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Melrose mayor urges committee to approve means‑tested senior property tax exemption
Summary
Melrose Mayor Jennifer Gregoraitis told the Joint Committee on Revenue that House 3979 would let the city reestablish a means‑tested property tax exemption tied to the state senior circuit breaker credit; she said roughly 209 senior households have used the local exemption since FY2023.
Melrose Mayor Jennifer Gregoraitis told the Joint Committee on Revenue on the subject of House 3979 that the bill would authorize the city to reestablish a means‑tested property tax exemption for qualifying senior residents.
The measure would tie eligibility to receipt of the Massachusetts senior “circuit breaker” income tax credit, Gregoraitis said, and would codify a local program the Melrose City Council first adopted by home rule petition in March 2021 and implemented beginning in fiscal year 2023. "This legislation would reestablish a means test property tax exemption for qualifying senior residents of Melrose based on receipt of the Massachusetts senior circuit breaker tax credit on their personal income tax return," Gregoraitis said in oral testimony.
The program has provided relief to 209 senior households in Melrose, a city of about 30,000 residents, the mayor said; she added she did not have exact savings figures on hand but estimated relief is "to the tune of between several hundred and a thousand dollars per household." The Melrose City Council voted unanimously on Feb. 18 to approve the home rule petition, and Representative Kate Lipper‑Garabedian filed the bill in the House, Gregoraitis said.
Committee members asked for additional detail on participation and fiscal impact; Gregoraitis said the city would provide more precise savings figures on follow‑up. The hearing record shows this testimony was presented as part of a multi‑bill hearing on voluntary contributions, sales tax, property tax and economic development measures before the committee.
If the committee reports the bill favorably, further legislative steps would be required before the change could take effect; no formal committee vote was taken during the hearing. The public was invited to submit written testimony to the committee through Monday, July 7, 2025, per the chairs' instructions.
