Woburn council adopts FY2025 residential factor, shifting tax burden

The Woburn City Council voted on Dec. 3, 2024 to adopt a residential factor of 0.732048 for fiscal year 2025, a roll-call decision that determines how the city’s property tax levy is divided across residential, commercial, industrial and personal-property classes. The vote followed a presentation from Chief Appraiser John Connolly and comments from Mayor Concannon.

Connolly told the council the valuation roll for fiscal 2025 had been finalized after a reappraisal and certification by the Massachusetts Department of Revenue. He said the city’s total assessed valuation for the year is in the tens of billions and noted substantial new personal-property growth, driven in part by large accounts such as Amazon and Eversource. Connolly explained that choosing a residential factor other than 1 shifts a portion of the levy onto nonresidential taxpayers; under the maximum allowable shift of 1.75 he illustrated example rates of roughly $8.54 per $1,000 for residential property and $20.40 for commercial, industrial and personal property.

Mayor Concannon framed the hearing as the second part of the city’s budget process and thanked Connolly and the finance team for their work. Connolly and the mayor also outlined programs available to seniors and veterans, including locally enhanced exemptions and state-administered credits, and urged residents who think they qualify to consult the assessing office before filing paperwork.

Councilors pressed Connolly on the composition of new growth, whether free cash had been used to soften impacts (it had not), and the limits imposed by state law on classification choices. Several councilors warned about housing affordability as assessed values rise and discussed legislative options for additional local tools, but the motion to adopt a residential factor of 0.732048 passed on a roll call with recorded ayes from Council Campbell, Council DeMearns, Council D'Amico, Council Ferullo, Council Mercedroen/Bruin, Council Popolato, Council Toro, Council Viola and President Dillon.

Next steps: adoption of the residential factor will be followed by finalization of the city’s recap sheet and state review; Connolly noted final rates may vary by a penny or two once the state’s final roll is computed.