Boston City Council Advances Home Rule Petition to Limit Residential Tax Spike to 9 Percent

BOSTON — October 30, 2024 — Boston City Council advances home rule petition aimed at capping residential property tax increases at 9 percent. The council voted Wednesday to send Docket 1612, a home rule petition sponsored by Mayor Michelle Wu, to the state Legislature, where approval is required before Boston can temporarily shift more of its property tax burden from residential to commercial properties — a move the administration says would hold the average homeowner's increase to roughly 9 percent rather than the projected 28 percent spike. Councilor Gabriela Coletta Zapata, chair of the Committee on Government Operations, recommended passage after three committee hearings, a working session, and a prior version of the petition that cleared the council in June. The revised petition covers a three-year window beginning in fiscal year 2025 and caps the commercial-to-residential tax ratio at 181.5 percent in year one, stepping down to 178 percent by year three before reverting to the statutory 175 percent ceiling. The proposal also raises the personal property tax exemption for businesses from $10,000 to $30,000 and authorizes up to $15 million annually in direct relief for small businesses with fewer than 50 employees and less than $5 million in revenue. Councilor Edward M. Flynn argued the council had rushed the process and should have paired the shift with spending cuts, while Councilor Brian Worrell, chair of Ways and Means, noted that every Boston mayor since 1980 has taken the full 2.5 percent annual levy increase and that the city's structural reliance on property taxes has not changed in more than two decades.