The Massachusetts Senate on Thursday rebuffed yet another bid to pass a property tax plan favored by Boston City Hall, while adopting a measure that would provide all cities and towns a new tool to help offset major spikes in property tax bills.
Mayor Michelle Wu and the city council have been seeking to temporarily shift more of the city’s property tax burden on to commercial owners, which Wu says would shield homeowners from dramatic bill increases. The city cannot make the change on its own without Beacon Hill signing off.
Despite the backing from local officials, the idea has run into resistance with the state Senate. Two senators representing Boston, Sen. Will Brownsberger and Sen. Nick Collins, have opposed Wu’s approach and put forward alternative legislation.
The Senate voted 37-1, with Quincy Sen. John Keenan as the lone opposition vote, to pass a Brownsberger bill addressing what he calls “tax shocks” — years when a community’s residential property tax levy rises by more than 10%.
In those instances, cities and towns that choose to do so would be able to offer a tax credit to qualifying households, including homeowners older than 65, families with young children, and residents of high-needs neighborhoods as designated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Brownsberger said the bill “smooths out” spikes in the second half of a tax year, when third- and fourth-quarter bills land much larger than the first two tax bills that are calculated based on estimates.
“So the taxpayers on limited income, whether they’re working or whether they are retired, do not experience that sudden jump in tax bills,” he said.
Three other Boston senators — Sens. Michael Rush of West Roxbury, Liz Miranda of Roxbury and Lydia Edwards of East Boston — unsuccessfully tried to amend the bill by adding on language implementing Wu’s tax-shift plan.
Rush said he represents “the highest density of senior citizens of any senator in Boston,” and those constituents have told him how tax increases strain their monthly budgets.
“The tension between rising residential property values and falling commercial values, along with other macroeconomic trends causing upward pressure on municipal budgets across the state, has caused Boston residents to face startling increases in their tax bills for the past two years,” Rush said.
The Senate’s Boston delegation was split in its vote on the amendment. Everett Sen. Sal DiDomenico, who represents Charlestown, joined Rush, Miranda and Edwards in voting for the proposal. Sen. Patricia Jehlen of Somerville was the only senator who voted in support and does not represent a piece of Boston.
Collins, of South Boston, and Brownsberger, who represents Allston, Brighton and most of the Fenway neighborhood, were among the 33 senators who voted in opposition.
A city of Boston spokesperson did not indicate what’s next for the tax-shift proposal but, in a statement, thanked Rush and the senators who supported his amendment.
“In addition to having overwhelming support from the people of Boston, the City’s residential tax relief legislation has had support from 12 of 13 Boston City Councilors, all 16 Boston state representatives, and now four of Boston’s six State Senators,” the statement said.
