Committee closes order on motor vehicle excise billing; administration cites state law and registry process

The Somerville Finance Committee on May 6 marked as "work completed" an order asking the chief assessor and the city treasurer to address residents who received demand fees after not receiving initial motor vehicle excise tax bills.

Treasurer and Collector Linda Dubuque provided a staff memo (attached in the meeting packet) and a related Secretary of the Commonwealth manual on motor vehicle excise. Legislative liaison Yasmin Udassy told the committee the administration—s position is that Massachusetts General Laws and the Registry of Motor Vehicles processes govern mailing of the initial excise bills; the city does not control initial mailings.

The memo explains that excise bills are generated and mailed through the state system and that residents may also view bills on a third-party site; staff recommended that residents who have not received a bill by early March check the vendor site or contact the collector to avoid demand fees. Councilors expressed frustration at the lack of a state-level online notification system and discussed options for local advocacy to seek improvements.

Committee members agreed the council could consider a resolution urging state action; Councilor Wilson suggested staff and the council may pursue state-level remedies. The committee considered the item closed with staff—s memo on file.

The committee did not change policy or adopt a city-level remedy during the meeting; staff said the legal framework is set by state law and the registry—s processes.