Braintree council adopts 175% commercial tax classification, approves small-business exemption

The Town of Braintree council voted unanimously on Dec. 2 to adopt the mayor’s recommendation to set a 175% commercial, industrial and personal-property classification for fiscal 2026 and to approve a small-business commercial exemption for qualifying firms.

“We’re projecting that number to be closer to a 127,800,000.0,” said Mike Heswin, identified in the transcript as director of municipal finance, as he outlined the town’s projected tax levy and valuation. Heswin said total taxable property in Braintree for fiscal 2026 is about $10,488,000,000 and that applying the long-standing 1.75 residential shift would produce roughly $1,545 in annual savings for the average single-family household.

Councilors said the recommendation was the product of multiple reviews by the board of assessors, the finance office and the council’s Ways and Means committee. Councilor Bridal, chair of Ways and Means, said the committee met with assessors and provided a unanimous favorable recommendation to the full council. Councilor Moore and others emphasized that the shift depends on accurate valuations certified to the Department of Revenue.

The small-business exemption, also adopted, was described in the mayor’s filing as applying to qualifying businesses with valuations below $1,000,000 and (transcript) fewer than 10 employees; Heswin’s presentation estimated that roughly 86 businesses would benefit, producing about $116,000 in tax savings while increasing the commercial rate by about six cents.

On four related motions — the classification shift, the small-business exemption, declining the open-space discount and declining the residential exemption for FY2026 — the council voted by voice vote; President Ryan declared each motion passed unanimously.

Next steps: the tax rates and exemptions will be reflected in the fiscal 2026 tax-rate-setting process now that the council approved the classification and the specified exemptions.