags are a type of key word or category? that can be assigned to entries for the purpose of reading them as a collection. The writer has a choice of entering a tag when creating an entry?.

A Tag Cloud is a graphic display of the site tags with those more frequently used appearing in a larger font. You can use the Tag Cloud to click on a tag and drill down to a list of entries related to that tag. The Tag Cloud appears on the right margin in many screens.

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When you create a post (or edit an existing one), the first field is Title. The second field is Free Content Tags. Just type the tags you want into that field.

As you type, you'll notice a revolving circle at the end of the field. That indicates that the system is trying to lookup/find the tag as you type it. Sometimes, that lookup takes a few seconds, so be patient. If the field provides any listings as a dropdown below the field, you can click on one or more of them to select them. If the system doesn't provide any matches, then you're probably typing in a new content tag. Go right ahead.

After you save the post, you'll be able to find it not only by its specific URL, but also listed under all posts for that tag. For instance, you can find all posts with the tag "School Portal" at http://npstac.org/free-content-tags/school-portal.

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There are several different options.

1. Copy/Paste using PureText 

PureText
is a free little utility that allows you to copy and paste items from
rich text editors (Word, Outlook, Browsers, etc) and strip all the
garbage code off of it.

“PureText only removes rich formatting from text. This includes the
font face, font style (bold, italics, etc.), font color, paragraph
styles (left/right/center aligned), margins, character spacing,
bullets, subscript, superscript, tables, charts, pictures, embedded
objects, etc. However, it does not modify the actual text. It will not
remove or fix new-lines, carriage returns, tabs, or other white-space.
It will not fix word-wrap or clean up your paragraphs. If you copy the
source code of a web page to the clipboard, it is not going to remove
all the HTML tags. If you copy text from an actual web page (not the
source of the page), it will remove the formatting.

PureText is basically equivalent to opening Notepad, doing a PASTE,
followed by a SELECT-ALL, and then a COPY. The benefit of PureText is
performing all these actions with a single Hot-Key and having the
result pasted into the current window automatically.”

2. Use MS Word Filtered HTML

Description TBD

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Free Content Tags are a type of key word or category? that can be assigned to entries for the purpose of reading them as a collection. The writer has a choice of entering a tag when creating an entry?.

A Tag Cloud is a graphic display of the site tags with those more frequently used appearing in a larger font. You can use the Tag Cloud to click on a tag and drill down to a list of entries related to that tag. The Tag Cloud appears on the right margin in many screens.

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Once you join the site and have been approved, you can log in and edit various options. On the top right hand screen is a set of menu choices, click on My account. Once in your account screen, click on the Edit tab. There you can make various changes including the option to turn off Email notifications if desired.

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When you go to the opening page of the site, enter in a user name or email and a password and click on Create New Account. You will come to a My Account screen where you are required to enter a Username, enter your email address, your real name, and your Relationship to Newton Public Schools. You have the option of subscribing to selected groups to help focus your area of interest. You also have the option of entering some personal information to help other members get to know you. The last step is to click create new account. You will then receive an email notification where you much click on the links provided to verify that your email address works. Once your registration has been approved, you will be set to join the conversations and collaborations on our site.

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One of the most important things to remember about Proposition 2 ½ is that this law applies to each municipality as a whole, not to individual properties or tax bills.  Many people assume that their property taxes will increase only 2 ½% each year, but this is not necessarily true.  The 2 ½% increase applies to a city or town in its entirety.  How that increase is divided up among property owners is dependent on property assessments, the tax split between commercial and residential properties, etc.  This is one of the keys to understanding the role of Prop 2 ½ in our community.

Prop 2 ½ refers specifically to increases in the levy limit.  However, the percentage difference between this year’s levy and last year’s levy could be greater.  Assume a community’s current levy is $1 million, its levy limit, in year 1.  The 2.5% allowable increase is $25,000.  Certified new growth is also added to the total—say, for example, $15,000.  This brings the total level limit amount $1,040,000, or a 4% increase for the year.   

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Prop 2 ½ governs the amount of property taxes a community can charge, or “levy,” in a given year.  That amount, called the levy limit, cannot grow by more than 2.5% over the previous year plus the value of “new growth” (new buildings or additions).  Overrides, part of the original Prop 2 ½ legislation, allow for municipal governments to raise the levy limit by more than 2.5% with voter approval.  

There are two primary types of overrides:

• An operating override permanently increases the tax base.  This must be approved by voters, who vote on a specific amount.
• A debt exclusion temporarily increases the levy limit to pay for the cost of borrowing for a defined capital project.  The length of time that the increase is in place depends on whether the community is opting for 10, 20, or 30 year bonds.  The funds must approved by the voters and be used for debt service costs for the term of the bonds.  When the debt is paid, the levy limit reverts back to its original amount.  

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Proposition (or Prop) 2 ½ is a law that was approved by Massachusetts voters in 1980 that limits the annual increase in property taxes a city or town can levy. The law capped the growth in property taxes, while allowing communities to exceed the limit only with voter approval. Across Massachusetts in the years when state aid to cities and towns grew and when state money specifically allocated for public schools was increased, many communities were able to stay within the Proposition 2 ½ limit. In the years when state aid was cut and the cost of municipal services went up, many cities and towns in Massachusetts suffered from budget cuts or chose to vote to exceed the limit (called an override).

Property tax revenues pay for schools, parks, public safety, and other local spending. Property taxes traditionally make up 80% of Newton’s revenue each year, with the other 20% a combination of other local revenues, state & federal aid and other funds.

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