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Description
Dockets #0622-0628 Fiscal Year 2020 Budget: Assessing Department - Revenue Overview
A
Today's
Tuesday
April
23rd-
and
we
are
here
as
part
of
our
FY
20
but
review
with
our
chief
assessor
Gail
willette
from
the
assessing
department
like
to
remind
folks
that
this
is
a
public
hearing
being
recorded
and
broadcast
on
Comcast
channel
8,
our
cnat
to
Verizon
1964
and
streamed
at
Boston
gov
backs
last
City
Council
TV
I'd
asked
folks
in
the
chamber
to
silence
any
cell
phones
and
electronic
devices.
At
the
conclusion
of
the
presentation
and
questions
from
my
colleagues,
we
will
take
public
testimony.
We
ask
that
you
sign
in
over.
A
To
my
left
is
a
sheet,
please
state
name,
any
affiliation,
residence
and
mark
the
box.
If
you
wish
to
testify
this
budget
review
will
encompass
around
34
hearings
over
roughly
the
next
six
weeks.
We
strongly
encourage
residents,
whether
here
in
the
chamber
or
at
home,
to
take
a
moment
to
engage
in
this
process
by
giving
testimony
for
the
record,
you
can
do
this
in
several
ways.
Come
to
one
of
the
hearings
and
give
public
testimony
in
person
come
to
the
hearing
dedicated
to
public
testimony
on
Tuesday
June
4th
any
time
from
2
p.m.
A
to
6
p.m.
we
will
be
here,
at
least
for
that
time
frame
and
we'll
stay
as
long
as
we
need
to
to
hear
from
everyone
who
would
like
to
speak
on
the
budget,
send
your
testimony
to
the
Committee
on
ways
and
means
city,
council,
fifth,
floor
Boston,
City,
Hall,
Boston,
Mass,
0,
2,
0,
1
or
email,
the
committee
at
CCC
dot
WM
at
Boston
gov.
A
I'd
like
to
introduce
to
my
near
left
here
is
city
councilor
at
large
and
ISA
sabe
George
to
my
far
left
is
councillor
Tim,
McCarthy
and
behind
me
is
councillor
Frank
Baker
I.
Just
want
to
read
into
the
record
a
couple
of
my
colleagues
who
will
not
be
able
to
make
today's
meeting
Council
of
Sonoma
I
regret
to
inform
you
that
I
will
be
missing
today's
hearing
on
ways
and
means
stuck
at
0
6
2
to
2
0
6
to
8
FY
20,
but
assessing
department
revenue
overview
on
Tuesday
April
23rd
at
10:30
a.m.
A
in
the
City
Council's
ILO
chamber,
due
to
a
personal
matter,
I
will
review
the
hearing
online
sincerely
Matt,
O'malley
and
dear
mr.
chair
I,
regret
I
am
unable
to
attend
today's
hearing
of
the
Committee
on
ways
and
means
on
the
FY
20
mile,
be
in
attendance
and
I
look
forward
to
reviewing
the
recording
of
this
hearing.
Please
read
this
letter
into
the
record:
sincerely
district
city,
councilor,
Kim
Jane.
So
with
that
I
want
to
welcome
Gail
to
the
chamber
and
for
your
opening
statements.
Thank.
B
You
thank
you
for
inviting
me
to
this
budget
hearing
for
the
record.
I
am
Gail
Willett
Commissioner
of
the
assessing
Department
I'm
here
today
to
present
the
fiscal
year
20
budget
recommendations
for
the
assessing
department,
as
the
Commissioner
of
the
assessing
department
I'm
looking
forward
to
continuing
to
work
with
the
City
Council
has,
as
has
been
the
case,
as
has
been
the
case
and
passed.
The
assessing
department
will
continue
to
provide
excellent
customer
service
and
responding
to
constituent
issues
and
questions
as
well
as
City
Council
inquiries.
B
The
assessing
department
is
responsible
for
determining
the
ownership
and
taxable
value
for
all
real
estate
in
the
city.
This
includes
over
a
hundred
and
sixty
thousand
real
estate
parcels
and
personal
property
accounts,
vehicle
and
boat
excise.
Taxes
are
also
a
responsibility
of
this
department.
One
of
the
challenges
the
department
is
facing
is
keeping
up
with
a
very
active
real
estate
market
to
determine
full
and
fair
cash
values
for
real
property.
This
is
needed
to
achieve
Department
of
Revenue
certification
and
allow
for
the
mailing
of
the
third-quarter
bills
in
January.
B
Also,
our
department
recently
completed
the
first
phase
of
a
cama
conversion.
The
canvas
system
is
our
valuation
system
that
helps
to
determine
property
values
across
the
city.
The
previous
system
was
reaching
the
end
of
its
useful
life.
The
new
system
was
launched
in
March
of
this
year
and
is
being
used
daily
by
staff
in
the
processing
of
property
data
and
calculating
the
valuation
of
real
estate
parcels.
We
are
currently
starting
phase,
two,
which
includes
the
replacement
of
our
legacy
abatement,
appeals
and
exemption
platforms.
B
Additionally,
the
department
will
be
moving
away
from
paper
collection
system
and
implementing
an
electronic
filing
portal
for
taxpayers
and
also
for
data
collection.
The
existing
systems
can
be
improved
both
on
the
taxpayer
and
the
city
sides
and
will
be
expanded
to
include
all
department
submissions.
The
electronic
filing
portal
will
be
connected
to
our
phase
2
workflow
system,
as
part
of
our
cama
upgrade
to
improve
the
seamless
processing
of
taxpayer
applications
and
internal
application
review.
B
The
Department
continues
to
work
on
improving
the
accuracy
of
our
assessments
for
fiscal
year
19,
the
abatements
are
continuing
a
department
trend
of
historically
low
abatement,
number
application
abatement
number
applications.
The
assessing
department
has
also
maintained
a
historically
low
number
of
outstanding
appeals
of
the
department's
assessments
at
the
Massachusetts
appellate
Tax
Board,
and
has
protected
favorable
decisions
validating
our
utility
industry
assessments
through
the
tax
appeal
process
at
the
Massachusetts
Court
of
Appeals
and
the
SJC,
maintaining
low
abatement
and
appeal
filings.
B
It's
helpful
in
freeing
money
from
the
overlay
account
for
the
city's
use
in
the
general
fund
during
fiscal
year
19.
The
city
is
projected
to
collect
two
point:
three:
five
billion
dollars
in
property
taxes,
the
real
estate
and
personal
property
value
in
the
city
of
Boston
for
Jerr
was
160
4.5
billion
dollars
with
my
Martin.
With
my
remarks,
complete
I
now
turn
the
floor
over
to
you.
Counselor
thank.
A
B
B
B
Absolutely,
and
that
has
to
do
with
the
split
rate
that
we
have
through
classification,
so
for
last
year
the
residential
rate
was
ten
dollars
and
fifty
four
cents
per
thousand,
but
the
commercial
rate
was
twenty-five
dollars
per
thousand
same
for
the
personal
property.
So,
yes,
it
is
almost
three
times
what.
B
D
B
B
A
Thanks,
could
you
explain
it
a
little
because
in
the
past,
someone
who
purchased
the
home
if
they
purchased
it
in
a
certain
time
of
year,
it
could
take
eighteen
months
before
they
actually
realize
that
exemption
and
now
there's
two
times
a
year
that
they
can
you
explain
how
that
works
for
people?
Oh
absolutely,.
B
So,
if
you
are
a
new
property
owner
and
you
buy
between
January
1st
and
July
1st,
then
you
would
be
eligible
for
the
residential
exemption
for
the
first
time
for
that
third
quarter
bill.
So
it
really
shortens
that
time
period.
So
it's
that
you
don't
have
to
wait
until
the
following
January
to
see
that
difference
in
$2,700
is
a
substantial
amount
of
money
for
a
lot
of
taxpayers
in
the
city
that
will
have
their
bill
just
getting
the
residential
exemption.
That.
A
B
E
B
That
it
is
lengthy
process
for
the
Department
of
Revenue
to
confirm
that
our
values
are
accurate
when
we
switch
from
one
camera
system
to
another
and
then,
in
addition
for
them
to
confirm
all
the
information
about
the
values
for
the
revaluation.
So
it
works
to
everyone's
benefit,
to
change
it
to
fiscal
21
and.
A
B
Absolutely
so
the
camera
system
that
we
were
replacing
was
put
into
work
in
2000
as
part
of
the
y2k
conversion,
so
it
had
no
ability
to
go
to
the
internet
to
connect
to
things.
So
the
workarounds
that
we
had
created
during
this
period
were
substantial,
we're
already
seeing
a
lot
of
benefit
in
having
this
new
camera
system
having
the
efficiencies
that
we
get
from
it.
You
know
the
other
thing
is
changing.
Is
it's
changing
kind
of
the
the
nature
of
our
work?
It's
taking
away
a
lot
of
the
repetitive
tasks.
This
is
also
the
thing.
B
A
F
B
Seven
in
two
phases
right
now
so
phase
one
is
the
valuation
system
alone,
which
is
is
running
at
a
hundred
percent.
I
mean.
Obviously
we
still
have
some
bugs
that
we're
working
out
is
we're
actively
actively
using
the
system.
It's
different
to
use
it
in
a
test
environment
than
to
actually
be
using
it
for
input
of
information.
B
So
we
have
a
few
bugs
that
we're
working
out
we'll
continue
to
do
that
over
the
next
couple
months,
but
the
first
quarter
bills
for
fiscal
20
will
be
coming
out
of
the
new
camera
system,
which
is
a
great
test
for
us
without
the
heavy
lift
of
the
third
quarter
bill.
So
we're
running
that
as
out
of
the
first,
the
first
quarter
bill
is
out
of
this
current
camera
system
and.
B
The
second
phase
is
workflow
systems.
It
will
right
now
we
have
legacy
systems
that
are
also
20
years
old
that
were
homegrown
for
abatements,
for
appeals
for
all
of
our
exemptions,
and
the
other
piece
that
this
will
entail
is
the
Assessors,
rather
than
taking
paper
out
in
the
field.
They
will
be
taking
tablets
out
in
the
field
that
will
have
all
of
their
work,
so
they'll
be
doing
their
data
entry
right
out
in
the
field
rather
than
having
this
very
repetitive
system,
where
they're
bringing
paper
back
and
it's
centered
and
it's
being
checked.
B
B
Right
now
we
have
a
reorganization
plan
that
we've
been
working
with
with
the
budget
department
and
a
lot
of
it
comes
out
of
the
changes
in
the
nature
of
work
of
how
people
are
working
and
what
our
work
is
entailing
and
efficiencies
that
we're
getting
from
this
new
camera
system.
So,
yes,
we
do
have
the
changes
that
are
in
the
fiscal
20
budget
that
will
go
into
the
fiscal
21
budget.
I.
B
Think
the
other
piece
of
it
is
imagining
it's
difficult
for
me
to
imagine
and
other
people
in
the
department
to
imagine
how
the
work
will
change
as
part
of
this
Phase
two
until
we
are
a
little
bit
further
down
the
road
with
it,
we're
only
a
couple
weeks
and
too
into
doing
the
phase
two,
so
we
do
anticipate
for
a
fiscal
21.
We
will
also
have
some
staffing
changes.
Okay,.
B
F
B
You
know
where
we
have
been
with
the
pilot
payments
is
this
was
instituted
in
fiscal
year
2011
it
was
a
five-year
ramp
up
which
would
have
put
it
at
fiscal
year
16
and
then
the
values
have
been
increased
by
two
and
a
half
percent
in
the
years
after
fiscal
16,
and
so
our
plan
is
to
do
implement
the
same.
The
same
two
and
a
half
percent
increase
for
fiscal
year
20.
So.
B
It's
hard
to
say
people
don't
always
pay,
it
is
a
voluntary
program.
I
think
some
of
the
changes
that
we've
been
seeing
is
that
some
of
the
institutions
may
make
first
there's
two
payments
that
are
made.
Some
of
the
institutions
make
a
first
payment
and
they
do
not
make
the
second
payment.
Other
institutions
like.
B
F
B
So
for
the
medical
institutions
is
five
million
nine
hundred
and
forty
thousand
nine
ninety
five
441.
So
all
of
this
is
on
on
our
website.
So
that's
medical
for
the
cultural
institutions.
Six
hundred
and
forty
three
million
four
hundred
and
six
162
and
for
educational,
seven
billion
288
million
978
thirty-seven
and.
A
G
B
B
G
B
D
Morning,
commissioner,
good
morning
and
thank
you
for
the
great
work
that
you
and
your
staff
are
doing
and
when
I
pay
my
property
tax
bill,
I
I,
do
it
in
person
at
the
track
downstairs
at
the
mezzanine
level
and
the
staff
that
you
have
they're
very
professional
in
courteous
and
a
great
great
knowledge
for
our
residents
of
Boston.
So
I
just
wanted
to
pass
pass
along
that
information
to
you.
Thank.
D
Commissioner,
can
you
talk
about
the
I'm
familiar
with
it,
but
can
you
give
us
a
little
bit
of
background
information
on
property
tax
assistant
for
disabled
veterans?
Can
you
give
a
little
bit
of
background
information
on
the
program
in
in
what
is
the
criteria
for
a
disabled
veteran
to
apply,
but
also
are
there
ways
we
can
communicate,
maybe
through
social
media
or
through
some
veterans
organizations
to
let
more
disabled
veterans
know
about
the
program?
Yes,.
B
So
the
veterans
exemption
there's
a
number
of
different
exemptions,
so
it
will
depend
on
either
a
level
of
disability
with
a
minimum
of
10%
as
certified
by
the
Veterans
Administration,
and
so
it
is.
The
different
exemptions
are
based
on
the
paperwork
that
we
receive
from
the
veterans
administration.
This
is
something
that
once
someone
applies
for
this
and
they
receive
the
veterans
exemption,
they
do
have
to
apply
for
it
every
year,
but
what
we
do
as
a
department
is,
we
automatically
send
out
the
paperwork
for
them
to
fill
out.
B
That's
something
that
they
don't
have
to
remember.
To
do.
That's
something
that
our
department
sends
out
as
part
of
our
work,
to
follow
up
with
them
to
make
sure
that
they
are
getting
the
a
personal
exemption
that
they're
entitled
to
I.
Think
that
you
know
anyone
who
has
any
questions
our
track
office
is
a
great
place
to
go
they're
incredibly
knowledgeable
about
the
different
exemptions.
So
there
are
at
least
five
different
different
exemptions
depending
on
the
paperwork
and
depending
on
the
level
disability,
or
you
know,
award
and
being
awarded
the
Purple
Heart
I.
B
Think
for
getting
the
word
out
on
this
I
know
that
we
have.
You
know
in
the
elderly
exemption
side,
we
working
with
the
aged
strong
Commission,
and
so
our
plan
is
to
start
working
more
closely
with
the
Veterans
Commission
and
the
Veterans
Commissioner
to
try
and
get
the
word
out
about
this,
because
it
certainly
is
a
great
program.
We
want
people
to
be
taking
advantage
of
it
who
are
eligible
for
it.
Thank.
D
You,
commissioner,
my
final
question
is
not
not
relating
to
pilot,
but
if,
if
a
private
business
owes
the
city
back
taxes,
what
is
the
procedure
for
requesting
that
from
them,
or
you
know
if
it's
several
years
delinquent?
How
do
we?
How
do
we
get
back
taxes
from
businesses
or,
what's
what's
the
overall
philosophy
of
your
office
on
that
issue?
That's.
B
Actually,
a
collecting
issue,
so
we
simply
value
property,
but
it's
collecting
that
sends
out
the
bills
and
collects
the
information.
My
guess
is,
they
would
put
a
lien
on
it.
Are
you
thinking
of
a
real
estate
or
of
a
personal
property
account?
Do
you
have
real
estate
real
estate?
I?
Think
that's
a
question
probably
better
for
collecting.
You
know.
B
C
C
B
E
B
A
You
Gail
a
couple
of
we
talked
a
little
bit
about
pilots
and,
through
that
working
session,
I
asked
for
the
Massport
contributions
and
what
I
noticed
was
that
they
fluctuate
every
year.
It
kind
of
goes
up
and
down
between
17
plus
million
and
18
million.
What
what?
What's
the
reason
for
the
fluctuation
up
and
down
and.
B
And
that
I
do
not
know
I
think
that's
worth
looking
into
I'm,
not
aware
of
what
the
contract
is
based
on
now.
I
know
it
is
coming
up
for
X.
It's
either
expired
or
almost
expired,
so
that
that
I
don't
know,
but
I
can
certainly
look
into
it
and
find
out,
but
you're
right
it.
It
is
not
a
I
assumed
it
would
be
consistent,
positive
number
and
it
is
not
necessarily.
A
A
B
The
the
only
thing
that
I
could
think
of
is
we
are
able
to
tax
mass
for
property,
that
is
within
the
Commonwealth
flats,
which
is
the
seaport
and
property
that
they
acquired.
That
was
previously
taxable
before
they
were
where
they
were
created.
So
that
was
the
only
thing
I
could
think
is
that
they
were
fluctuating
because,
as
they
are
leasing
out
more
of
the
seaport
parcels
like
the
Omni
Hotel,
that
they
are
starting
to
build
in
the
Seaport
that
that
becomes
taxable
under
chapter
59
and
so
I.
A
B
B
A
B
A
A
last
question
for
me:
the
elderly
exemption
right,
which
do
you
have
it
a
number
of
how
many
elderly
actually
are
eligible
or
actually
participate
in
the
elderly
exemption.
I
know
they
have
to
be
certified
every
year.
Right
and
I
know
that
that's
been
kind
of
born
a
contention
on
how
how
well
we
do
our
outreach
to
you
know
to
piggyback
on
counsel
of
Flynn
on
veteran
same
thing
with
elderly
year
in
and
year
out,
they
have
to
send
in
some
kind
of
documentation
to
remain
eligible
for
whatever
the
which
is
$750
or
something.
A
B
Sometimes
it
depends,
you
know
if
it's
someone
and
we've
certainly
seen
this
on
the
deferral
side,
if
it's
someone
who
defers
their
taxes
every
year
and
we
have
sent
them
two
notices,
which
is
our
typical
pattern,
as
we
send
two
notices.
If
someone
we
don't
hear
back
from
someone,
we
have
reached
out
on
some
of
those
occasions
or
you
know.
Sometimes
we
have
personal
relationships
with
the
taxpayers
that
they
come
in
or
we
just
know
them
because
they've
been
applying
for
so
long
and
so
those
those
we
certainly
do
reach
out
to
I.
A
B
B
Know
I
had
looked
at
this
because
we've
been
having
discussions
with
Emma
Hannity
and
the
CFO
his
office
about
you
know
what
we
can
do
to
increase
this,
so
I
believe
that
the
41c
limits
have
not
been
adjusted
since
2004,
and
certainly
inflation
has
been
moving
since
then,
and
so
what
we've
been
talking
about
is
going
I
believe
we
would
have
to
go
to
the
state
in
order
to.
E
A
F
H
Hi,
thank
you.
So
much
I
wanted
to
follow
up
on
a
couple
lines
of
questions,
but
first
I
was
looking
to
get
an
update
on
the
back
tax,
the
ordinance
that
we
passed
last
year,
that
was
for
the
tax
arrears
and
the
special
class
of
seniors
that
we
have
a
lot
of
for
so
I
was
just
wondering
how
it's
going
or
how
the
preparation
is
being
set
up.
B
So
I
can
speak
a
little
bit
to
it,
but
this
is
that's
really
more
of
a
collecting
issue
since
they're
the
ones
that
would
put
the
lien
on
the
property
and
contact
people
about
the
collection.
So
at
this
point
we've
been
doing
some
data
analysis
of
determining
who,
in
the
pool
who
we
have
as
a
pool
that
owes
back
taxes,
is
getting.
The
residential
exemption
is
not
an
LLC
or
a
corporation
and
is
also
receiving
personal
exemptions.
B
So
you
know,
part
of
our
amount
of
our
analysis,
is
kind
of
determining
who
meets
the
age
requirement
and
who
would
meet
the
income
requirement
right
now.
So
I
think
what
we
are
hoping
to
do
is
use
some
to
try
and
get
either
some
census
data
or
some
voting
data
in
order
to
look
at
some
age
requirements.
B
But
at
the
very
least,
we
think
that
the
pool
of
people
that
we
would
be
contacting
would
be
people
who
have
the
res
chelyn
and
are
currently
getting
one
of
the
elderly
exemptions,
because
clearly
they
would
meet
both
those
criteria
that
are
part
of
part
of
the
62,
a
criteria.
So
internally
we've
been
having
meetings.
B
H
We'll
just
follow
it
then,
to
make
sure
that
we're
compliant
with
our
own
ordinance.
With
regard
I
know,
one
of
my
colleagues
had
said
for
the
people
in
the
back
I
may
have
been
further
back
then
than
him
about
rent
control
and
and
impacting
the
value
of
city
property
is
how
minister
of
the
city
property
is
already
under
mind,
control
through
deed
restrictions,.
B
H
Control
does
allow
for
increases
as
well,
as
does
our
deed
restriction
properties.
My
understanding
is
that
a
majority
or
our
residential
properties
that
we
do
have
our
twist
certain
extent
deed,
restricted,
so
I
just
want
to
make
sure
that,
when
we're
talking
about
how
rent
control
could
impact
us,
we
are
also
talking
about
already
or
you're,
including
an
analysis.
The
already
rent
control
digit
restricted
units
that
we
already
have
in
our
portfolio.
So.
H
Right,
no
and
I
just
want
to
make
sure
just
in
the
analysis
that
we're
just
gonna
throw
in
or
throw
under
even
the
concept
when
we're
talking
about
as
a
city
I
wanted
to.
Maybe
we
just
need
to
do
a
deeper
dive,
the
impact
of
rent
control
and
city
properties
than
just
outright
saying
it's
going
to
hurt
the
value
of
them.
You
were
talking
about
Massport,
pilots,
I'm,
sorry,
I
came
in
the
middle
of
that
it
just
run.
If
you
can
run
the
numbers
again
for
me
again
how
much
we're
getting
in
terms
of
pot.
H
B
H
In
terms
of
the
other
pilot,
I
know
that
my
colleague
ed
brought
up
pilot
payments
in
general
in
terms
of
any
negotiation,
or
at
least
trying
to
work
with
the
schools
on
the
community
benefits
component
and
helping
out
I
know
that
cash
payments
might
be
harder
to
enforce.
But
was
there
any
follow-up
on
setting
or
coming
together
with
the
community
to
help
define
those
benefits?
H
B
Kc
Rock
Wilson
is
the
director
of
strategic
alignment
for
the
pilots
working
in
the
in
the
mayor's
office
and
she's.
Someone
who
has
been
actively
working
with
the
pilots
on
their
community
benefits.
Piece
I
know
one
in
particular
was
Atreus
Harvard
Vanguard,
who
last
year
did
not
provide
community
benefits
just
because
of
the
nature
of
their
organization.
H
Her
with
regards
to
that
assessment
and
I
recall
in
our
pilot
session,
there
seemed
to
be
no
willingness
or
correct
me
if
I'm
wrong
about
assessing,
or
at
least
being
honest
and
updating
the
numbers
for
the
properties
that
are
currently
in
that
the
nonprofit's
that
the
universities
have
we're
at
2012
numbers
tell
me
again
why
we
won't
get
to
or
get
updated
2019
or
current
numbers
for
the
for
the
actual
assessed
value.
It's.
B
B
You
had
proposed
it,
and
that
is
not
necessarily
something
that
I
would
be
interested
in
or
I
think
the
department
would
be
interested
in
I.
Think
that
opens
up
a
lot
of
avenues
of.
We
have
untrained
people
doing
assessments
that
we
are
then
sending
out
pilot
payments
on
that
are
different
than
the
people
who
are
normally
doing
the
taxable
assessment.
H
H
I
think
it's
not
good
enough
to
me.
It's
not
satisfactory
enough
to
say
it's
too
much
of
a
lift.
No,
we
won't
entertain
another
idea
of
getting
to
that
and
we'd
rather
have
data
that
is
late
or
that
is
not
accurate,
then
to
simply
try
and
come
up
with
an
avenue
to
get
accurate
data
up
for
the
public
and.
B
B
H
H
I
am
what
I
am
offering,
because
you
had
pushed
back
saying
it
was
the
matter
of
the
amount
of
work
as
to
why,
initially,
that
was
the
reason.
Why
not
just
it
wasn't
a
priority,
but
it
was
also
a
lot
of
work,
so
you
are
not
open
to
at
least
having
people
trained
or
somewhat
trainer
in
the
community.
Help
you
with
that
lift
to
make
sure
that
we
get
the
updated
numbers.
Some.