Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Tax Classification topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Brockton council keeps residential tax shift at 1.75 after rejecting 1.73 proposal
Summary
After a two-hour hearing on property valuations, the Brockton City Council voted to retain the residential tax shift factor at 1.75 for FY2026. A motion by Councilor Thompson to set the factor at 1.73 failed 10–1; the council later accepted the tax class order by roll call.
The Brockton City Council on Dec. 8 held its annual tax classification hearing and voted to retain a residential shift factor of 1.75 for fiscal year 2026.
John O'Donnell, chairman of the Board of Assessors, presented the valuation data underlying the hearing, saying the city's total taxable value for FY2026 is “just over $14,000,000,000,” an 8.21% increase from the prior year and the highest total taxable value in the city's history. O'Donnell explained the council's choice determines whether Brockton uses a single tax rate or a split rate that distributes the levy differently across residential, commercial, industrial and personal property classes. "This decision is what creates 2 tax rates or a split rate in the City Of Brockton," he said.
Councilor Thompson moved to set the residential factor at 1.73, arguing it would provide relief for businesses while raising residents' bills modestly. He said the change would amount to about "a $19 increase, for single family homes," while producing larger reductions for commercial taxpayers. The motion to adopt 1.73 failed on a roll call vote, 10 in opposition and 1 in favor (Thompson).
Councilor Farwell and other councilors urged caution and emphasized affordability for homeowners. Farwell said the council must consider residents who live paycheck to paycheck and stated a preference for retaining the existing factor to avoid adding pressure on households.
After the failed 1.73 motion, Councilor Falwell moved to retain the 1.75 factor. The council approved that motion by roll call (10 in the affirmative, 1 in opposition). The accepted tax class order reported the distribution as residential 75.2323%, commercial 15.7115%, industrial 3.4416% and personal property 5.6147% of the levy.
The council's decision preserves the split-rate approach Brockton has used in recent years to shift a portion of the tax burden toward commercial and industrial taxpayers. The assessor and CFO told the council the single-rate alternative would have produced a citywide base rate of $13.28, while the chosen classification determines specific bill impacts by property class.
Next steps: the council's tax class order has been accepted and will be used in calculating FY2026 bills; no further action on the classification was scheduled at this meeting.
