WORCESTER—The Worcester City Council voted to lower tax rates for residents and businesses on Tuesday night.
The council approved a tax rate of $13.16 per $1,000 assessed valuation for residential properties, a 4.3% decrease from the 2024 residential rate of $13.75.
Meanwhile, the council approved a tax rate of $28.74 per $1,000 assessed valuation for commercial properties, a 4.33% decrease from the 2024 rate of $30.04.
“This council body last year approved the million dollars of tax savings to the residents as part of new growth,” City Manager Eric Batista said. “This year’s free cash new growth allocations that we’re submitting to council tonight to make a decision is $2.2 million.”
Despite the lower rates, property owners will still see increases in their fiscal year 2025 tax bills, with single-family homes facing a nearly 3% rise and triple-deckers experiencing almost 7% higher bills.
That’s because the total assessed value of most properties has increased.
Councilor George Russell expressed concern about these increases, saying, “If you look at those three-family homes and we talk about the housing crisis we have now and if we look at increases every year because of the assessed values, then we have no choice other than to vote for this lowest possible rate.”
Still, according to City Assessor Samuel Konieczny, Worcester’s FY24 average single-family tax bill of $5,103 was one of the lowest in Massachusetts – ranking 251st statewide.
Meanwhile, commercial and industrial properties, comprising 37% of the city’s tax levy, face the seventh-highest tax rate.
Councilor Khrystian King noted the interconnected nature of business and residential interests.
“Every year when we come to this challenge of setting the tax rate,” King said, “we get into this discussion of business entities versus people. One of the struggles of our small businesses is having a local workforce.”
He also inquired about additional burdens on small businesses, leading to a discussion of various taxes including meals, use, and equipment taxes.
Councilor Jenny Pacillo highlighted the impact on families, such as hers.
“Low taxes are essential for our families,” she said. “My partner and I own a single-family home in Burncoat and between groceries, car insurance, having kids and other bills, it’s not easy.”
The council’s decisions come amid significant changes in Worcester’s municipal workforce. In 2023, the city employed 8,017 workers earning over $523 million collectively — a 9.3% increase from 2022’s $487 million payroll. While the fire department saw a slight decrease in gross pay, the police department’s payroll increased by $2 million.
The newly approved tax classification set forth by the city manager also included adjustments to finalize the FY25 City Budget. This included a net increase of $61,501 for Worcester Public Schools and $239,684 for the Fire Stabilization Fund, supporting the proposed South Division Fire Station construction.
In the public comment part of the meeting, real estate developer Robert Branca emphasized the complexity of setting the tax rate, saying, “This is a tough vote, and I know it’s thankless. There’s no way anybody is going to be happy. But I do urge you to reconsider the path the city was on, narrowing the difference between the rates.”
Redfin employee John Snyder suggested looking at successful neighboring communities.
“A lot of the towns that we should want to be like don’t have $30 commercial tax rates. We have so much going on, but how much are we keeping out with this restrictive tax rate?” he asked.
Worcester resident Serenity Jones raised concerns about corporate tax breaks.
“I feel like we give a lot away with the TIFs, and Worcester really holds value now,” Jones said. “It would be nice to have some of these bigger companies not get everything handed to them and have them pay their fair share.”
Matt Olszewski is a freelance content and news writer based in Boston, MA. In his free time, Matt enjoys running, hiking or skiing. Matt just graduated with his MPH from Tufts University. He can be reached at mattoskier@gmail.com
