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Select Board approves $10 demand fee and $50 rush MLC; standard MLC remains $25
Summary
After a public hearing, the Board voted 5-0 to raise demand fees from $5 to $10 and to set a $50 rush Municipal Lien Certificate (MLC) fee for 24-hour requests while keeping the standard MLC fee at $25, effective May 18, 2026.
Treasurer/Collector Maura O'Connor and Chief Financial Officer Rachel DeRoche presented a public hearing on proposed increases to Municipal Lien Certificate (MLC) and demand fees, citing peer comparisons and the staff time needed to prepare lien certificates.
O'Connor told the Board that Wellesley issues about 557–587 MLCs annually and that many peer communities charge $50 (some $60–$75). She estimated raising the MLC fee to $50 across the board would generate approximately $14,675 annually but emphasized the primary rationale was recognition of staff effort rather than revenue. DeRoche provided demand-bill counts for FY2025—approximately 700 real estate, 140 personal property, and 3,529 excise demand bills—and said increasing the demand fee from $5 to $15 would generate about $35,000 annually.
Board members questioned whether the MLC increase functioned as a closing tax when Town reserves were healthy and whether technology (including AI) could reduce staff time. After discussion, the Board reached consensus to keep the standard MLC fee at $25, create a $50 rush fee for requests requiring issuance within 24 hours, and raise the demand fee from $5 to $10. The Board closed the public hearing and voted 5-0 to approve the changes, effective May 18, 2026.
The vote was framed as balancing staff workload recognition with minimizing added costs to routine real-estate closings; Treasurer O'Connor noted that rush requests occur when attorneys order certificates late in the closing process.
