significant meeting tonight re Boston Property taxes

[Kevin M. Carragee]

To All:

I encourage Allston-Brighton residents to attend a significant meeting tonight, hosted by Senator Brownsberger, on a potential 13 percent increase in property taxes at 6:30PM at the Presentation Foundation School Community Center, 640 Washington Street, Brighton (Allston-Brighton Room).

Mayor Wu has filed legislation at the State House that would reduce that increase. For context on this issue, please read the Boston Globe news story below. Senator Brownsberger opposes this legislation.

We should discuss this significant issue in a civil manner and this meeting provides residents an opportunity to provide feedback to Senator Brownsberger on this issue.

Cordially,

Kevin M. Carragee

Co-President Hobart Park Neighborhood Association

PS Parking is available at the PSF Community Center and residents can use the 57 and 64 buses to reach the center. Blue bike stations are located in Oak Square

Property taxes on Boston single-family homes set to spike 13 percent in second fiscal year of double-digit increase (Niki Griswold, Boston Globe: December 3, 2025)

Boston property taxes set to spike for single-family homes

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said that property taxes for the average single-family home in the city are poised to jump 13 percent, marking what would be the second double-digit increase in as many fiscal years for homeowners.

The projected year-over-year spike, which would hit residents soon after the new year, is a steeper increase than last fiscal year, when residential tax bills went up by an average of 10.4 percent for single-family homeowners.

Wu is also signaling leaner times may be coming for City Hall. She is asking all city department heads to prepare budget proposals for the next fiscal year that are 2 percent below their current budgets, and is directing City Hall staff to delay hiring, effective immediately, according to a letter she is filing with the City Council.

The prospect of another residential tax increase comes amid a nearly two-year battle Wu has fought with the state Legislature over a bill she said would ease the financial pain for residential property owners by temporarily shifting more of the city’s property tax burden onto commercial real estate. That measure has been stalled on Beacon Hill for months after failing to pass last year amid a public dispute, namely with Democrats in the state Senate.

In a briefing with reporters Tuesday, Wu urged state lawmakers to take action on the legislation she refiled.

“Housing is the single biggest cost for our residents who are struggling with the cost of living in Boston. It’s also the single biggest liability for our competitiveness across our economy in Massachusetts,” Wu said Tuesday. “This is something we can fix, and that we can take action to address.”

In Boston, nearly three-quarters of the city’s operating budget is funded by property taxes. But due to a COVID-19 pandemic-driven shift to remote work, commercial property values in Boston have declined, while residential property values have increased. That means the city has had to collect more in property taxes from homeowners to make up for the decrease in commercial property tax revenue without drastically cutting city services.

City officials said that preliminary property valuations indicate that residential property values rose by 2 percent this year — smaller than the 3 percent increase last year — while commercial property values decreased by 6 percent. That is a bigger drop than the 5 percent decrease last year.

As a result, the average single-family home will face a $780 year-over-year increase in its property tax bills, officials said. Meanwhile, the average high-end office building will see a 4.4 percent, or $210,000, decrease in their property tax bill, Wu said.

That spike in residential property taxes could be particularly painful for homeowners when they receive their third-quarter tax bills next month. The city of Boston’s 2026 fiscal year began July 1, so the 13 percent increase will be concentrated in homeowners’ January and April bills, rather than spread out across four quarterly bills. As a result, residential property owners will see a 26 percent jump from their second-quarter bill to their third-quarter bill, Wu said.

Time is running short: State officials will soon formally certify the city’s property valuations so the City Council can officially set tax rates, with enough time for City Hall employees to print and mail bills by January.

Most cities and towns in Massachusetts are overwhelmingly dependent on property taxes to fund essential city services, due to a state law that limits municipalities’ ability to impose new taxes without the state Legislature’s permission. A state statute, known as Prop 2 1/2, also restricts how much more municipalities can collect in property taxes each year, only allowing that total amount to increase by 2.5 percent each year, with exceptions for new developments or if voters approve a one-time override.

Boston already has a split tax rate in place to minimize the tax burden on residential property owners, taxing commercial properties at 175 percent of the residential rate, the highest allowed by state law.

Wu spent most of last year, and considerable political capital, pushing a bill that would temporarily increase that rate for commercial properties in a bid to keep homeowners’ bills in check.

That home rule petition was approved by the City Council and the state House of Representatives after Wu agreed to various compromises. It then stalled in the state Senate, in part due to fierce opposition from business and real estate groups who argued the measure would hurt small businesses, unfairly burden the already struggling commercial real estate industry, and exacerbate commercial property devaluations.

Last October, Wu filed a new version of the legislation after reaching a deal with the business and real estate leaders who previously opposed Wu’s plan. But it once again hit a dead end in the Senate, after final city numbers showed homeowners were not facing as large a tax spike as city officials initially warned.

Wu refiled the measure on Beacon Hill at the start of the year, where it has languished.

“Our home rule petition for residential property tax relief was passed twice by the Boston City Council, twice by the Massachusetts House of Representatives, and then was blocked by a single state Senator from receiving a vote before the state Senate, which would have been its final vote hurdle that it needed to clear,” Wu said.

She appeared to be referencing South Boston Democrat Nick Collins, who repeatedly blocked the bill from advancing on the Senate floor and accused city officials of using a “campaign of fear and manipulation” to get the bill passed.

Wu said she and her staff have not received any feedback from senators on additional compromises they might want to see in order to agree to move the proposal forward.

In a recent interview with the Globe, Wu said she is “extremely frustrated” that her “common-sense, balanced, compromise proposal” has faced seemingly immoveable hurdles on Beacon Hill.

Wu said she had gone to great lengths to lobby for the tax shift: She said she called every state senator, “met with any senator who would meet with us,” including the chamber’s small GOP caucus. She said she spent “hours negotiating with four business group leaders at the behest of the Senate.”

“We will continue to send whatever information we possibly can send to anyone who is willing to hear it,” Wu said, “but I’m not sure what more I could do.”

Other city officials at Tuesday’s briefing also appealed to state lawmakers to move on Wu’s proposal.

“Whether it’s senior citizens or other city of Boston employees in the basic city services area, they’re struggling week to week to pay their bills,” said Larry Calderone, president of the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association. “I’m kind of lost for words.”

Emma Platoff of the Globe staff contributed to this report.

--