Keep moving Worcester toward single rate tax
The Worcester City Council on Tuesday will make its third attempt to set the fiscal 2016 tax rates, after failing to come to an agreement twice on the controversial issue.
As the council members discuss the new property tax rates -- particularly the dual-tax rate that establishes how much more businesses pay than residents -- they need to keep in mind their long-term goals for the city. Too often, these public policy decisions only look to the immediate problems and pressures of the day. But a series of small, short-term decisions can add up to create big long term message, which is how cities like Worcester can have a hard time shaking its reputation for not being unfriendly to business.
Under the dual-tax system that was first adopted in 1984, Worcester commercial and industrial property owners today pay $31.73 per $1,000 valuation, which is the third highest in Central Massachusetts. Residential property owners currently pay $20.07 per $1,000 valuation. This disparity puts the city at a disadvantage to its surrounding suburbs in attracting and retaining businesses, as only 15 of the other 84 communities in Central Mass also have dual-tax systems.
Over the long term, we believe in the strategy that advocates Worcester returning to a single-tax rate system, where everyone pays the same rate.
That will go a long way to ensuring the businesses that make up the lifeblood of the city will stay and grow in Worcester. But you can't get there all at once, as the gap should be closed gradually over several years. Changing too quickly would overburden city residents, particularly those on fixed income.
What the City Council needs to do on Tuesday is keep moving toward a single-tax system by narrowing the gap between the two rates, as it has since fiscal 2012 when the disparity was nearly at the legal limit allowed by Massachusetts. Right now, all of the proposals currently on the table increase the gap, even the business-friendliest one put forth by Mayor Joe Petty.
For the City Council to reverse the course over the past four years is a troubling development, and we hope that cooler heads prevail and that any increase for commercial property owners is minimized.
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