The Gloucester City Budget & Finance Committee voted to recommend that the City Council adopt a residential classification factor of 0.9973 for fiscal year 2026, a factor the committee recorded as equating to a commercial/industrial/personal property (CIP) shift of 1.03.

Principal Assessor Nancy Pappas, during a presentation to the committee, said the Department of Revenue certified the city’s FY2026 assessed values on Nov. 5, enabling the tax-classification process. "The residential class makes up 91.65%" of taxable value, Pappas said, and she laid out class-level market adjustments and illustrative dollar impacts for property owners.

The administration recommended keeping the existing allocation. Catherine Schlich, deputy chief administrative officer, told the committee the administration was recommending "we maintain the same rate... No shift." Chair Scott Memhard said the committee would aim to forward a recommendation to the full Council next week so the city can move forward with setting tax rates.

Pappas showed specific market adjustments: single-family properties saw an approximate 7% adjustment, two- to three-family properties about 12%, apartments just under 5%, condominiums about 8.5%, commercial about 7%, and industrial roughly 10.5%. She used examples to show the distributional effect under differing shift factors: at a factor of 1.03, a residential property in the $750,000 column would save an estimated $15 annually while the comparable CIP taxpayer would pay about $217.50 more.

A committee member moved to recommend a residential factor of 0.9973 (CIP shift 1.03); the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote, with the committee reporting "motion passes 2 in favor; 1 absent; 0 opposed." No roll-call vote with individual member votes was recorded in the meeting transcript.

Members remarked on the shrinking commercial/industrial share of the tax base — recorded at 8.35% this year compared with about 11% in 2013 — and said that trend increases the relative burden on residential taxpayers. Staff noted there are no parcels classified as open space and that neither the residential exemption nor the small commercial exemption were available this year.

The committee’s action is a recommendation to the full City Council; the Council will set the final tax rates. The meeting also included financial updates on encumbrances and a near-term contract settlement with the city’s trash hauler that staff said will be credited against future invoices and help offset recent overdrafts. The committee adjourned after completing its agenda.