Jay Ash warns Chelsea's "new growth" revenue has fallen and urges pursuing development over tax overrides

Jay Ash told a Chelsea Cable TV audience that "new growth" ' the portion of property-tax revenue outside Massachusetts's Proposition 2—2 cap ' is essential to funding non-school municipal services and keeping property tax increases limited. "New growth is like overtime," Ash said, describing it as additional revenue the city can use without asking voters for an override.

Ash presented fiscal context: municipal spending pressures have outpaced the Proposition 2—2 cap and state aid. He said municipal inflation has averaged around 4% annually since 2020 while Proposition 2—2 caps property-tax growth at 2.5% a year, and he said Chelsea's UGGA (Unrestricted General Government Aid) has not kept pace.

Ash gave Chelsea-specific figures: he said new growth was about $3,900,000 in FY22 and had fallen to approximately $1,000,000 in FY26. "Four years ago you were working five overtime shifts a month, and now you're only working one," he said, urging city leaders to treat the decline as a "wake up call." He said the options if new growth does not recover are limited: ask voters for a Proposition 2—2 override (Chelsea has never successfully passed one since receivership), cut services, or intensify efforts to attract development.

To bolster new growth without raising the property-tax levy, Ash recommended expediting permitting, offering modest tax relief when appropriate, hosting developer tours, partnering with Massport and other regional actors, and focusing on housing and hotels that generate tax revenue while placing limited demands on schools.

The interview did not record any formal votes or policy changes; Ash framed his remarks as advice and a diagnosis of the fiscal outlook.