Businesses were at the heart of the discussion at Tuesday night’s Worcester City Council meeting as councillors made a final decision on property tax rates for 2022.
Worcester’s split tax rate will remain, with a rate of $33.34 per $1,000 for commercial and industrial properties, and $15.22 per $1,000 for residential properties. This marks a $2.86 per $1,000 decrease for commercial property taxes from last year, as members of the council and Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce spoke on behalf of lowering commercial rates to lure in more businesses.
Although the rate is going down, business owners in the city will see an average $143 jump in their annual tax bills, as the average assessment for commercial properties in Worcester has risen to $1,070,268.
Residential taxes are decreasing by $1.06 from last year when they were set at $16.28 per $1,000. Due to similarly rising assessment numbers for homes, homeowners will see an average $105 jump in annual tax bills on average.
The new rates were approved in a 6-5 vote.
A proposal with the lowest residential rates at $15.06 per $1,000 and commercial rates at $33.83 was supported by Councilors Gary Rosen, Donna Colorio, Morris Bergman, George Russell, and Candy Mero-Carlson.
Alex Guardiola of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce said the city’s dual tax rate makes it difficult for Worcester to entice businesses to the area, especially small businesses. He said the chamber supported lowering commercial rates to $29.68 per $1,000.
Worcester had the highest commercial tax rate in Central Massachusetts last year. The second and third highest commercial rates were Hudson at $33.16 per $1,000 and Framingham at $30.09.
