On the message and order, referred on November 17, 2021 Docket #1182, relative to the adoption of classification in the City of Boston in Fiscal Year 2022, the committee submitted a report recommending the order ought to pass.
Reading. Wonderful. Thank you so much. Dock at 1166 has received its first reading and will be assigned for further action. We'll move on to docket 1182. Madam Clerk. Thank you. Docket 1182 order. Relative to the adoption of classifications in the City of Boston Fiscal Year 2022. Thank you so much. The Chair recognizes Councilor Bach, Chair of Ways and Means. Councilor, you have the floor. Thank you so much, Madam President. We also heard this docket in the same hearing yesterday. And so I want to again thank my vice chair, councilors Harvey George, Councilors Flynn, Flaherty and Braden for joining this short docket description. And it seems sort of arcane, but it is probably one of the most important and impactful things that we do each year on the Council for many of our constituents. Because what this order does is adopt classification in the city of Boston, which means that we set a different tax rate for residential property as opposed to commercial property. And I'll use round numbers here for people's reference. Our tax rate for residential property last year was a little bit north of $10 and for commercial property was a little bit north of $24. If we did not adopt this order today and we did not adopt classification in the city of Boston, that would be one uniform tax rate across the city of $14, which for the residential taxpayer would be a one third increase in their property taxes. So I just want to emphasize that this is quite a significant thing that we, the city of Boston, has historically done each year. But it takes an act of the council to shift the tax burden off of our residential payers and onto the commercial property tax base. And it's actually the ability to even do this is something that the residents of Boston fought for decades ago, a law, and then subsequently they also fought for the residential exemption, which also exempts a certain amount of residential value from the tax levy. So I think it's a it's a very important order. We discussed at the hearing the fact that because residential property values have risen at a much faster rate in recent decades than commercial property values, a dynamic which is exacerbated given the uncertainty about the future of the commercial market under COVID. And even though we make this change, we still see a slightly higher increase in the residential tax rate than the commercial one like each year, because the overall value is increasing faster and there's only so much the state allows us to shift. But in adopting this order today, the city of Boston will be adopting the maximum shift of 35% over to help provide relief for our residential tax payers. And so although I know that at each of the hearings we have on this, the City Council discusses the fact that, you know, we still feel as though there are taxpayers , especially elders on fixed incomes who are house rich and cash poor, who need more relief. And that, you know, these are programs we may want to pursue further relief for at the state right now. This is the biggest thing that we can do, um, for those residential tax payers. And I would like to recommend, Madam Chair, that today this order ought to pass. Thank you so much, Councilor Bach. Request acceptance of the Committee Report and passage of Docket 1182. All those in favor please indicate by saying I any oppose say nay. Madam Clerk, could you please call the rule? Certainly. Docket 118 to counsel. Arroyo. Yes. Counselor Arroyo. Yes. Counselor Baker. Counselor Baker. Counselor. Bar. Counselor Barca. Counselor Brady. Counselor Braedon. Counselor Campbell. Counselor Campbell. Yes. Counselor Edwards. Counselor Edwards. Yes. Counselor Sabby George. Counselor Savvy George is counsel clarity. Counsel Clarity as counselor Flynn. Counselor Flynn? Yes. Counselor Jane. Yes. Thank you. Looking the wrong way. Yes. Counselor. Me here. Counselor here. As counselor Murphy. Counselor Murphy? Yes. Encounter O'Malley? Yes. Counselor O'Malley? Yes, Madam President. 1182. Wonderful. Thank you so much. Docket 1182 has passed. We will now move on to docket 1079. Madam Clerk.