Boston Freezes Property Taxes, Launches 1,000 Housing Vouchers Amid COVID-19 Surge

Uncategorized 2026-07-22 clip6253 · Meeting of July 22, 2026

Boston Mayor Walsh freezes property taxes and launches 1,000 rental vouchers as COVID-19 cases reach 825. At a March 31, 2020 press briefing, Mayor Martin Walsh announced a package of financial relief measures including delayed property tax payments until June, suspended interest charges on late motor vehicle excise bills through June 30, and active negotiations with banks on mortgage deferral without penalties. Walsh unveiled a Boston Housing Authority and Boston Public Schools partnership to issue 1,000 rental vouchers to BPS families — 500 to households in shelters, 500 to those at risk of displacement.

Asked about a City Council proposal to suspend rents citywide, Walsh said the city lacked the legal authority: "The city council doesn't have the power. I don't as the mayor have the power to do that." Chief of Health and Human Services Marty Martinez reported that close to 50 percent of Boston's 825 confirmed cases were in residents under the age of 39, with no major demographic disparity detected by neighborhood as of that date.

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Source: the Uncategorized 2026-07-22 clip6253 meeting of July 22, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.