►
From YouTube: Committee on Ways & Means on December 1, 2020
Description
Docket #1102 - Order relative to the adoption of Classification in the City of Boston in FY 2021
A
A
Exactly
yeah,
that's
what
I'm
thinking
all
right,
so
we're
we're,
live
and
recording
so
we're
ready
to
go
in
a
minute.
I
see
counselors,
brandon
and
flynn
just
waiting
on
not
quite
yet
just
gonna
wait
on
we're
also
waiting
for
pam
from
the
boston
municipal
research
bureau.
So
I'm
just
gonna
give
her
another
minute.
C
A
A
A
It
will
be
rebroadcast
on
xfinity
channel,
8,
rcn,
channel
82
and
fios
channel
964..
We
will
take
public
testimony
at
the
end
of
this
hearing.
So
if
you
wish
to
testify
via
video
conference,
please
email,
michelle
m-I-c-h-e-l-l
dot,
a
dot
goldberg
g-o-l-d-b-e-r-g
at
boston.gov,
so
michelle.a
dot,
goldberg
at
boston.gov
to
sign
up
when
you're
called.
B
Thank
you
for
that
introduction,
counselor
bach
noon
to
the
rest
of
the
counselors
that
are
here
here
today.
Sorry
for
the
record,
my
name
is
nicholas
aronello,
I'm
the
commissioner
of
assessing
for
the
city
of
boston,
I'm
here
today
to
discuss
the
adoption
of
the
minimum
residential
factor,
as
well
as
the
adoption
of
the
residential
exemption
for
fiscal
year
2021.
B
The
residential
factor
is
related
to
classification
and
our
property
tax
rates.
Basically
back
in
the
70s,
the
commonwealth
adopted
a
constitutional
amendment
that
created
the
tax
system
we
currently
have
and
that
allowed
for
separately
categorizing
property
based
on
its
use
and
then
taxing
those
uses
at
different
rates.
B
B
Boston
is
one
of
only
15
communities
that
has
adopted
residential
exemption
and,
since
that
program
came
into
being
also
by
statute
back
in
1983
boston
has
always
adopted
the
maximum
residential
exemption
allowed
by
law.
That
percentage
has
changed
a
few
times
over
the
years.
The
most
recent
change
was
back
in
2017
and
at
that
point,
austin
chose
to
start
offering
a
residential
exemption
at
35,
which
is
the
highest
amount
allowed
by
law.
A
Great
thank
you.
Thank
you,
commissioner,
and
I
guess
I
I'll
send
the
because
I
neglected
to
give
my
my
colleagues
an
opportunity
for
opening
statements,
so
I
think
I'll
just
offer
them
the
opportunity
right
now
to
ask
questions
and
I'll
do
my
questions
last
so
counselor
flynn.
Do
you
have
questions
for
the
commissioner
or
an
opening
comment.
D
I
just
want
to
say
thank
you
to
you
in
the
in
the
assessing
department.
The
administration
feel
important
work
on
watching
taxpayer
money
in
in
overseeing
this
important
program.
It's
important
that
we
assist
our
homeowners,
especially
during
this
pandemic.
It
is
packed
so
many
of
our
residents,
families
in
the
business
community
as
well.
D
D
Yet
that
yeah
thank
you
for
that
outreach
to
the
veterans
I
work
with
commissioner
santiago
frequently,
so
I
appreciate
the
working
relationship
you
have
with
the
veterans
department.
Also.
My
final
question:
I
know
my
other
co.
My
colleagues
aren't
talk
a
little
about
some
assistance.
You
provide
for
persons
with
disabilities,
not
veterans,
but
persons
with
disabilities
that
might
be
might
receive
assistance
through
some
of
your
programs.
D
I
want
I
want,
I
wonder,
commissioner,
down
the
road,
if
that's
something
we
could
consider,
is
persons
with
disabilities
allowing
them
some
type
of
personal
exemption
on
their
property
tax?
I
think,
would
go
a
long
way
to
persons
with
disabilities
able
to
stay
in
the
city.
They
contribute
so
much.
They
make
our
city
much
much
better.
B
B
So
we
do
offer
that
program,
but
I
I
was
thinking
more
broadly
than
that,
and
I
think
that
that
is
something
that
we
could
explore.
It
would
require
change
to
current
state
law
to
create
a
new
exemption
program,
but
you
know,
I
think,
that's
something
interesting-
that
we
could
talk
about
some
more
and
figure
out
what
makes
sense
there.
D
A
A
It
seems
like
a
lot
of
that
in
2017.
I
think
most
recently
has
also
been
trying
to
adapt
to
an
ongoing
skew
in
residential
versus
commercial
property
values,
like
sort
of
how
I
like,
which
is
basically
right
for
people
watching
at
home,
it's
like.
If
it
you
can
say.
Oh
we're,
gonna
split
it
so
that
the
so
that
you
know
the
commercial
properties
in
the
city
carry
kind
of
this
amount
of
weight
of
our
property
tax
burden,
which
is
most
of
what
pays
for
our
city,
budget
and
residential,
carries
this.
A
But
then,
if
home
prices
shoot
through
the
roof
and
commercial
real
estate
stays
relatively
stable,
because
you're
required
by
the
state
for
the
cities
required
by
the
state
to
assess
people
at
market
value
right.
So
if
these
markets
just
get
out
of
whack,
you
can
end
up
with
a
situation
where
what
you
were
trying
to
do
to
help
homeowners,
who
might
be
folks
who
are
house
rich,
but
cash
poor,
and
you
know
especially
our
long-term
homeowners
in
the
city.
A
You
were
trying
to
help
them,
but
you're
not
helping
them
as
much
anymore,
because
valuations
have
just
gotten
skewed
in
that
way,
and
so
it
seems
like
several
times.
There's
been
efforts
to
both
to
change
factors
and
then
to
add
the
residential
exemption
itself,
and
so
I
guess
I'm
wondering
commissioner
kind
of
where
we
are
with
those
trends.
A
But
I
won't
ask
you
to
do
too
much
crystal
ball
staring
on
that,
but
it
would
be
helpful
to
understand.
Like
does
the
20?
Is
that,
like
I
know,
what
was
the
2017
update?
Where
sort
of
where
are
we
does
it
feel
like
we're
kind
of
in
a
pretty
stable
place
or
like
we're
going
to
run
into
a
similar
issue
again
in
relatively
short
order?
Like?
Can
you
just
speak
a
little
bit
to
that.
B
Yeah
sure
so
definitely,
and
and
also
to-
I
probably
should
have
mentioned
this
in
the
in
the
beginning,
as
well,
to
the
extent
that
you're
offering
up
this
order
for
adoption.
This
is
a
an
annual
process
where
every
year,
in
order
to
have
a
minimum
or
essential
factor
and
in
order
to
have
the
residential
exemption.
B
That
is
something
that
has
to
be
voted
on
by
by
city
council
and
approved
by
the
mayor.
So
I'm
here
on
behalf
of
the
administration
and
behalf
of
in
support
of
these,
these
endeavors
that
you
you've
offered
counselor
bach.
So
in
terms
of
kind
of
where
we
are
and
where
we're
going,
you
know
our
residential
market
has
been
strong,
has
been
strong
for
a
while.
B
Now
you
know-
and
if
you,
if
you
put
aside
this
year,
because
when
we
talk
about
tax
stuff,
we're
always
backwards
looking
and
so
the
values
that
we're
looking
at
that
go
into
our
property
values,
and
that
goes
into
this
whole
rate
shift
right
now.
The
values
we're
looking
at
are
activity
that
occurred
during
calendar
year
2019.
B
So
all
this
activity
is
all
pre-pandemic
activity
and
pre-pandemic
values,
and
at
that
point
values
were
2019
was
very
strong.
Here
it
was,
it
was
stronger
for
residential
property
than
it
was
for
commercial
property.
Commercial
property
didn't
go
down
devastatingly
to
any
degree,
it's
just
the
value
of
residential
property.
B
It
looks
like
it's
grows
faster
in
2019
than
commercial
property,
and
that's
also
been
like
a
continuing
trend
for
the
past
couple
of
years,
where
there's
growth
in
both
sectors,
but
residential
is
growing
a
little
faster
and
so
that's
leading
towards
the
the
percentage
of
the
overall
budget.
The
overall
levy
that
is
being
born
by
residential
property
has
been
growing
a
little
bit
over
the
past
few
years.
B
I
think
that's
definitely
something
that
we're
going
to
need
to
think
about
and
kind
of
take
a
look
at
moving
forward
into
next
year
when
we
take
into
account.
You
know
what
the
impact
of
the
pandemic
has
been
on.
This
past
calendar
year
kind
of
figure
out
what
makes
sense
for
this
city
and
how
that
would
impact
these
laws,
and
you
know
if
there
needs
to
be
changes
or
changes
in
how
we
look
at
things.
B
But
you
know
for
what
we're
looking
at
right
now,
one
any
anything
more
than
this
would
require
a
change
to
the
law
that
there
isn't
really
time
to
do
before.
We
have
to
have
values
finalized,
because
this
is
this
piece
of
this
process
that
goes
into
getting
final
certification
from
the
state
and
then
getting
our
bills
issued,
but
and
so
right
now
the
residential
market
is
going
to
end
up
with
a
little
bit
more
of
the
levy
than
they
had
last
year.
A
B
Yeah,
so
I
this
year
isn't
finalized
yet
so
I
I
can't
give
you
exact
numbers,
because
until
the
state
certifies
those
values,
it's
it's
kind
of
like
a
ballpark
guess.
I
can
tell
you
last
year,
if
you
look
at
the
overall
values
before
classification.
So
if
there
was
no
rate
shift,
then
last
year
residential
property
was
almost
66
of
the
overall
property
value
in
the
city
for
fiscal
year
20.
B
B
And
then
the
results
last
year
of
adopting
the
minimum
residential
factor
is
that
residential
property
was
responsible
for
40
of
the
tax
levy
and
so
and
then
commercial
property
was
responsible
for
51.
Half
percent
of
the
overall
tax
levy,
industrial
responsible
for
just
over
one
percent
and
personal
property
was
responsible
for
seven
percent.
So
you
end
up
with
this.
This
burden
shift
that
that's
that's
what
the
the
rate
chip
does
is.
B
Basically,
instead
of
the
residential
property
paying
the
tax
dollars
that
goes
into
the
budget,
it
goes
to
commercial
and
when
there
have
been
changes
specifically
when
there
have
been
changes
to
classification
historically
and
and
there's
been
statutory
changes,
it's
been
to
kind
of
in
times
where
it
looked
like.
There
might
have
been
a
dramatic
swing
from
of
of
that
tax
burden
back
to
residential,
to
try
and
temp
that.
A
Great
thank
you,
and
can
you
clarify
for
me
in
your
memo?
You
tried
to
give
an
example
of
this
so
of
how
of
how
these
two
mechanisms
save
the
residential
taxpayers
money.
So,
for
instance,
that
if
we
didn't
have
classification-
and
if
we
didn't
have
classification,
it
would
just
be
like
we
have
a
tax
rate-
the
big
you
know,
a
bank
of
america
owned
tower
downtown
and
a
home
in
a
neighborhood
like
everyone's
going
to
pay
the
same
rate
if
it,
which
is
not
our
situation
right.
B
Yeah
no
and
it's
it's
a
it's
a
little
bit
of
a
tricky
thing
to
provide
an
example
for
because
they
they
are
independent
of
each
other
right.
So
in
the
example
that
we
gave
that
you
read
off
for
classification,
that
is
if
we
did
not
have
classification,
but
the
property
was
still
getting
a
residential
exemption.
B
A
A
B
Yes,
that
is
that
is
fair,
so
and
using
last
year
as
an
example
the
so
you
you
basically
for
residential
property.
If
you
get
the
exemption,
you
always
have
to
pay
at
least
10
percent
of
your
tax
bill.
That's
that's!
Where,
like
this
break
even
comes
in
and
so
the
residential
exemption
amount
is,
it
is
a
maximum.
It
is
possible
to
get
less
than
the
maximum
if
your
property
is
worth
less
or
assessed
for
less.
A
Okay,
so
basically
so
when
we
talk
about
so
we
all
understand
what
we're
approving
here
right,
so
the
with
the
residential
exemption,
it
basically
saves-
and
I'm
going
to
round
here
it
basically
saves
any
boston
resident
who
owns
a
a
home
worth
300,
000
or
more.
It
saves
them
three
thousand
dollars
like
just
I'm
rounding
up
slightly
on
both
of
those
numbers,
but
it's
something
like
that
right.
Is
that
correct,
commissioner,
allowing
for
rounding.
A
Okay
and
then,
and
then
what
classification
is
doing
is
it's:
if,
if
we
had
to
tax
all
of
the
all
of
commercial
and
residential
property
at
the
same
rate
and
and
try
to
and
try
to
fund
the
same
city
budget
that
we're
funding
today
right,
then
we
would
the
you
know,
then,
the
taxpayer
that
it
varies
on
the
basis
of
the
value
of
your
home.
But
it's
something
like
you'd,
be
paying
50
or
60
again
more
in
taxes.
B
Yeah,
the
classification-
that's
that's
a
better
way
to
look
at
the
classification.
Savings
is
more
of
a
percentage
basis,
but
yeah
your
taxes.
Would
it's
because
of
the,
and
this
is
why
the
example
can
be
a
little
confusing,
because
it,
the
residential
exemption,
provides
for
a
dramatic
savings
relative
to
your
overall
tax
bill
percentage,
the
lower
the
value
of
your
home
right,
but
because
the
residential
exemption
is
capped.
So
your
three
thousand
dollars
is
going
to
go
a
lot
further.
B
If
you
have
a
300
000
home
than
if
you
have
a
million
dollar
home
right
and
that's
that's-
how
the
residential
exemption
kind
of
kind
of
works
is
it.
It
has
that
benefit
that
more
directly
impacts
people
that
live
in
in
lower
value
homes,
the
classification
impacts
all
residential
property
equally,
and
so
that
you
can
be
more
on
a
percentage
basis
and
so
that,
especially
as
your
property
value
climbs
up,
your
taxes
would
basically
go
up
about
40,
50
percent,
depending
right.
A
A
You
know,
I
guess
one
thing.
I
want
one
question.
I
just
want
to
ask
you,
commissioner,
because
it
comes
up
all
the
time
in
the
neighborhoods.
Is
you
know
well?
Could
we
give
tax
relief
to
small
businesses
to
like
you
know,
could
we
could
we
classify
within
commercial
between
kind
of
our
big
companies
and
our
little.
B
A
B
Yeah,
so
there
there
is
there
the
problem
with
creating
a
system
for
commercial
exemption,
and
this
is
it.
It
turns
into
an
issue
of
more
like
an
issue
of
renters
versus
homeowners
than
it
does
property
types.
So
for
both
of
these,
the
the
residential
exemption
program
specifically
is
for
homeowners
right.
So,
if
you're
renting
in
an
apartment
building,
that
is
not
savings
that
goes
to
you
right,
so
the
apartment
building
doesn't
get
a
residential
exemption.
You
you
get
it.
B
If
you
are
you
own,
your
condo,
you
live
there,
you
own
your
single
family
home.
You
live
there,
you
can
qualify
for
the
residential
exemption
and
that
program
shifts
that
tax
burden
from
the
individual
or
our
owner
occupants
to
the
non-owner
occupants
and
residential
property,
so
it
ships
tax
burden
from
people
that
live
in
their
homes,
to
people
that
rent
out
to
students
or
whoever
and
also
to
larger
residential
properties.
That
burn
and
get
shifted.
B
The
difficulty
with
a
commercial
exemption
concept
is
that
the
vast
majority
of
commercial
businesses,
especially
within
boston,
don't
own
that
property,
and
so
the
people
that
are
responsible
for
paying
the
taxes
are
the
property
owners,
not
the
tenants
and
so
to
provide
something
or
craft.
A
statute
that
would
give
a
benefit
to
a
commercial
tenant
is,
is
a
more
complicated
concept
that
the
the
law
doesn't
currently
allow
for.
B
So,
if
you,
if
we
kind
of,
have
this
this
system,
where
you
know
when
this
has
come
up
before
and
when
we
talked
about
it
before
my
understanding
is
that
the
goal
is
to
make
it
boston
more
affordable
for
small
businesses
right,
not
just
for
business
in
general,
and
so
the
important
distinction
that
you
want
to
have.
Is
you
want
to
make
sure
that
those
savings
that
we
would
create
by
statute
would
go
to
those
small
businesses
and
not
to
the
landlords
that
could
be
multinational
companies?
B
A
No
that's
helpful
yeah,
although
I
think
certainly
yeah.
It's
still
interesting
to
think
about
how
many
owner
occupied
businesses
there
are
and
whether
that's
something
whether
we
would
be
encouraging
it.
If
we,
if
we
created
that
type
of
classification,
even
if
it
were
a
relatively
small
number,
because
I
think
it
might
it
might,
you
know,
drive
things
back
and
it
might
be
interesting
and
certainly
one
of
the
things
we've
heard
from
restaurant
owners
who
do
own
their
buildings
is
about
that
and
this
pandemic.
But
I
want
to
go
to
councillor
mahia
councillor,
mejia.
E
A
B
Yeah,
so
those
are
good
questions
I
have
the
number,
so
I
don't
have
the
total
number
of
residential
exemptions
that
we
gave
out
last
year.
It
was
in
the
in
the
neighborhood
of
like
77
78
000
properties
that
received
it,
but
I
don't
I
can
I
can
get
you
the
final
numbers.
I
just
don't
have
them
right
here
in
front
of
me
if
you're,
if
you're
interested
in
that.
A
B
E
B
A
E
E
B
No,
so
we
totally,
I
have
the
information
of
which
properties
are
getting
the
exemption.
I
don't
I'm
not
saying
I
don't
have
that
it's,
whether
I
have
it
in
a
format
that
I
can
easily
like,
run
it
through
a
spreadsheet
and
go
oh
x
number
in
this
ward,
like
I
can.
I
can
get
it
to
you
by
word.
I'd
get
to
you
by
zip
code.
I
get
to
you
by
street.
It's
just
how
long
it
takes
me
to
get
the
data
to
you.
That's
that's
more!
B
I'm
more
concerned
about
being
responsible
in
a
timely
manner.
Then,
like
I
can
get
you
the
data.
I
just
need
to
find
somebody
that
can
work
on
it
and
I,
by
the
time
the
hearing's
done
the
day's
going
to
be
over.
So
that's
my.
My
concern
is
more
about
the
timing
for
tomorrow,
not
not
in
terms
of
getting
you
the
numbers.
B
B
E
B
E
No
worries,
I
I
appreciate
that
answer
and
then
I
don't
wanna.
I
don't
wanna
ask
any
more
challenging
questions
I
feel
like
I
don't
wanna.
I
think
I'm
good.
I
don't
want
to
scare
anyone
else
anymore.
I
feel
like
I'm
good.
I
think
I
don't
have
any
other
questions.
Counselor
bach.
I
am
just
here
for
to
pay
attention
and
listen
and
learn.
I
I
am
curious
about
recently.
E
B
B
E
Okay,
good,
thank
you
for
that
clarity
and
then
I'm
curious
about
the
situation,
because
there
are
a
lot
of
people
right
now
who
are
struggling
just
to
even
make
their
mortgage
payments,
and
there
have
been
people
whose
property
taxes
have
increased
just
because
of
the
the
the
building
that
has
popped
up
on
their
block.
So
now
everything
around
their
way
increases
too.
B
So
we're
obligated
by
state
law
to
value
everyone's
property
at
the
full
market
value
every
year
and
so
the
valuation
date
that
we're
looking
at
and
that's
what
was
tied
to
the
kind
of
the
disclosure
period
and
the
opportunity
for
people
to
come.
Let
us
know
if
something
was
wrong:
that
valuation
date
for
fiscal
year
21
is
we're
looking
back
at
kind
of
what
existed
on
january,
1st
2020
and
for
residential
property.
The
way
we
drive,
those
values
is
we
use
area
sales,
and
so
it
wouldn't
be.
B
Your
taxes
wouldn't
go
up
because
a
new
building
got
built
unless
that
new
building
added
a
whole
bunch
of
value
to
your
neighborhood
and,
depending
on
your
neighborhood,
it's
possible
that
building
detracted
or
could
have
you
know
if
you,
if
you
had
a
new
t
station
built
in
your
neighborhood,
that
would
probably
add
a
bunch
of
property
value,
or
at
least
it
would
have
before
the
pandemic.
Who
knows
what
that's
going
to
look
like
next
year.
C
B
B
So
if
you
have
a
300,
000
condo,
your
tax
bill
last
year
would
have
dropped
from
3
200
for
the
whole
year
down
to
just
under
300
for
the
whole
year.
So
that
was
a
significant
savings
that
the
city
council
allowed
for
last
year,
in
conjunction
with
the
administration,
to
kind
of
help
keep
homes
affordable
in
the
city
for
our
residents.
B
And
then,
if
you
have
a
higher
valued
home,
you
would
still
get
a
significant
savings.
If
you
qualify
for
the
exemption
at
just
percentage-wise,
it
isn't
as
much
so
if
you
had
a
higher
valued
home
last
year,
say
a
condo
about
650
000,
your
taxes
without
the
exemption
would
have
been
about
6
900
and
then
with
the
exemption
they
dropped
to
just
under
4
000.
B
So
they
every
they
saved
the
same
amount
of
money,
but
that
money
means
more
to
the
lower
valued
property
in
terms
of
what
their
overall
bill
is
for
the
year
than
it
does
for
the
higher
value
property.
So
it's
it's
one
way
for
us
to
provide
an
extra
level
of
assistance
to
lower
value
properties
and
then
the
other
factor
too
in
all
this
is
the
adopting
the
minimum
residential
factor
which
I
I
spoke
about
a
little
bit
in
the
beginning.
B
You,
you
might
have
missed
that
part,
but
the
the
cliff
notes
version
of
that
is
it.
It
basically
takes
the
the
tax
burden
in
our
city
and
pushes
that
burden
onto
commercial
property
from
residential
property
to
make
it
more
affordable
for
and
don't
think
about,
like
it
pushes
it
from
poor
homeowners
to
poor
businesses
it
it.
E
Yeah,
so
I
think
council
black
is
going
to
come
out
with
the
gravel
soon
and
I
have
a
4
30,
so
I
don't
want
to
monopolize
the
whole
entire
time.
I
am
I'm
glad
that
I
came
through
for
this
portion
of
the
conversation,
but
I
do
believe
that
there's
still
for
me,
council,
black,
so
is
something
going
to
be
put
on
the.
A
Yeah,
if
I
can
jump
in
counselor
mejia,
so
I
would
just
say
the
answer
to
your
question:
is
that
the
what
this?
What
this
piece
of
legislation
proposes
to
do,
is
to
give
the
maximum
relief
that
we,
the
city,
are
allowed
to
to
exactly
that
residential
homeowner
you're,
asking
about
absent
this
piece
of
legislation
like
people's
that
person's
tax
bill
would
go
up.
A
3,
000,
6,
000,
like
we,
and
basically
it's
just
that
this
is
as
this
is
as
low
as
we're
allowed
to
make
residential
tax
bills
compared
to
commercial
ones
like
in
the
city
state
law.
So
I
think
so
to
me
now.
I
guess
the
question
commissioner
would
be
what's
the
my
understanding
is
that
the
city
council
has
to
make
this
determination
prior
to
you
being
able
to
tell
the
department
of
revenue
at
the
state
what
we're
doing?
A
Right
so
that
so
that
that's
why
councillor
mejia?
I
would
just
stress
that
to
me
and
to
me
I
want
to
be
clear,
like
it's
not
just
like
this
is
some
administration
priority
it's
like
precisely
because
of
how
people
are
hurting
right
now,
I
think
very
important
for
us
to
kind
of
continue
in
the
in
the
tradition
we've
established
before
I've,
given
the
residential
taxpayers
that
maximum
release.
E
A
Great
all
right
great,
thank
you
so
much
councillor,
mihia
and
I
do
want
to
now
recognize
pam
coker
who's
been
with
us.
This
whole
time
from
the
boston
municipal
research,
bureau,
pam,
and
I
want
to
ask
her
to
offer
some
some
comments
on
behalf
of
the
municipal
research
bureau
on
this
subject:
you're
muted,
pam.
F
F
As
we
heard
earlier,
the
tax
classification
process
allows
the
city
to
shift
the
property
tax
burden
to
business
property
up
to
175
percent
of
what
its
share
would
be
without
classification.
The
question
is:
what
does
this
mean?
It
means
preferential
tax
treatment
for
residential
property
owners
and,
in
large
part,
to
ensure
we
have
a
city
made
up
of
residential
neighborhoods
and
businesses,
both
large
and
small
boston.
Homeowners
are
the
beneficiaries
of
the
city's
application
of
property
tax
classification
to
the
property
tax
system
in
the
city
each
year
for
fiscal
year
2021.
F
The
city
proposes
to
continue
to
shift
as
much
of
the
tax
burden
onto
business
property
as
allowed
by
state
law,
and
we
that
makes
us
think
about.
Without
classification,
residential
property
taxpayers
would
see
their
property
taxed
at
a
much
higher
rate,
because
the
city
implements
tax
classification,
for
example,
for
fiscal
year,
2020
business
property
accounted
for
just
34
percent
of
the
city's
total
property
value,
but
paid
60
percent
of
the
total
tax
levy.
F
The
fiscal
year
2020
classified
tax
rate
for
residential
property
was
10.56
cents
per
thousand
of
property
value,
while
the
classified
tax
rate
for
commercial,
industrial
and
personal
property,
together
known
as
business
category,
is
24.92
cents
per
thousand
of
property
value.
So
that
just
demonstrates
the
in
the
numbers.
The
shift
from
relief
for
residential
to
increase
on
business.
F
F
And
this
has
me
just
thinking
a
little
bit
about
where
we
are
today
in
terms
of
the
challenge
of
the
pandemic
and
the
econom
economic
challenges
that
many
in
our
city
face
because
of
it
as
well
as
thinking
about
what
might
be
coming
for
us
next
to
be
able
to
provide
both
residential
exemption,
and
the
benefit
of
classification
to
homeowners
in
the
city
is
something
that
clearly,
the
the
business
community
takes
on
additional
burden.
But
part
of
that
is
to
ensure
that
we
have
a
community.
F
A
D
D
If
that
trend,
maybe
20,
if
that
trend
continues
for
an
extended
period,
what
is
the
city
looking
at
if,
if,
if
the
downtown
area
with
the
with
the
business
community,
not
having
those
employees,
what
does
that
mean
to
the
city
of
boston?
What
does
it
mean
to
its
tax
base
and
what
are
there
any
projections
that
you
could
make
to
help
the
city
during
this
difficult
time.
F
In
terms
of
projections,
I
wouldn't
want
to
do
any
projecting
right
now,
but
just
thinking
about
the
potential
for
impacts
the
research
bureau
office
is
in
downtown
crossing
and
we
see
a
change
that
I
think
is
is
very
much
related
to
fewer
large
businesses
allowing
their
employees
to
work
in
those
downtown
office.
Buildings
more
folks
are
in
those
from
those
larger
office.
Buildings
are
working
remotely
and
we
do
see
that
there
is
less
traffic
in
downtown
crossing
more
of
the
small
businesses.
F
D
F
D
And
as
a
follow-up
pm,
how
long
well
two
parts
of
this?
How
long
is
the
city
able
to
how
long
is
that
trend
able
to
continue
before
it
has
such
a
devastating
financial
impact
on
the
city
and
then
maybe
my
last
question
is:
what
are
you
seeing
in
terms
of
the
south
boston
waterfront
with
what,
with
property
taxes
with
businesses,
business
community
down
in
the
south,
boston
waterfront?
Maybe
maybe,
if
you're
able
to
focus
on
those
too.
F
F
F
D
A
Thank
you
so
much
counselor
flynn
and
and
yeah
pam.
I
would
definitely
thank
you
for
being
here
on
behalf
of
the
municipal
research
bureau
and
also
just
say
I
mean
I
said
I
wouldn't
make
nick
crystal
ball
games
and
I
won't
make
you
do
it
either,
but
I
think,
as
someone
who
also
represents
a
lot
of
downtown
neighborhoods
adjacent
to
councillor
flynn,
you
know,
I
think,
we're
all
very
concerned
about
the
future.
You
know
both
both
on
the
commercial
and
residential
side.
A
Frankly-
and
I
mean
just
about
the
only
thing
that
everyone
seems
to
be
confident
is
continuing
to
go
up
is
lab,
but
I
you
know
just
given
the
kind
of
continuing
research
center
in
nature
and
obviously,
we've
recently
seen
some
pretty
exciting
developments
out
of
out
of
us
labs
when
we're
looking
at
the
vaccine,
which
is
so
critical
to
our
recovery.
So
I
won't
ask
you
to
crystal
ball
gaze,
but
I
do
think
that
a
thing
I
want
to
say
on
this
occasion
is
just
that.
A
I
mean,
I
think,
certainly
we
on
the
council,
the
administration,
you
folks
that
are
at
the
research
bureau
and
lots
of
other
stakeholders
like
need
to
be
proactive
about
saying
you
know,
does
what
do
the
tools
we
have
work?
Do
we
need
to
ask
statehouse
for
other
tools,
as
our
predecessors
have
successfully
right
and
like
and
just
sort
of
remain
flexible
about
how
to
how
to
support
that
vibrant
ecosystem?
F
A
A
This
means
that
there's
a
kind
of
diversity
of
sources
and
we
have
everything
pinned
to
property
tax,
and
that
has
some
major
downsides,
and
one
of
them
is
that
it
burdens
our
residential
homeowners
right
and
especially
our
long-term
ones,
who
are
holding
that
value
instead
of
accessing
it
and-
and
so
the
city's
you
know,
has
to
continue
to
come
up
with
tools
to
deal
with
that.
It
also
obviously
incentivizes
development
and
new
growth
in
a
certain
way,
particularly
because
of
to
prop
two
and
a
half.
A
So
I
continue
to
have
lots
of
policy
concerns
about
all
that.
I
think
it's
worth
noting
that,
because
of
that
structure,
we
are
in
a
better
financial
position
in
this
moment
than
our
peer
cities,
who
are
relying
on
taxes
that
are
much
more
economic
cycle
driven
right.
Is
that
a
fair
characterization?
Would
you
say.
F
Yeah
and
and
ironically
with
the
prior
recession
that
in
part
added
to
more
of
a
push
for
diversity
in
revenue
sources,
so
we
got
the
meals
tax
and
we
got
an
increase
on
the
hotel,
motel
attacks.
You
know
additional
piece
for
cities
and
towns
and
for
the
first
time,
a
piece
of
the
meals
tax
for
cities
and
towns.
So
that
was
an
opportunity.
F
Then
now
we
have
those
those
revenues
and
they
are
the
ones
that
are
struggling
the
most
because
of
the
dynamics
that
come
with
this
public
health
situation
and
it's
the
property
tax
base.
That
is,
as
you
point
out,
is
for
now,
as
of
last
year
this
year,
hopefully
the
coming
year
continuing
to
be
a
very
strong
foundation.
A
Yeah,
no,
it
is
it's.
I
mean
these
are
unpredicted
times
for
sure,
but
I
do
know.
We've
been
joined
by
councillor
arroyo
and
counselor
royal,
we're
just
coming
to
the
end
of
the
hearing,
and
I
I
wouldn't
want
to
necessarily
run
back
through
the
whole
thing.
But
if
you
had
targeted
questions
that
you
wanted
for
either
the
commissioner
arnela
or
for
pam
from
the
maysville
research
bureau
or
a
brief
statement,
I'd
be
happy
to
entertain
any
of
those.
Thank.
C
You,
madam
chair,
no,
I'm
fine!
I
I
know
that
I'm
coming
in
late,
so
I'll,
just
re-watch
it
rather
than
have
some
question
that
has
already
been
answered,
be
re-asked,
so
I'll,
just
watch
it
and
I'll
be
I'll.
Go
through
the
whole
thing
myself
and
if
I
have
any
follow-up
questions
that
aren't
in
there
I'll
email
what's
the
appropriate,
should
I
email
you
or
should
I
email
them
directly.
A
A
B
Yeah,
no,
of
course,
so
in
the
in
the
valuation
world,
there
are
like
three
main
buckets
of
valuation
methodology,
so
there's
a
sales
approach,
income
approach
and
a
cost
approach,
and
so
for
residential
property
sales
approach
works
really
well
for
creating
a
model
to
capture
what
the
property
is
is
going
to
be
worth
and
what
it's
going
to
transact
at.
So
for
commercial
property.
B
B
The
argument
is
for
a
commercial
property,
because
the
office
tower
is
probably
the
easiest
example,
so
you
have
an
office
tower.
Let's
say
you
have
20
floors
and
there
are
five
tenants
in
it
and
the
tenants
each
have
a
10
year
lease
a
lot
of
times.
What
someone
is
buying
is
they're,
buying
that
income
stream
so
they're
buying
those
leases
so
when
they
take
over
the
building
they're
taking
over
those
leases,
and
so
there's
value
for
those
leases.
B
There's
value
based
on
what
the
quality
of
those
tenants
are
that
have
those
properties,
how
likely
they
are
to
make
back
those
payments,
and
you
don't
have
that
for
residential
property,
that's
not
rented,
and
so,
if
you
try
and
use
sales
to
justify
commercial
values
a
lot
of
times,
they're
disqualified,
because
they're
determined
that
that
sales
price
wasn't
just
for
the
pure
real
estate.
It
was
for
those
revenue
streams
going
into
the
future
and
so
you're
valuing
more
than
just
the
property,
and
it
can
actually
have
an
impact
up
or
down.
B
So
if
you
have
really
good
tenants
or
you
negotiate,
really
favorable
rents
and
then
rents
drop,
that
property
could
be
worth
more
than
one
that's
vacant.
That
would
lease
up
at
current
rents
that
are
lower
than
what
that
property
is
already
encumbered
by
so
for
commercial
property.
The
approach
that
most
closely
cues
to
appropriate
market
value
for
our
taxation
system
is
the
income
approach,
and
so
the
income
approach.
What
we
do
is
we
it's
called
we
market
to
market,
so
we
take
them.
B
So
we
have
a
pretty
strong
record
of
being
able
to
defend
our
assessments
using
that
valuation
model
methodology,
then
the
third
methodology
is
cost
and
cost
methodology.
We
use
for
it's
more,
like
special
purpose
stuff,
so
like
random,
one-off
properties
that
that
don't
rent-
and
we
also
use
costs
to
value
personal
property.
A
So
it's
a
very
active
conversation
in
my
district,
and
I
was
just
what
I
just
wanted
to
be
clear
on.
Do
any
of
our
like
on
newbury
street.
Would
any
of
those
buildings
be
valued
on
a
sales
basis,
or
would
it
all
be
income
like?
Oh,
would
it
all
be
this
income
basis
and
then
my
other
question
related
to
that
is
because
newbury
street
has
a
lot
of
them.
How
do
you
think
about
buildings
that
are
like
have
residential
up
top
and
commercial
below
if
they
have
the
same
owner.
B
B
Our
modeling
for
newbury
street
is
all
based
on
income,
but
we
do
pay
attention
to
sales
in
the
area
because
you
can
have
a
sale
of
a
property
that
would
be
a
market
value
if
the
property
that
sold
sold
with
market
rate
rents
as
of
the
lean
day.
So
if
you
had
this
fully
occupied
property
and
what
it
was
leasing
out
for
was
what
current
market
activity
is.
B
So
when
we
set
value
with
our
model,
it's
it's
set
with
an
income
approach,
but
then,
if
someone
is
looking
for
an
abatement
or
they
go
to
filing
on
appeal,
we
might
have
a
conversation
with
them
in
terms
of
defending
our
value,
and
at
that
point
we
might
bring
in
sales
as
part
of
the
defense
strategy
and
and
by
defense.
It's
it's
more
of
justification.
B
A
You
know
central
jewel
of
a
street
that
also
draws
a
lot
of
a
lot
of
tourists
draws
like
feeds
a
lot
of
other
business
in
the
area,
and
so
we
and
just
the
number
of
vacancies
there
that
we
had
pre-pandemic
and
that
have
been
exacerbated
by
pandemic,
has
us
particularly
concerned
so.
But
I
think
I'll
put
my
chair
of
ways
and
means
hat
back
on
and
follow
up
with
you
as
the
district
8
counselor
on
that
on
a
future
occasion.
B
A
D
A
So
I'm
really
grateful
for
your
partnership
on
this
and
thank
you,
and
also
yes,
very
grateful
to
the
commissioner
for
being
here
and
for
answering
all
of
our
questions
and
for
your
work
on
behalf
of
city
of
boston
and
pam,
and
the
boston
municipal
research
bureau
for
their
long-running
work
in
support
of
the
city
and
the
city's
fiscal
health.
Before
I
close
out
the
hearing,
do
you
want
to
give
an
opportunity
for
public
testimony?
A
A
Okay,
seeing
none,
I
think
in
that
case
we
will
oh
before
I
before
I
turn
I
should
just
say
for
those
watching
that
it.
It
is
my
intention
as
the
chair
of
ways
and
means
to
recommend
tomorrow
that
we
that
we
pass
this,
that
we
pass
this
order,
so
that
the
assessor
can
move
forward
with
notifying
dor
that
we
would
like
to
take
advantage
of
the
maximum
residential
exemption
and
the
maximum
and
the
is
it
do
we
say:
minimum
or
maximum
residential
factor.
Nick.