Real Leadership
No one ever said being a leader was easy.
In fact, if leading were a low-stress endeavor, we’d have a surplus of leaders running around, all raising their hands to take on high-level executive or political posts. But of course we all know that the numbers of candidates for public office continue to dwindle, precisely because taking on the responsibility of leading at a local, state or federal level is hard and thankless work.
The reality is that leadership, whether in the board room or in city hall chambers, takes guts, persistence and integrity.
And we are asking our elected leaders in the City of Worcester to find those qualities of leadership within themselves as the debate over the city’s split tax rate rages on.
Appointments
City Manager Michael O’Brien announced in late May that he would be forming a special taskforce chartered specifically to look at the dual tax rate in the city, which for too long has unfairly burdened commercial property owners with a rate more than twice that for residential property owners. O’Brien reportedly said he hopes to have the taskforce formed by July 29, and we at the Worcester Business Journal eagerly await this group’s appointment.
We urge the city manager to carefully consider the makeup of this taskforce. There will be pressure from both sides to “stack the deck” in favor of one view or another. But cronyism should have no place in the taskforce’s formation. This issue has bubbled under the surface for too long. A properly and fairly constructed taskforce, with points of view from both sides, will produce the best outcome. The taskforce’s membership should be culled from the city’s political and business circles.
We also urge speed. Councilor-at-Large Frederick C. Rushton was quoted in the Telegram & Gazette bemoaning the slow speed at which the city manager has moved on the creation of this taskforce, and we can’t blame him for complaining. The business community has been harping on this issue since the dual rate was put in place in 1984. We have wasted enough time jabbering. Real action is needed.
And who needs that much time, when the facts are clear: Worcester is and will continue to be at a disadvantage when it comes to economic development with a dual tax rate that so heavily favors the residential homeowner.
For fiscal year 2009, the tax rate for commercial property in Worcester is 28.72, more than twice the residential rate, which is 13.50. What does that mean in terms of a tax bill? The Hanover Insurance Group paid $1.3 million in taxes fiscal year 2008 for its headquarters at 440 Lincoln St. while the owner of the Greendale Mall paid $1.1 million.
What company is going to move to Worcester, or stay in Worcester, when the city’s elected leaders continue to vote to support the lowest possible tax rate for homeowners? Why wouldn’t a business simply choose the suburbs, like Westborough, which has a single tax rate of 15.5? The sad answer is that more businesses have been choosing Westborough and the only way to be competitive with business-friendly municipalities is to become, well, business friendly.
We’d like to see the city’s leadership act today to begin closing the gap between the commercial and residential tax rates in Worcester. But we know from experience that kind of action will not happen. The best chance at seeing real leadership from city hall is through the manager’s appointed taskforce. A timetable should be set for the appointed taskforce to deliver its findings by September, well before the council typically sets tax rates — which is in November. And the city’s elected leaders should be expected to lead, doing what’s best for the community’s economic future — not just what’s politically expedient.
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