Watertown council shifts maximum tax burden to commercial property and raises residential exemption to 35% for FY2025

The Watertown City Council on Dec. 10 voted to shift the maximum amount allowed under the town's Home Rule authorization—roughly 174.5%—of the property‑tax burden onto the commercial, industrial and personal property class and to adopt a 35% residential exemption for fiscal year 2025.

Chief Assessor Earl Smith, presenting the classification hearing, told the council that the certified levy limit for FY2025 is about $168,000,000 and that property values had risen substantially, with residential value up an estimated $600 million and commercial value up roughly $200 million. Smith said the combination of new growth and the recommended shift would lower the effective burden on domiciled homeowners while moving a larger share onto the commercial class. "Welcome to the fiscal year 2025 classification hearing," he said during the presentation, summarizing the technical basis for the recommendations.

The assessor's presentation showed projected rate scenarios tied to different residential‑exemption percentages: at a 35% exemption the assessor projected a tax rate shown on staff slides of about 11.83 and described an effective year‑over‑year change of roughly 5.9% for the average residential bill compared with the most recent base year; staff noted the figure is subject to Department of Revenue certification. Smith also explained that Watertown benefited this year from unusually large personal‑property new growth (including accounts tied to Arsenal Yards labs and other commercial assessments) that materially affected the levy calculations.

Public commenters and emailed remarks urged caution. An email read into the record from former District 8 Councilor Angie Cornelis warned against a "tax and spend mentality" and urged the council to scrutinize fiscal choices. Resident Linda Scott told the council she had compared similar streets and found widely varying assessment changes, saying she was "concerned" that some neighbors faced increases far above the cited city average. Another resident, Elodia Thomas, thanked the assessor for responsiveness and urged the city to publicize relief programs for seniors facing higher bills.

Councilors discussed procedural and policy tradeoffs: several members asked whether the council was setting the tax rate (it does not) and whether the city always takes the full 2.5% plus new growth when setting its levy (staff and the city manager said Watertown historically has taxed to the levy limit). The manager explained that the rate itself is calculated when the Department of Revenue certifies values and the levy but that classification measures and the residential exemption materially affect how the levy is distributed across classes.

Councilor Piccirilli moved the two related motions—first to adopt the maximum allowed shift to the commercial class, and second to adopt the provisions of Chapter 59 §5C to approve a residential exemption and raise it to 35%—and the council approved both motions by voice vote. The manager and assessor reminded residents that property owners retain the right to seek abatement after bills are issued: the assessor noted that abatement requests may be filed through the statutory deadline (the assessor said filing is open until Feb. 3). The council recorded no further changes to classification at the meeting; the Department of Revenue will finalize the tax rate once it certifies values.

What happens next: the new classification and exemption will be reflected when the Department of Revenue certifies Watertown's tax rate; taxpayers who believe an assessment is incorrect can file for abatement by the February deadline specified by the assessor's office.

Provenance: topicintro: "SEG 194" (City Manager introducing the presentation and asking Assessor Earl Smith to present); topfinish: "SEG 1395" (closing of the vote and assessor's thank you).